Should You Post about Politics or Keep Quiet?
It's a dilemma for many of us. And it's my annual subscription sale!
Are you torn about posting online about politics? Perhaps you are a political person in real life, but on social media and in your blog and newsletter, you ignore all that while blasting out recipes for Slow-Roasted Ribs and Pineapple Granita?
People notice when we are silent. As in this Instagram post:
Maybe you felt terrible when you read Saghar’s note, but you’re afraid to make your views known. Emiko Davies figured out a good middle ground. She wrote a lovely post about Persian cooking.
And then there are the people who do write about a war and get blasted for it. Like Elli Benaiah, who writes about Mizrahi Jewish food. He posted from a bomb shelter in Israel during the Iranian attack, and readers attacked him. Here’s his response when I commiserated:
Many food writers do speak out. Cookbook author Anne Byrn told me in an interview that she lost lots of followers when she added politics to her essays about Southern food. Food writer Leah Koenig is still taking on federal politics in The Jewish Table newsletter, despite detractors. Regula Ysewijn spoke out on Instagram. As did Klancy Miller and others in our field.
Maybe you’re absolutely fine about not getting involved, and that’s great. I am more tentative. It’s tough to stay quiet when I’m feeling sad, outraged or helpless. I’m probably afraid of the blowback. Most of us writers are delicate, creative types. We don’t want to be attacked. (Does anyone?) We don’t want to lose subscribers.
Years ago, food writer Jamie Schler wrote a guest essay for my blog titled Do Food and Politics Mix on Social Media? For her, the answer is yes. She increased her following dramatically by getting into politics on Twitter and now on Bluesky Social. Today she is known as a pundit.
Perhaps what holds me back is that I don’t want to be performative. “Performative” means that people create a post about something political, and that is the end of their effort. Wikipedia defines performative activism as “activism done to increase one’s social capital rather than because of one’s devotion to a cause.”
For me, online politics are a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t situation. Offline, I have a political life. I write postcards, I call and email my representatives, I am part of a resistance group, I attend protests, and I donate to campaigns and nonprofits that are doing the work. No one online knows (until now?) about what I do offline. Mostly, I don’t feel that I have to prove myself to my online audience in this way. But sometimes, I feel bad that I haven’t spoken up.
Your Turn to Tell Me
What questions and thoughts come up for you on this topic? Do you separate speaking out about politics online from your everyday life? Do you feel good about that? Do you feel guilty about sticking with food writing, which sometimes feels shallow? Have people told you to “stick to food writing” when you got out of your lane? Do you want to speak out but you’re afraid of the consequences? I would love to know.
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What I’m Reading
On the first of every month, I bring you irresistible links like these:
Who Pays Writers. I recently discovered this website that lists payment by word.
Sally Ekus Is the Opposite of a Gatekeeper. An interview with a literary agent who specializes in selling cookbooks to publishers.
In the Kitchen with Deb. A long interview with Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen about her successful run as a food blogger with two million followers on Instagram!
She cooked up a new career, and now she’s a James Beard winner. How Andréa Lawson Gray moved from retired chef to cookbook author. (Hint: She’s a great risk-taker and networker.)
Interview: Editor Sean deLone on How Modern Publishing Actually Works. On the evolving role of editors, how he gets a manuscript in shape for publication, and more.
Food Writing and Messy Materiality. A short post on using metaphysical terms to describe food and whether we should stop.
20 Questions Every Writer Must Ask Themselves. From Sitting in Silence, a newsletter about writing, craft, worry, and joy.
Talking with Cookbook Editor Sarah Billingsley of Chronicle Books. She tells the Everything Cookbooks podcast folks what it takes to get to yes.
How to Test Your Friends. Good advice from agent Sally Ekus about recipe testing.
Does Restaurant Criticism Still Matter? That’s the age-old question. Some big food critics answer, but the discussion is behind a paywall.
How to Take Rejections Well and Keep Going. It’s part of the life of a writer, but handling it well takes work.
The Legacy of Jonathan Gold. A tribute by Ruth Reichl, about a writer I idolized. I loved finding out how they met.
Why Aren’t Cookbooks Covered Like the Movies? Matt Rodbard argues for more coverage. Also see this interview he did with a superstar cookbook author: B. Dylan Hollis Took the Wildest Roadtrip Across America to Make the Sweetest Cookbook.
Secrets of Book Publishing 2025. Not about cookbooks per se, but about publishing.
The Case for Reviewing While High. Cannabis makes this reviewer better at his job?
Why That Cookbook Didn’t Work for You—And How to Think About the Next One. Kitchen Arts & Letters bookstore sorts it out.
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A New Podcast on Getting a Cookbook Deal
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What’s Happening on Instagram
At the Oxford Food Symposium in July, I met some long-time friends including keynote Marion Nestle, former clients and students, and cookbook authors. See more about the event in England by clicking on the image. Follow me on Instagram at instagram.com/diannemjacob.
News from Clients and Students
Former student Lynda Balslev’s new book is The Little Book of Dumplings: Bundles of Love from Around the World.
Everything Cookbooks spoke with Martin Sorge about his forthcoming first cookbook. (Martin took my proposal class and worked with me separately on the proposal itself.)
Real Simple interviewed Dr. Annie Fenn about brain health and how small habits make a difference. (Annie and I worked on an early version of her cookbook proposal.)
My Jewish Learning/The Nosher published student Vivian Saade’s article, For Many Jews, This Sour Soup Is the Taste of Shabbat. |
Nico Vera contributed a dozen recipes and an essay to Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking, which won the James Beard Award for Best Vegetable-Focused Cookbook. (I coached Nico on food writing.)
Gibbs-Smith will publish Alejandra Graf’s new cookbook. (I coached her on the cookbook proposal.)
I like to brag about food writing accomplishments from clients and students. Send me yours at dj@diannej.com.
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Dianne Jacob
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Dianne, thank you for addressing this touchy subject. As I mentioned in our conversation, I can’t not speak out about lax gun laws in my home state of TN after the school shooting down the street. I can’t ignore the dismantling of American government as we have known it. I continue to speak out because speaking out has become a part of who I am. But I am a food writer first, and weaving politics into the newsletter has to feel right.
I share my views whether in a dedicated post, recipe, book recommendation or photo. I’ve lost subscribers. I’ve gained subscribers. I won’t stop sharing who I am and what I think.
Thanks for this topic today, Dianne.