What does the term “vore” stand for?

In this blog post, we define the slang term Vore, and we discuss the

causes, symptoms and treatment of this paraphilia . 

What does the term “Vore” mean?

The term “vore ”comes from the word “vorarephilia.” This word comes from the Latin word “vorare” meaning “to devour” and the Ancient Greek word “philia” meaning “love.” 

Therefore, Vore is one of the most dangerous paraphilias, characterized by the recurrent existence of sexual fantasies related to the idea of devouring or being devoured in life by another person, either partially or totally. 

Sometimes it also involves the idea of being digested. 

These fantasies are constantly repeated for at least six months and are generators of great sexual arousal or even are the only means by which the subject reaches a release, only by being able to fulfil his fantasy.

Vorarephilia: the desire to eat someone or to be eaten

Generally, Vore does not include the idea of death: what these people find erotic is not the idea of killing or dying, but the idea of consume or being consumed by another person.

However, Vore does not imply eating or being eaten once you’ve died.

What is erotic for people with vorarephilia is the idea of consuming or being consumed or integrating or being physically integrated into another person. 

There are different types of vorarephilia, depending on the type of fantasy involved, although two of them stand out.

• Soft vore in which the devourer is eaten while alive and/or whole and in which there is a low level of violence and there may not even be many wounds left.
• The second is hardcore vore in which the devourer receives deep wounds, there is a lot of violence, suffering, a lot of blood and even mutilations and amputations. 

The latter is the least common, the most sadistic and the least related to sex.

Link to other paraphilias

Vorarephilia can, in many cases, be confused with sexual cannibalism due to its great resemblance.

However, there is a difference between the two concepts, although it is a nuance that can be difficult to detect for many people: 

• Sexual cannibalism involves arousal through the consumption of human flesh, which is the object of desire. 

However, in vorarephilia, the object of desire is not to eat human flesh, but to eat or be devoured by something or someone.

It is also not necessary to actually consume somebody to have great pleasure.

Vore is related to other types of paraphilia, especially those related to domination and obedience and the link between pleasure and pain.

It has sadism and masochism, although the pain itself does not generate emotion. 

Vore can also occur in connection with other paraphilias such as macrophilia (sexual attraction to giants, a common fantasy is to be devoured by a giant) or microphilia (sexual attraction to a creature of a much smaller size, who maybe also fantasies to devour or to be devoured).

Vore is a rare paraphilia, which can occur in people of different ages and genders.

However, it is more common in men between the ages of 18 and 46.

It may cause clinically significant discomfort in the sufferer or a functional limitation in the person’s life, although in some cases fantasies are not experienced. 

A fantasy that will not become reality

Not all people with a paraphilic mental disorder commit sexually-charged crimes, as studies show that many individuals who meet the clinical criteria for them do not act on their fantasies. 

Thus, people who end up aggressing others through their deviant behaviour usually have comorbidities, such as mood disorders, social anxiety disorder, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, neurological disorders. 

Many consider that a paraphilic disorder is only a consequence of the pathologies listed above, which is why treating them will at least reduce the paraphilic behaviour, if not its extinction.

In general, vore does not go beyond the realm of fantasy, since people with this paraphilia know of its implications and the damage that can be caused.

Generally, people with this type of fantasy resort to masturbation or use pornographic videos related to the theme of simulation and role-playing games. 

However, there have been cases of subjects with vorarephilia, who have come to practice cannibalism or become victims of it, resulting in the death or mutilation of one of those involved.

And, although it does not seem credible, in some of these cases, the deeds are executed with the connivance of those who will be devoured.

In other cases where psychopathy is present, it can even lead to crimes.

This is why vore is one of the most dangerous paraphilias, given that in the case of the transition from fantasy to action in most cases will mean death or serious injury to one’s physical integrity. 

Unfortunately, this paraphilia is also known to have caused various deaths.

What are the causes of this paraphilia?

