Here's How To Incorporate Food During Sex If You're Down To Get Messy

Whether it's crushing a pizza while marathoning your favorite TV show or a breakfast-in-bed surprise from your partner, eating in bed is nothing short of decadent. Still, none of these scenarios are as indulgent as food play — an even more satisfying treat. If you're wondering what food play is, exactly, certified sexologist Tyomi Morgan tells Elite Daily it's "any situation where food is used in an erotically-charged way." This falls under the fetish category "wet-and-messy play," which incorporates wet or slushy substances into sex. You can use anything from lube, body paint, and massage oil, to a few key items in your refrigerator.

Beyond whipped cream, you may be familiar with food play in the form of candy lingerie, or the flirty act of sucking alcohol from someone's navel (aka, "body shots"). Even if you haven't personally experimented with food during sex, pop culture is ripe with edible sex appeal. Peaches are no longer innocent after that scene in Call Me By Your Name. Lil Wayne redefined lollipops with his 2008 hit, Rihanna solidified the double meaning of "cake," and fans will never forget Lana Del Rey's declaration that her "p*ssy tastes like Pepsi-Cola." If reminiscing on these iconic culinary moments gives you a tingle, here's what you should know about getting into food play.

How do you incorporate food into sex?

When figuring out how to approach food play, it's helpful to consider what makes it such a turn-on. "Some people are visually stimulated by the look of their partner's body being covered in textures they already enjoy. Others enjoy the feeling of wet or messy foods gliding across the skin," Morgan tells Elite Daily.

According to Dr. Sherry A. Ross, an OB-GYN, health expert, and author of She-ology: The She-quel, wetness can be a turn-on for almost anyone. "It helps you move more easily on your partner’s body during any sexual activity," Ross tells Elite Daily. These acts can also feel rebellious because playing with food is typically off-limits. Remember when parents and teachers chastised you for fiddling with your meals as a kid?

"Playing in or with something that is considered taboo or forbidden heightens arousal for some," Morgan adds. "Deriving pleasure from things that are typically not viewed as sex objects has an appeal in itself." So, how do you go about engaging in this erotic rebellion? You and your partner can take turns feeding each other, you can stimulate your erogenous zones with food, and finally, you can eat food off each other's bodies.

Erogenous zones include common areas like the mouth, neck, ears, and back. She also recommends exploring your partner's underarms, the soles of their feet, their wrists, and the area behind their knees. "Fleshier erogenous zones that present more surface area, like the chest, the belly, or the booty, can be used as stimulating serving platters when eating food off of each other," Morgan says.

What foods should you use?

Certain foods are already considered sexy for a number of reasons. "Fruits that resemble genitalia are considered aphrodisiacs, and typically contain properties that benefit the libido in some fashion," Morgan explains. Think: cherries and strawberries implying testicles and ovaries, or whipped cream alluding to semen.

But beyond their lascivious connotations, these foods, including condiments like chocolate syrup, rile people up because they're sweet and easy to lick. Morgan suggests using dessert toppings — especially the squeezable kind — for easy application. Ross suggests grapes and peaches. Both sexperts are in favor of melon in the bedroom.

Don't be afraid to think outside the box, too. You might not need to make an extra grocery store run to stock up on supplies. Morgan recommends parsley as a tickling device, or checking out the infamous grapefruit technique video that went viral in 2014. Just be careful — acid can make peeing painful down the line for your penis-owning partner. "Sushi can be eaten off of the body, nyotaimori style," Morgan adds. "The possibilities are endless."

What else should you keep in mind?

First and foremost, you and your partner should be conscious of any food allergies. There's nothing sexy about anaphylactic shock. Second, make sure to keep food out of and away from the vagina or anus. Food that enters the latter can cause irritation or swelling, and toppings like whipped cream and chocolate syrup can upset the vagina's pH balance, which can cause a yeast or bacterial infection.

"Sugar or dairy doesn't belong in warm, dark environments inside of the body," Morgan says. It's for this reason she suggests creating a plastic wrap barrier on the vulva if someone wants to lick a sweet topping off that area. Avoid alcohol, spicy peppers, and hot sauce, too, "unless you're into feeling the pain of the burning sensation," Morgan adds. Last but not least, Ross says to be mindful of coconut oil, because it can deteriorate latex condoms.

The whole point of food play is to get gooey and sticky, so a joint shower afterward is ideal. Make sure you discuss logistics and safety ahead of time as well. Lay out any allergies and decide what the cleanup situation will be. (Do you want to put down a towel? Do you want to play on the floor?) Once these preliminary conversations take place, you can relax and focus on becoming or devouring a sexy, sticky feast.

Maybe you give food play a shot and find that eating strawberries and licking caramel off your partner's back does nothing for you. On the other hand, the feeling of your partner sensually drizzling honey onto your body may become your favorite guilty pleasure. Perhaps using food during sex will serve as a gateway to extra slippery lube sessions, or super soapy shower sex. No matter how you slice it, your foray into wet and messy play will provide you with plenty of food for thought.

Experts

Tyomi Morgan, certified sexologist

Dr. Sherry A. Ross, OB-GYN, health expert, and author of She-ology: The She-quel