Over the course of my blog I aimed to discover why food is represented sexually. I was unable to reach one individual conclusion, but along the way found various information that contributed to the sexual portrayal of food. Freud's explanation of the mouth as the human's first sexual encounter through breast feeding showed how the process of eating appears as sexual. This was caused by the lack of separation between sexual activity and the ingestion of food. Furthermore, gastropornography displayed a sensual representation of food in imagery and the media, which was brought on by the need for sex to sell food, by exciting it. Within literature, the language of food was used as a euphemism to express sexual themes. The same practice occurred within society, as food lexis was used to replace sexual activity, in order to tone down the crudeness of talking about sex. I looked at fruit and vegetables that resemble genitalia and found that this had just as much to do with shape as well as society's patriarchal ideology. For instance, strong fruit was compared to the penis, and softer fruits were compared to the vagina. The process of eating also made food seem more sexual, as the mouth mirrors oral sex. This introduced the scopophiliac pleasure individuals gained, such as with men who stare funnily when one is consuming a banana.  Little connection was found between food and passion and aphrodisiacs had a very long timeline, which started with foods we consider to be basic today, like potatoes. Nevertheless, the sexiness within foods such as chocolate, derived from the luxury and pleasure individuals experienced from its taste. I discovered that exquisite food can to an extent set a mood, which can change one's mentality, and provoke sexiness! My findings therefore showed a complexity behind the  sexual representation of food.

For the Love of Chocolate

In the 1980's researchers believed they had found the answer to the world's love of chocolate. 'They detected the chemical phenyl ethylamine (PEA) in chocolate', which is a 'central nervous system stimulant', that is said to  'arouse emotions' (Web MD) However, scientists later stated that humans do not actually absorb enough PEA from chocolate for it to completely alter our emotions.

I looked at Atonement (2001) by Ian McEwan. In the scene below Lola is given  a chocolate bar by her future husband:

Paul Marshall's deep concentration implies a fetish towards Lola's eating of the chocolate. The chocolate acts as a metaphor for their relationship as the juxtaposition of 'white' and 'dark' foreshadows the rape that occurs later. Lola's act of biting into the chocolate presents the dark chocolate inside the bar, similar to how her harsh reality will be revealed, hence the phrase: 'it cracked loudly'.

Aphrodisiacs

An aphrodisiac is 'a food, drink, or other thing that stimulates sexual desire'. (Collins English Dictionary)

Before the eighteenth century, aphrodisiacs were seen as a way to cure impotence and infertility.Today, we associate aphrodisiacs with foods that enhance sexual pleasure, or elicit sexual desire. Until the 18th Century, a vast majority of aphrodisiac recipes were based on the works of a Roman physician, Galen. Within his theory he stated that foods qualified as aphrodisiacs if they were: 'warm and moist' and 'windy', as they produced flatulence. (Irish Independent)


Galen believed that 'wind' aerated the penis, which led to an erection. 

Foods that were known to produce gas, such as 'carrots, asparagus, mustard, nettles and sweet peas' (II) therefore qualified as aphrodisiacs. 

Potatoes and cocoa were originally seen as aphrodisiacs, as they were exotic. If foods were expensive or hard to obtain they were considered to be 'sexually exciting' (Web MD). 

Oysters are an aphrodisiac that have survived through time.

Even if you've never tried them, you've heard that they're meant to spice up the sex life.

According to Joan Smith, 'an oyster... belongs to that sub-group of crude comparisons inspired by an apparent similarity in shape or smell to the female genitalia' (87). Therefore, one argument for oysters being seen to enhance sexual desire is due to its similarities to the vagina. Furthermore, the term aphrodisiac derives from  'Aphrodite'. Aphrodite is the mythological Greek 'goddess of beauty, fertility and sexual love' (Collins English Dictionary) known for being born from the Sea, hence why sea food is  often connected with driving sexual passion.

FOOD or FRUIT as Male GENITALIA

 In this post I will be presenting why certain food items are compared to the penis.


I looked at Cruising (2006), by Desiree Day, which follows the life of four young women. In an early chapter, the friends are in a diner having dessert when one of them proclaims: ' "Nu-uh. Take a close look at your sundae, what does it remind you of? And be honest." '(68). Another friend responds: ' "Well, the split banana reminds me of two penises" ', to which her friend agrees: ' "they did remind me of little dicks" '.

This is what in our society is referred to as the "dirty mind". People associate food with the penis, due to its appearance. In the quotation above the adjective "little" comments on the size, so links to the shape of a penis.

