# I could eat her right up - what is this phenomenon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 28, 2006, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-eat-her-right-up-what-is-this-phenomenon/366432 "2006-07-28T18:09:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2006, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-eat-her-right-up-what-is-this-phenomenon/366432/1 "2006-07-28T18:09:00Z")
Sometimes when I see something that is super, overly cute, like a puppy cocking its head, or a kitten stalking a toy, I get this urge where I physically want to bite it and put it in my mouth. It is so so bizarre, I feel it with my baby sometimes too. I have this overwhelming desire where I feel like, if I could, I would actually put him in my mouth. What the hell is that? I assume I am not the only one who that happens to and that is why people say “I could eat you with a spoon” or whatever. Is that some remnant from a bizarre instinct or what? Why do I want to put cute things in my mouth? Is there a name for that feeling? ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-eat-her-right-up-what-is-this-phenomenon/366432/2 "2006-07-28T18:28:52Z")
> [@Velma](#): > > Sometimes when I see something that is super, overly cute, like a puppy cocking its head, or a kitten stalking a toy, I get this urge where I physically want to bite it and put it in my mouth. It is so so bizarre, I feel it with my baby sometimes too. I have this overwhelming desire where I feel like, if I could, I would actually put him in my mouth. What the hell is that? > > I assume I am not the only one who that happens to and that is why people say “I could eat you with a spoon” or whatever. Is that some remnant from a bizarre instinct or what? Why do I want to put cute things in my mouth? Is there a name for that feeling? My WAG would be that it’s just a result of “cute” being too close to “delicious” in ones brain. “Sweet” isn’t both a taste and a more general adjective by accident, but as long as you don’t actually eat your babies, you’re probably normal. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2006, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-eat-her-right-up-what-is-this-phenomenon/366432/3 "2006-07-28T18:29:19Z")
I can’t believe there have only been 2 views of this so far 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2006, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-eat-her-right-up-what-is-this-phenomenon/366432/4 "2006-07-28T18:40:16Z")
I could just sop you up with a biscuit. You are just so yummy and so, so sweet. ---
**Author:** ![Hugh\_Jass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4da419/32.png) [@Hugh\_Jass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hugh_Jass)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2006, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-eat-her-right-up-what-is-this-phenomenon/366432/5 "2006-07-28T18:42:23Z")
Wow. This has occured to me as well, but I was too embarrassed to tell anyone. So that means I’m not the only one. I wonder if kissing is a sublimated form of this desire? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2006, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-eat-her-right-up-what-is-this-phenomenon/366432/6 "2006-07-28T18:45:29Z")
Pica (I know, I know, Just seemed to fit the description, on a medical level anyways. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2006, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-eat-her-right-up-what-is-this-phenomenon/366432/7 "2006-07-28T19:39:07Z")
> [@Hugh Jass](#): > > Wow. This has occured to me as well, but I was too embarrassed to tell anyone. So that means I’m not the only one. > > I wonder if kissing is a sublimated form of this desire? No, you are not the only one…certainly with babies. Just about every parent I know has wanted to “nibble” on the baby’s foot. I don’t know why, but I definitely did, and I still say “she’s so cute I could eat her up.” ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2006, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-eat-her-right-up-what-is-this-phenomenon/366432/8 "2006-07-28T20:02:50Z")
In the South, grandmothers appear to beleive that their grandchildren are made of sugar, as in, “Come give granny some sugar”, which translates as a request for a kiss. I don’t know if this has anything to do with the OP, but there it is. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2006, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-eat-her-right-up-what-is-this-phenomenon/366432/9 "2006-07-28T20:22:46Z")
This might explain the Direct TV commercial with Mike Myer’s Fat Bastard wanting to eat Mini Me. “Get in ma belleh!!!” Not exactly the same thing, but when I see something cute and especially if I’m thinking of my own precious kitties, I find myself involuntarily gritting my teeth; thus the phrase “so cute it makes my teeth hurt”. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2006, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-eat-her-right-up-what-is-this-phenomenon/366432/10 "2006-07-28T20:24:12Z")
Dude, just Google “erotic biting.” I’m a slightly repressed biter myself. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Carnacki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Carnacki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnacki)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2006, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-eat-her-right-up-what-is-this-phenomenon/366432/11 "2006-07-28T20:27:30Z")
