The origin of guilt

[koganbot]

Does anyone know who coined the term "guilty pleasure," or what he or she meant by it?

I think I first ran across it in the late '60s or early '70s, almost certainly in regard to movies, not music - maybe in some British film mag, or from someone like Raymond Durgnat (in which case how he used the term would be pretty interesting, since the guy was fearless about liking other stuff that others had little regard for, so wasn't out to downplay or excuse his own predilections). But please don't use this half-recalled mis-memory to start the rumor that he was the fellow who coined the term. I really don't know.

Btw, I've never associated the term with liking stuff I might actually feel guilty about liking, such as liking something that I associate with pain caused to people I know (Rocket From The Tombs' "Ain't It Fun") or liking music that might actually cause evil in the world (maybe some cocaine-pushing rap) or thinking that the Manson murders may have made "Helter Skelter" more interesting, or liking something that takes glee in violence against women, and so forth (almost all of which I've usually managed to avoid feeling guilty about liking). Maybe there's some crossover to the term's apparent meaning in my sometimes thinking I shouldn't be wasting time on the same old shit that I like in the same old way when I could be expanding myself by exploring the world. But this has more to do with failed work ethic than with a song's status.

Comments

[koganbot]

The proximate cause of my asking this question wasn't your post but Tom's column (though for all I know your post inspired that bit in the column). But I especially like your idea (if you're OK with this rephrasing) that the phrase "guilty pleasure" doesn't cheapen pleasure so much as it cheapens guilt.

Probably not Durgnat at all, then, but possibly someone editing at Film Comment, though that person may have picked it up from elsewhere.

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

Quite liked the rephrasing from freakytigger! Even if my post was a sort of inspiration I think it's an idea whose time has come (one that Tom has probably thought about himself before). Guilt is so interesting! Being tee-hee embarrassed to share in front of a group [nice point from justfanoe there -- I think I'm going to start using the phrase "embarrassing pleasures"] is not (usually).