We see this with various foods, such as the banana, cucumber and sausage.

FRUIT as Female GENITALIA

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We often hear people referring to the vagina euphemistically as food or fruit. For example, the cherry is very much associated with female virginity, and the common phrase of "having your cherry popped" indicates sexual activity.

According to Joan Smith's book Hungry for You (1997), 'It's a striking feature of men's imagery of women-as-food that it's frequently vegetarian' (87), which helps to explain why the vagina is often portrayed as a fruit. 

Smith reveals that the connection between fruit and the female sexual organ has a lot to do with the mentality of men. She suggests that the vagina is replaced with fruit, because 'men like to see their lovers as tender birds of prey' (87). Men do not like to consider their women as 'creatures with hooves, teeth and a predatory appetite of their own' (87). Therefore the fruit is used because of its subtlety as men stereotypically want women to be calm and reserved. 

"Figs to fill your mouth" Christina Rossetti

Today I am going to show how Literature contributes to the sexual representation of food, using Christina Rossetti's famous poem "Goblin Market" (1862).

Christina Georgina Rossetti was an English poet who wrote a variety of romantic, devotional, and children's poems. She was born in 1830 and died in 1894. (Wikipedia)

Goblin Market is about two sisters, Laura and Lizzie. Lizzie is tempted by the Goblin men who sell exquisite fruit and she becomes unsatisfied, once giving in.

I am going to do a short analysis on the following sections:

1. Lizzie's first tasting of the fruit

2. The goblin men's attack on Laura, and 

3. Lizzie's second tasting of the fruit. 

Gastropornography

Gastronpornography refers to the 'representation of food in a highly sensual manner' (Collins English Dictionary) We all know it: those saucy food adverts that just make your mouth water (think M&S). The way that food is visually presented contributes to its sexiness.

Nigella Lucy Lawson is an English journalist, broadcaster, television personality, gourmet, and food writer. (Wikipedia)

Here is Nigella Lawson, the 'gastroporn queen' (The Independent). Nigella is often talked about for her appealing curvaceous figure. She makes calorific food look good, hence the meme below:

To Suck, or not To Suck!

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Here we have a beautiful image of a woman breastfeeding her baby; providing her child with the necessary nutrients to grow. This may seem weird, seeing as though my topic revolves around sex and food, which I naturally thought- seeing this as an act of motherhood- was the polar opposite to my area of research. Little did I know that this purely innocent act was an early explanation for the connection between food and sex.

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Sigmund Freud (6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) an Austrian neurologist known as the father of psychoanalysis (wikipedia) created a theory which drew a connection between the mother and baby relationship and sex. 

Freud investigated the behaviour of the newborn child and his argument declared that "the sucking of the infant is the first sexual act of a human being" (Smith Joan, 103), whereby the 'sexual pleasure is first bound up with the action of feeding at the mother's breast' (103).

When first discovering this, I thought it was quite bizarre and a disturbing way to think of such a natural act. I was not alone. Freud had and still has many opponents who refuse to think of "sucking babies as having a sexual life"  (103). Nevertheless, Freud's explanation is not invalid, and it would be unwise to ignore a possible explanation of how the act of eating has become sexual considering its literary support.

Welcome to Sexy Food!

Sex and food google image

Welcome to my Literature of Food blog

We often hear people when conversing about potential lovers, refer to them in language more closely associated with food: "He looks so good I could eat him!", "She's a tall glass of water" or "he's like dark chocolate". People are so often described as food when it comes to attraction or flirting and this is not something we ever question. Pick up lines contain more food ingredients than many students' dusty cupboards at university. Sexualised food is everywhere! Take the picture above for instance: it screams sex! 

My food blog will be addressing how sex and food have become sides to the same coin and used interchangeably. It will try to discover or explain where the sexual ideology of food may have originated from. I hope to do some fun things over these few months and explore the sex within food. So stay tuned because we will be getting to the bottom of why you cannot walk down the road eating a banana, without having men gawk at you!

Here are some of the questions my blog will be answering:

• What makes food so sexy?
• Why does one's act of eating, specifically women indicate sexual behaviour? 
• Are aphrodisiacs real or mythological? Do they really improve sexual activity or does this have more to do with individual mentality and fantasy?
• How does literature contribute to this sexual representation of food?
• Why are certain fruits sexual? Fruit and vegetables as male or female genitalia.
• What is food porn?

My blog will use various items of literature to explore the sexual innuendo behind food.

I hope you enjoy!