Liz Lemon an accidental icon of indulgence

Tina Fey’s 30 Rock character has come to symbolize a backlash against joyless food culture

When you think of female food champions, a number of names come to mind: Julia Child, Rachael Ray, Jean Pare ... But Liz Lemon?

Over the past six years, the hapless heroine of TV’S 30 Rock has become an unlikely torchbearer for women eating what they want. Even if what they want is a hotdog stuffed with jack cheese, folded in a pizza.

At a time when health studies, diet fads and fashion magazines have turned eating into a joyless exercise in restraint, Tina Fey’s Lemon is an accidental icon for shameless indulgence. When the show ends its run next season, many believe her legacy will be one of bringing fun back to food.

“It’s nice to poke fun at a food culture that takes itself a little too seriously,” says Chris Durso, creator of the website Foodiggity. com. “And to have a woman do it — not some gross guy but an attractive female character who isn’t afraid to be shown sitting on the couch stuffing her face — is a big deal.”

Of course, the portrayals of Lemon’s love of cheese, encyclopedic knowledge of cupcake shops, and tendency to have lettuce in her hair aren’t exactly flattering. But the character contentedly wears her eating quirks on her sleeve ( often literally, via food stains).

Andrea Taylor, a single parent from central Alberta, identifies with what she dubs the “Fey- shui” mindset of being unapologetic about her choices.