Cunnilingus

Etymology and terminology

The term cunnilingus comes from Latin words for vulva (cunnus) and to lick (lingere). Slang terms include "drinking from the furry cup", "carpet munching", "muff-diving", "giving lip", "lip service", and "tipping the velvet"—the last plucked from Victorian porn by novelist Sarah Waters. In urban communities it is known as "dining at the Y" or "DATY". A performer may be called a cunnilinguist, and ambiguous terms like "getting or giving head" or "going down" are also used.

Practice

General statistics indicate that 70–80% of women require clitoral stimulation to achieve orgasm, and research by Shere Hite reports that most women achieve orgasm easily through cunnilingus due to direct stimulation of the clitoral glans and shaft. The act involves licking the vulva with the tongue, using the lips, or a combination; the nose, chin, and teeth may also be employed. The performer may use fingers to open the labia majora, or the female may separate them herself, and spreading the legs wide usually opens the vulva sufficiently.

The labia minora can be stimulated with lips or tongue, and movements vary in speed, regularity, and firmness. The tongue may be inserted into the vagina, stiffened or moving, and the performer may hum to produce vibration. Women may consider personal hygiene important before oral sex, as poor hygiene can lead to odors and residues.

Autocunnilingus, performing cunnilingus on oneself, is possible only for those with unusual flexibility, such as contortionists. Cunnilingus during menstruation is called "to earn one's red wings", a phrase referencing blood stains shaped like bird wings on the performer's cheeks; the red wing patch was common among Hells Angels by the mid-1960s and continued among biker gangs in the 1980s. Gershon Legman saw the act as a homosocial tie reflecting a belief in the lifegiving powers of blood, while the elder Mirabeau, in his Erotika Biblion of 1783, linked it to submissive worship of the Mother goddess and the Black Mass.

Health aspects

Chlamydia, human papillomavirus (HPV), gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, hepatitis (multiple strains), and other STIs can be transmitted through oral sex. Any exchange of bodily fluids with an HIV-infected person poses a risk, though transmission risk is generally lower for oral sex than for vaginal or anal sex, with HIV transmission considered the lowest risk for oral sex; documented risk for HIV through cunnilingus is lower than for fellatio, vaginal, or anal intercourse. Risk increases if the receiving partner has vulvar wounds or if the giving partner has mouth wounds, open sores, or bleeding gums. Brushing teeth, flossing, or dental work soon before or after performing cunnilingus can cause small mouth scratches that raise transmission chances.

Such contact can also lead to infections from common bacteria and viruses. Medical sources advise barrier methods when a partner's STI status is unknown. Cunnilingus during menstruation is high risk for the performer due to potential high virus concentration in menstrual blood, such as hepatitis B. Links have been reported between oral sex and oral cancer with HPV-infected people; a 2007 study found a correlation between oral sex and throat cancer, attributed to HPV transmission. That study concluded that people with one to five oral sex partners had approximately double the risk of throat cancer compared to those with none, and those with more than five partners had a 250 percent increased risk.

Cultural and religious views

Cultural views on cunnilingus range from aversion to high regard, and it has been considered taboo or discouraged in many cultures. In Taoism, it is revered as a spiritually fulfilling practice believed to enhance longevity. In modern Western culture, oral sex is widely practiced among adolescents and adults.

Most countries do not ban cunnilingus, though some jurisdictions regard it as penetrative sex for sexual offenses. Reasons for dislike or reluctance include beliefs that it is ritually unclean or humiliating. While commonly believed that all women who have sex with women engage in cunnilingus, some lesbian or bisexual women dislike it due to personal experience or psychological factors; others see it as a necessity or defining lesbian sexual activity. Lesbian couples are more likely than heterosexual couples to consider a woman's dislike of cunnilingus a problem and may seek therapy.

Oral sex is often used to preserve virginity, especially among heterosexuals, termed technical virginity; this concept is popular among teenagers. By contrast, lesbian pairings commonly consider oral sex as resulting in virginity loss, though definitions vary. In Taoism, cunnilingus was believed to achieve longevity by preventing semen loss or by ingesting vaginal secretions to conserve qi.