Sitophilia, the union of the two great pleasures: sex and food

How many times did you hear as children that “you don't play with food”?

Well, it is not true, many people play with food, give it a sexual connotation, get excited by the act of eating, biting, sucking or seeing others doing it, and incorporate these activities into their erotic lives.

This is what is called sitophilia;

which, according to the Open and Corporate Dictionary, is the “fetish for which food is included in sexual practices.”

Sito

comes from Greek, and means food;

filia,

on the other hand

,

is

love or inclination towards something.

Sitophilia is not synonymous with gorging or being a

gobbler,

but rather it should be something subtle, which has more to do with eroticism than with sexuality or genitality.

But a look at social networks, the accounts related to this topic and the pornography on the subject show that there are a thousand ways to understand this trend.

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Among the most aesthetic versions are

nyotaimori

and

nantaimori

.

Both come from Japan and consist of eating

sushi

or

sashimi

served directly on a person's naked body:

nyotaimori

, if it is a woman;

or

nantaimori

, if a man.

In an episode of

Sex and the City

, Samantha waits for her lover turned into a tray of

sushi

.

Others see sitophilia as an artistic inspiration, as is the case with the video

Visionaire 67-Fetish

, directed by American photographer Steven Klein, in which very sharp heels split an apple in two.

Another variant is

sploshing

, also known in English as

wet and messy

, which consists of spreading various types of food, drinks or substances over the body, which can be crushed, used as massage oil and even ingested.

Cinema has memorable scenes of

gourmet

sex , such as the one in

Nine and a Half Weeks

(1986).

This use of food in sexual life has little to do with its supposed aphrodisiac power.

“Aphrodisiacs do not exist, although cinnamon, oysters, strawberries or chocolate are attributed magical powers to increase libido and/or improve sexual performance, but scientific evidence is hardly non-existent,” explains Arola Poch, psychologist. and sexologist from the liberal social network Wyylde.

“It is true that some foods contain phenitelamine and anandamine, substances that stimulate the production of dopamine and endorphins, hormones of happiness, present in sexual desire;

or zinc or vitamin C, which activate blood flow.

But the proportion of these substances is so tiny that we cannot speak of them having any relevance.

Another issue is the suggestion that each person can make when eating certain foods.

And the placebo effect has been proven,” she adds.

Cinnamon, oysters, strawberries or chocolate are attributed magical powers to increase libido or improve sexual performance, but scientific evidence is almost non-existent.KatarzynaBialasiewicz (Getty Images)

Sex and food have always been historically linked, to the point that a party, celebration, bacchanal or romantic date cannot be conceived without its portion of food and drink.

“This is explained because these are two primary instincts of the human being.

Without one of them we would not have come into the world;

Without each other, we could not survive,” says Raúl González Castellanos, sexologist, psychopedagogue and couples therapist at the therapeutic support office A la Par, in Madrid.

“These instincts are linked to the spheres of what gives us pleasure;

But in addition, the link between

eros

(the life drive) and

thanatos

(the death drive) is very present in them, which the Greeks spoke of, and which Sigmund Freud studied so much.

When we eat, we feel pleasure in the act of salivating, biting, sucking, swallowing.

They are sensations that have a lot to do with sex;

but, at the same time, the act of eating implies a certain destruction, death of the food that we cook and then destroy into pieces to be ingested.

On the other hand, putting something in your mouth, sucking or sucking on it, is a very primary way of knowing it.

It is what babies constantly do to come into contact with things, to learn,” says the sexologist.

That sex is one of the greatest pleasures has been known for a long time;

But lately, food has become the quickest shortcut to happiness, especially in a society where loneliness spreads like a plague.

“Oral pleasure, the kiss, surely derives from food,” comments Marino Pérez, psychologist specializing in clinical psychology and member of the Spanish Academy of Psychology.

“I maintain that food and pets are the new substitutes for sex,” he continues, “because, although we have the sensation of living in a hypersexualized society, surveys say that the sexual encounters of the new generations are much less frequent than the that their parents or grandparents had.

In this way, having a pet supplies us with love and tenderness and, in addition, avoids the problems of having to relate to that complex being that is the human being.

Food, on the other hand, provides us with that physical pleasure that we taste through the mouth.

But it is clear that in sitophilia these two appetites are united: the sexual and the carnal, intrinsically linked.

Thus we see that, in the case of people who suffer from anorexia, the cancellation of hunger also entails the suppression of sexual desire.”

This symbiosis of two great impulses has its support in eroticism, because an entire ritual is required to select foods, put them in a context and give them a certain role in the work.

“In this sense,” González comments, “everything that exercises eroticism is welcome, since we have forgotten it for the sake of sexuality, genitality and quick and utilitarian sex.”

For his part, Marino Pérez emphasizes that “seduction, everything that has to do with courtship, is being lost;

partly because of the philosophy of political correctness, taken to its extremes, because of the complexity of relationships between men and women, and because of the influence of pornography.

In such a way that any hint of ambiguity (in seduction), of spontaneity, of instinct, is erased or repressed.”

Cinema has memorable scenes of 'gourmet' sex, but they are not always recommended.

Replacing lubricants with oils or butters, emulating the famous scene from 'Last Tango in Paris' (1978), is not a good idea.Rue des Archives (©Rue des Archives/Collection CSF / Cordon Press)

Sitophilia, like everything, has its red lines.

Precautions that must be observed when we mix these two ingredients in a crude and bizarre way, as most porn videos on the subject show.

According to Arola Poch, “if food touches the body in non-intimate areas, in principle it does not pose a great risk, beyond allergic reactions that may occur to certain components and questions of logic, such as avoiding contact with the eyes.

If you play with them in the genital area, you have to be more careful because they are very sensitive parts that can be easily irritated.

It is not advisable to introduce food or drinks through the vagina or anus, as they can cause infections.

It must also be taken into account that ice can stick to the skin or mucous membranes and cause injuries.”

Replacing lubricants with oils or butters, emulating the famous scene from

Last Tango in Paris

(1978), is also not a good idea.

“They are not going to do the expected function, they can cause infections and damage the condom, which gets along very poorly with oils,” says Poch, whose favorite scene of sitophilia in the cinema is when Salma Hayek, in Dusk

Till Dawn

(1996). ), he lets the beer run down his leg and foot to give a thirsty Tarantino a drink.

Rita Abundancia

is a journalist, sexologist and author of the website RitaReport.net.