On Cupcakes

I've been thinking about cupcakes lately, due in part to Hopkins' recent post. The article she links to suggests that cupcakes are a lie--they are prettier than they are delicious and they advertise a false nostalgia; also, they're faddish and now name brand.

Here's my comment on Hopkins' post:

"Before a lecture I was having lunch with a political theorist. We passed a cupcake shop, and I started ranting about how I don't understand the appeal (my mother never made us cupcakes--whoopie pies were probably the closest thing; I think cupcakes are a little fussy for central Pennsylvania). Anyway, he said that people like cupcakes for the same reason that they like baths--it takes them back to their mother's womb. I also didn't understand that explanation. I like baths because they keep me awake when I need to do more work."

I re-post this here because I bought Georgetown Cupcake designer cupcakes for a political theorist colloquium this week and once again brought up my question about their appeal. One of my colleagues suggested that people like having a whole that belongs just to them--it isn't a piece of something, like a piece of coffee cake, but rather their own, which they chose from among different kinds. This is way more persuasive to me than a mother's womb.