Oral sex

Oral sex, sometimes referred to as oral intercourse, is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a person by another person using the mouth (including the lips, tongue, or teeth). Cunnilingus is oral sex performed on the vulva while fellatio is oral sex performed on the penis.^[1]^[2] Anilingus, another form of oral sex, is oral stimulation of the anus.^[1]

Oral sex may be performed as foreplay to incite sexual arousal before other sexual activities (such as vaginal or anal intercourse),^[1]^[3] or as an erotic and physically intimate act in its own right.^[1]^[2] Like most forms of sexual activity, oral sex can pose a risk for contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs). However, the transmission risk for oral sex, especially HIV transmission, is significantly lower than for vaginal or anal sex.^[4]^[5]^[6]

Oral sex is often regarded as taboo,^[1] but most countries do not have laws which ban the practice. Commonly, people do not think of oral sex as affecting the virginity of either partner, though opinions on the matter vary.^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10] People may also have negative feelings or sexual inhibitions about giving or receiving oral sex, or may flatly refuse to engage in the practice.^[1]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Janell L. Carroll (2009). Sexuality Now: Embracing Diversity. Cengage Learning. pp. 265–267. ISBN 978-0-495-60274-3. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
^ ^a ^b Wayne Weiten; Margaret A. Lloyd; Dana S. Dunn; Elizabeth Yost Hammer (2008). Psychology Applied to Modern Life: Adjustment in the 21st century. Cengage Learning. p. 422. ISBN 978-0-495-55339-7. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
^ "What is oral sex?". NHS Choices. NHS. January 15, 2009. Archived from the original on October 1, 2010.
^ "Global strategy for the prevention and control of sexually transmitted infections: 2006–2015. Breaking the chain of transmission" (PDF). World Health Organization. 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 23, 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
^ Dianne Hales (2008). An Invitation to Health Brief 2010-2011. Cengage Learning. pp. 269–271. ISBN 978-0-495-39192-0. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
^ William Alexander; Helaine Bader; Judith H. LaRosa (2011). New Dimensions in Women's Health. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. p. 211. ISBN 978-1-4496-8375-7. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
^ See here Archived December 1, 2016, at the Wayback Machine and pages 47-49 Archived December 1, 2016, at the Wayback Machine for views on what constitutes virginity loss and therefore sexual intercourse or other sexual activity; source discusses how gay and lesbian individuals define virginity loss, and how the majority of researchers and heterosexuals define virginity loss/"technical virginity" by whether or not a person has engaged in penile-vaginal sex. Laura M. Carpenter (2005). Virginity Lost: An Intimate Portrait of First Sexual Experiences. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-1652-6. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
^ Bryan Strong; Christine DeVault; Theodore F. Cohen (2010). The Marriage and Family Experience: Intimate Relationship in a Changing Society. Cengage Learning. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-534-62425-5. Retrieved October 8, 2011. Most people agree that we maintain virginity as long as we refrain from sexual (vaginal) intercourse. But occasionally we hear people speak of 'technical virginity' [...] Data indicate that 'a very significant proportion of teens ha[ve] had experience with oral sex, even if they haven't had sexual intercourse, and may think of themselves as virgins' [...] Other research, especially research looking into virginity loss, reports that 35% of virgins, defined as people who have never engaged in vaginal intercourse, have nonetheless engaged in one or more other forms of heterosexual sexual activity (e.g., oral sex, anal sex, or mutual masturbation).
^ Sonya S. Brady & Bonnie L. Halpern-Felsher (2007). "Adolescents' Reported Consequences of Having Oral Sex Versus Vaginal Sex". Pediatrics. 119 (2): 229–236. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.321.9520. doi:10.1542/peds.2006-1727. PMID 17272611. S2CID 17998160.
^ Blank, Hanne (2008). Virgin: The Untouched History. Bloomsbury Publishing US. p. 253. ISBN 978-1-59691-011-9. Retrieved October 8, 2011.

[Carroll-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Janell L. Carroll (2009). Sexuality Now: Embracing Diversity. Cengage Learning. pp. 265–267. ISBN 978-0-495-60274-3. Retrieved August 29, 2013.

[Weiten-2] Wayne Weiten; Margaret A. Lloyd; Dana S. Dunn; Elizabeth Yost Hammer (2008). Psychology Applied to Modern Life: Adjustment in the 21st century. Cengage Learning. p. 422. ISBN 978-0-495-55339-7. Retrieved February 26, 2011.

[NHS-3] "What is oral sex?". NHS Choices. NHS. January 15, 2009. Archived from the original on October 1, 2010.

[WHO-4] "Global strategy for the prevention and control of sexually transmitted infections: 2006–2015. Breaking the chain of transmission" (PDF). World Health Organization. 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 23, 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2011.

[Hales-5] Dianne Hales (2008). An Invitation to Health Brief 2010-2011. Cengage Learning. pp. 269–271. ISBN 978-0-495-39192-0. Retrieved August 29, 2013.

[Alexander-6] William Alexander; Helaine Bader; Judith H. LaRosa (2011). New Dimensions in Women's Health. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. p. 211. ISBN 978-1-4496-8375-7. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved August 29, 2013.

[Carpenter-7] See here Archived December 1, 2016, at the Wayback Machine and pages 47-49 Archived December 1, 2016, at the Wayback Machine for views on what constitutes virginity loss and therefore sexual intercourse or other sexual activity; source discusses how gay and lesbian individuals define virginity loss, and how the majority of researchers and heterosexuals define virginity loss/"technical virginity" by whether or not a person has engaged in penile-vaginal sex. Laura M. Carpenter (2005). Virginity Lost: An Intimate Portrait of First Sexual Experiences. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-1652-6. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2011.

[Intimate-8] Bryan Strong; Christine DeVault; Theodore F. Cohen (2010). The Marriage and Family Experience: Intimate Relationship in a Changing Society. Cengage Learning. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-534-62425-5. Retrieved October 8, 2011. Most people agree that we maintain virginity as long as we refrain from sexual (vaginal) intercourse. But occasionally we hear people speak of 'technical virginity' [...] Data indicate that 'a very significant proportion of teens ha[ve] had experience with oral sex, even if they haven't had sexual intercourse, and may think of themselves as virgins' [...] Other research, especially research looking into virginity loss, reports that 35% of virgins, defined as people who have never engaged in vaginal intercourse, have nonetheless engaged in one or more other forms of heterosexual sexual activity (e.g., oral sex, anal sex, or mutual masturbation).

[Brady-9] Sonya S. Brady & Bonnie L. Halpern-Felsher (2007). "Adolescents' Reported Consequences of Having Oral Sex Versus Vaginal Sex". Pediatrics. 119 (2): 229–236. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.321.9520. doi:10.1542/peds.2006-1727. PMID 17272611. S2CID 17998160.

[Blank-10] Blank, Hanne (2008). Virgin: The Untouched History. Bloomsbury Publishing US. p. 253. ISBN 978-1-59691-011-9. Retrieved October 8, 2011.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]