Vorarephilia (often shortened to vore) is a paraphilia characterized by the erotic desire to be consumed by, or sometimes to personally consume, another person or creature, or an erotic attraction to the process of eating in general practice.[1][2][3][4] Since vorarephilic fantasies cannot usually be acted out in reality, they are often expressed in stories or drawings shared on the Internet.[1] The word vorarephilia is derived from the Latin vorare (to "swallow" or "devour"), and Ancient Greek φιλία (philía, "love").
The fantasy usually involves the victim being swallowed whole, though occasionally the victims are chewed up, and digestion may or may not be included.[1][4][5] Vore fantasies are separated from sexual cannibalism because the living victim is normally swallowed whole.[1] Sometimes the consumers are human, but anthropormorphized animals, normal animals, dragons, and enormous snakes also appear frequently in these fantasies.[1] After consumption, the enlarged belly of the consumer is often described with great care.[1] Vorarephiles sometimes prefer to differentiate between soft vore and hard vore; soft vore means the victim is swallowed whole and alive, and may possibly come back out in the case of a "non-fatal" scenario, while in hard vore the victim goes through a more gruesome, realistic digestion process, often getting chewed up beforehand.
Vore is most often enjoyed through pictures, stories, videos, and video games, and it can appear in mainstream media.[6] In some cases, vorarephilia may be described as a variation of macrophilia and may combine with other paraphilias.[7] Apart from macrophilia, vore fantasies often have themes of BDSM, microphilia, pregnancy fetishism, furry fetishism, "unbirthing" (a desire to be swallowed whole into the vagina and returned to the uterus), and sexual cannibalism.[1]
One case study analysis connected the fantasy with sexual masochism, and suggested that it could be motivated by a desire to merge with a powerful other or permanently escape loneliness.[1] With "no known treatment" for vorarephiles who feel ill at ease with their sexuality, psychologists at Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health have recommended trying to "adjust to, rather than change or suppress" the sexual interest.[5] Medication for libido reduction could be used if deemed necessary.[1]