The causes of this paraphilia are not completely known, although it is possible to make several hypotheses about it.

First of all, you must keep in mind that vorarephilia is related to power and the roles of domination and submission, with the person who is devouring having control and assimilating the consumed one, which is submissive.

In fact, many of those who use this paraphrase use BDSM role-playing games because of their similarity.

Some people associate the fantasy of being devoured with the need to lose control, as in the case of people with a dominant job or those with excessive self-control.

On the contrary, the fantasy of eating can be an attempt on the part of the subject to correct a lack of perception of control.

Also, in different cases, there may be poor family models, with rigid parents and lack of positive emotional expression.

In these cases, it is possible for the devoured being to seek assimilation by another person as an attempt to remember or become part of another being.

This may also be a basic psychopathic personality, especially in those cases that try to put their fantasies into practice.

From a psychodynamic point of view, the pattern of atypical sexual arousal usually develops before puberty, involving at least 3 processes:

• anxiety or early emotional trauma that interferes with psychosocial development considered normal;

• replacing the normal erotic arousal pattern with an alternative sexual pattern, sometimes through early exposure to erotic experiences designed to build the person’s need to seek sexual pleasure in them;

1. the excitatory pattern acquires symbolic connotations and conditioning elements (for example, the fetish symbolizes the element capable of generating arousal, but may have been selected because it was accidentally associated with sexual curiosity, desire, or arousal)

Treatment of Vore

Regarding treatment for severe forms of paraphilia, many studies have shown that maximum efficacy is achieved when drug therapy is combined with psychological therapies.

Treatment aims to reduce and control deviant sexual behaviour rather than cancel it out. 

Antiandrogenic drug treatment will be reserved for people who have deviant sexual behaviour, manifested by the risk of injuring others.

Antiandrogens reduce the intensity of erections, sexual fantasies or the stimulation of the need to engage in sexual intercourse.

The reduction of sexual needs was also noticed when using antidepressants (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). 

Regarding psychological treatment, there were several methods that tried to reduce the paraphilic behaviour of psychiatric intensity.

The behavioural methods chosen for this purpose had two directions: negative conditioning and positive conditioning. 

On one hand, negative conditioning involves the association of an unpleasant stimulus (smell, image, sound) with the need to exercise deviant behaviour.

On the other hand, positive conditioning aims to help the patient to develop alternative behaviours or to acquire different social skills to resolve internal conflicts. 

Cognitive behavioural therapy is one of the techniques that has resulted in the treatment of paraphilic disorders, the goal being to restructure distorted thought patterns and train empathy.

The therapist will try to help the patient to realize that the victim is not obliged to satisfy his sexual needs or desires and, at the same time, will help the patient to try to put himself in the place of the victim. 

Conclusions

In this blog post, we defined the slang term Vore, and we discussed this paraphilia’s causes, symptoms and treatment.  

Vorarephilia, when it remains a fantasy, it is not dangerous.

However, when you cross the line from fantasy to reality, this type of paraphilia can become quite dangerous, in some cases even deadly.

What do you know about vore?

Do not hesitate to ask any questions or to share your knowledge in the comments section.

Further reading

Practical Guide to Paraphilia and Paraphilic Disorders, by Richard Balon

The Psychology of Lust Murder: Paraphilia, Sexual Killing, and Serial Homicide, by Catherine Purcell 

Paraphilia: Forbidden Dreams, by Enis Pridgen 

The Paraphilias: Changing Suits in the Evolution of Sexual Interest Paradigms, by J. Paul Fedoroff 

Forensic and Medico-legal Aspects of Sexual Crimes and Unusual Sexual Practices, by Anil Aggrawal

References 

Paraphilias: definition, diagnosis and treatment – Michelle A. McManus (2003) 

Paraphilias – Psychology Today

DSM-5 and Paraphilic Disorders 

Paraphilias and paraphilic disorders: diagnosis, assessment and management, Jessica Yakeley (2014)