A food fetish is an intense and persistent sexual arousal linked to specific foods. People with food fetishes may feel aroused by the smell, feel, and taste of particular foods. They can also get turned on by watching others eat or interact with food. Some food fetishists are also turned on by eating foods prepared with bodily fluids or feeding these foods to others. People may satisfy their food fetish through active participation in the fetish or by passively viewing food fetish content, such as food fetish porn. As a food fetish is often linked to the consumption of specific foods, it is sometimes called an eating fetish.
While it's difficult to determine how common food fetishes are around the world, as there are very limited formal studies into this phenomenon, some ways of enjoying a food fetish are more common in different locations. For example, nyotaimori restaurants, where people eat sushi from the bodies of a naked model, are mostly found in Japan.
Why Are People Aroused By Food?
Interacting with food engages all the senses. When it does, it ignites the same part of the brain that sex does. Given this overlap, it’s easy to understand why people can become aroused by food as they do with physical touch.
“People like the smell and tactile sensations of food. Others really like the fact that food is messy, especially if you’re incorporating whipped cream, chocolate sauce, or something of a similar texture,” explained Zachary Zane, a sex columnist, activist, and the author of "Boyslut: A Memoir and Manifesto". “It’s fun, arousing, and freeing to have “messy” sex. To really let go in a sexual context and food can help with that. There are often elements of dominance and submission involved in food play as well—consensually “forcing” your partner to consume a beverage or food. Then, I’d argue there’s something just inherently sexual about food. So much of food is wet and moist, and you put it in your mouth, and it makes you feel good. Like, that’s just very sexual!”
Some people get aroused by the similarities they see between food and genitalia. Role-play scenarios where one partner eats these foods in an eroticized manner while the other watches can appeal to people who make this connection. There are can also be a voyeuristic element to people’s attraction to food. People who enjoy watching others experience pleasure may love observing people eat or play with food.
In modern society, which tends to label food as good or bad, some foods can become taboo and therefore more desirable. People may develop food fetishes surrounding foods they feel guilty eating, like cakes or chocolate for example.
