Research Question:

What effect does cultural stereotypes have on perceptions of eating insects through the context of YouTube travel video blogs?

The independent variable in this research question is cultural stereotypes, while the dependent variable is perceptions of eating insects as portrayed in YouTube travel video blogs. I will be using the theoretical framework of Edward Said to understand the bias surrounding eating insects.

Insects can provide food security, because they are inexpensive to produce and abundant. Insects do not require much land or resources, compared to industrial large livestocks farms, popular  across the United States and Europe. The distaste for insects in Western society stems not only from a  preference for other protein types, but a place of perceived privilege (Looy et al. 2014). Western societies view themselves as better than cultures in which people eat insects. Eating insects is therefore viewed as ‘exotic’ by Westerners. Some Westerners even travel to other countries to eat insects for their video blogs. These vloggers perceive eating insects as a taboo and not something they would attempt to do outside of the video or country they are visiting.