Fellatio, Cunnilingus, and Hand-Genital Contacts

Abstract

One measure of the important changes that have evolved in the ways in which human sexuality may be expressed is the change, since the 1950s, in attitudes toward such practices as fellatio and cunnilingus. Although some older people, and those who are more puritanical, conservative, or less educated, still view these forms of sexual expression as “perverted,” “dirty,” or abnormal, many Americans today consider them perfectly normal, good, and even quite pleasurable. However, compared to other forms of sexual behavior, fellatio or cunnilingus is not as widely accepted, even by college students (Croake and James, 1973, pp. 91–96). Since there is still no majority public acceptance of oral-genital contacts, a woman’s practice of these techniques and her emotional acceptance of them as valid tend to reveal a great deal about her sexual self.