Sex expert reveals rise of new fetish 'vorarephilia' and why the dark trend is becoming more popular

With each year comes an apparent new sex trend, and there's one in particular you'll probably hear more of in 2025.

From gooning and cuckholding, to 'honey packets' containing tadalafil being sold online to supposedly improve men's sexual performance (something which the FDA has urged men to stay clear of), there's always something new that people are trying.

To see which kind sex trends are increasing in popularity over the years, a sexpert analyzed five years' worth of Google data, compromising of a whopping 160 million searches.

A sex expert looked at Google searches over the past five years (Getty Stock)

'Dogging' (engaging in sex in public places) has seen a decline in interest of late, while 'cottaging' (having sex in public bathrooms) has also seen a decline, with searches dropping by 70 percent.

These two things might be decreasing in popularity, but other newer fetishes have spiked people's curiosity.

One of these is 'vore' - short for vorarephilia. According to leading sex and relationship expert Rachel Thompson's findings, this has seen a 26 percent increase in searches.

If, like me, you have absolutely no idea what vorarephilia is, the National Library of Medicine says it's 'an infrequently presenting paraphilia, characterized by the erotic desire to consume or be consumed by another person or creature'.

The fetish has seen an increase in searches in recent years (Getty Stock)

Cannibalism is illegal in many countries across the globe. For this reason, this fetish has to remain a fantasy for many.

Speaking on this, Hope Flynn, who is head of content at sexual wellness brand IPlaySafe, told Mail Online: "It's important to know that vore is only fantasy and doesn’t involve real harm or eating.

"There’s a distinction between those who like to consume (predators) and those who like to be consumed (prey)."

She went on: "People with vore fantasies might express themselves through stories, artworks, role-playing, or online discussions and forums like Reddit."

People into vore might express themselves on platforms like Reddit (Getty Stock)

As to why it's increased in popularity, Hope thinks the likes of Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and House of Hammer is part of the reason.

"They both condone literal cannibalistic love or elements of it," she said of the two TV shows.

And vore isn't the only unexpected fetish people have; some also get turned on by fictional characters.

As part of Pornhub's year in review, the adult content site revealed which film and TV characters are most searched for.

DC Comics' Harley Quinn came out on top, with Star Wars, Game of Thrones, Avatar, and Harry Potter making up the rest of the top five.