Sexologist Gigi Engle has said sales of tentacle-shaped sex toys are rising among women, tracing the trend to fantasies about sea creatures and snakes, according to the British publication Metro.
Engle told Metro that the fetish's popularity stems from a wish to imagine oneself entirely under the control of another creature, giving the appeal of tentacles a psychological root distinct from the shape of the toy itself.
Engle is a sexologist and sex educator whose commentary is regularly featured in British and American media covering sexual health and relationships.
Fantasy, not literal desire
Engle said such fantasies do not need to be taken literally. For many people, she said, they become a way of exploring role-play scenarios built around domination and the loss of control.
She added that people are capable of eroticizing the most unexpected images, so unusual fantasies like this one are not, on their own, especially surprising.
Role-play in a sexual context generally refers to acting out a scenario or persona with a partner, a practice sex therapists say can help some people feel safe exploring desires they would not act on in daily life. Fantasies involving submission to another being are a well documented theme in research on sexual fantasy, and often fall under what specialists describe as power exchange, a dynamic central to much of kink culture.
Tentacle erotica's long history
Fascination with tentacles as an erotic image is not new. The imagery has appeared for decades in art, literature and animation, most notably in a genre of Japanese erotic art often referred to as tentacle erotica, and has since crossed into western pop culture and product design, including intimate toys marketed around the shape.
Metro, the British free newspaper and news website, regularly publishes interviews with sexologists and relationship experts on sexual wellness topics.
Other advice from sexologists
Engle's comments follow remarks from sexologist Dmitry Gukhman, who earlier named positions he said could help women reach what he called hyperorgasm. Gukhman recommended the cowgirl position, in which the woman sits astride her partner, as the best way to achieve maximum pleasure.