I wonder if I’m the only person to whom this sounds extremely bizarre. Is this one of those urges that is usually containable, until you get several shots of hard liquor in you and all inhibitions go out the window? Or is it one of those urges that you are never in danger of acting upon? ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2006, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-eat-her-right-up-what-is-this-phenomenon/366432/12 "2006-07-28T20:27:48Z")
Just to elaborate (sorry for the BTB posts), it’s a fairly well-known subculture. Very popular among gothy teens, but it’s hardly restricted to them. There are groups out there on the internet devoted to it…I won’t say “support groups,” since they aren’t exactly trying to quit. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2006, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-eat-her-right-up-what-is-this-phenomenon/366432/13 "2006-07-28T20:29:58Z")
Cannibalism? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Carlyjay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Carlyjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carlyjay)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2006, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-eat-her-right-up-what-is-this-phenomenon/366432/14 "2006-07-28T20:41:48Z")
Same thing as in Punch Drunk Love, where they say to each other, “You’re so cute I want to punch you again and again”, “you’re so cute I want to rip your cheeks off and eat them”, etc. “Cuteness” creates an urge to rend, bite, tear, etc. I have no idea why. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2006, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-eat-her-right-up-what-is-this-phenomenon/366432/15 "2006-07-28T20:46:47Z")
Well it seems like french kissing also plays into this, and oral sex. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2006, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-eat-her-right-up-what-is-this-phenomenon/366432/16 "2006-07-28T21:16:53Z")
> [@Velma](#): > > Sometimes when I see something that is super, overly cute, like a puppy cocking its head, or a kitten stalking a toy, I get this urge where I physically want to bite it and put it in my mouth. It is so so bizarre, I feel it with my baby sometimes too. I have this overwhelming desire where I feel like, if I could, I would actually put him in my mouth. What the hell is that? > > I assume I am not the only one who that happens to and that is why people say **“I could eat you with a spoon”** or whatever. Is that some remnant from a bizarre instinct or what? Why do I want to put cute things in my mouth? Is there a name for that feeling? As in a **"Dish."** ---
**Author:** ![Lama\_Pacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Lama\_Pacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lama_Pacos)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2006, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-eat-her-right-up-what-is-this-phenomenon/366432/17 "2006-07-28T21:21:52Z")
> [@](#): > > I wonder if I’m the only person to whom this sounds extremely bizarre. No, I’ve never heard of this either. It fascinates me to what a degree we really know only about ourselves. ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2006, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-eat-her-right-up-what-is-this-phenomenon/366432/18 "2006-07-28T21:34:44Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Not exactly the same thing, but when I see something cute and especially if I’m thinking of my own precious kitties, I find myself involuntarily gritting my teeth; thus the phrase “so cute it makes my teeth hurt”. Yes, that’s it too. It’s not an erotic thing at all, it happens mostly with fuzzy baby animals and cute people babies. I don’t identify with the actual biting erotic subculture or whatever. It’s not linked to sex for me, it is very linked to cuteness, although babies seems to be a key aspect too, so maybe it is some kind of protective instinct there? Like if I see a baby chubby cheek or leg I want to kiss it, so that’s maybe the first part, cute=go to my mouth. I have the instinct to nibble on baby feet as well. But I swear it is the weirdest thing, I would just chomp him all up if I could. ok, do I sound like a total freak yet? I really thought this was much more common than what others here seem to think. I may have to slink away for a few days. Please don’t slowly back away while calling the authorities. I know this sounds like some kind of bizarro sex thing but I swear it is not. I never have the urge to say, perform oral sex, the way this urge hits (much to my husband’s chagrin, I am sure.) But maybe if male genitalia was much, much cuter…ok let’s not go there. ---
**Author:** ![samm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/858c86/32.png) [@samm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samm)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2006, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-eat-her-right-up-what-is-this-phenomenon/366432/19 "2006-07-28T21:41:31Z")
I hope someone comes up with an explanation for this because I’ve noticed it too. Not just biting/eating, but if I look at a baby bunny (for example) I will want to pick it up and squish it so hard and squeeze its guts out. Sometimes it even makes my fingers curl. Don’t worry **KidScruffy** , I would never do this, no matter how drunk/high I got. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2006, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-eat-her-right-up-what-is-this-phenomenon/366432/20 "2006-07-28T21:51:24Z")
Acute dingoism. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-eat-her-right-up-what-is-this-phenomenon/366432.md?page=2)