Editing Fellatio (section)

==Cultural views==

===Virginity===

Oral sex is commonly used as a means of preserving [[virginity]], especially among heterosexual pairings; this is sometimes termed ''[[technical virginity]]'' (which additionally includes anal sex, [[Non-penetrative sex#Manual sex|manual sex]] and other [[non-penetrative sex]] acts, but excludes penile-vaginal sex).<ref name="Carpenter"/><ref name="Intimate"/><ref name="Brady"/><ref name="Plummer">{{cite book | author = Ken Plummer | title = Modern Homosexualities: Fragments of Lesbian and Gay Experiences | publisher = [[Routledge]] | year = 2002 | pages = 187–191 | access-date = August 24, 2013 | isbn = 978-1-134-92242-0 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=OSO3q4XEfz4C&pg=PA189 | quote = The social construction of 'sex' as vaginal intercourse affects how other forms of sexual activity are evaluated as sexually satisfying or arousing; in some cases whether an activity is seen as a sexual act at all. For example, unless a woman has been penetrated by a man's penis she is still technically a virgin even if she has had lots of sexual experience. | archive-date = March 18, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150318215831/http://books.google.com/books?id=OSO3q4XEfz4C&pg=PA189 | url-status = live }}</ref> The concept of "technical virginity" or [[sexual abstinence]] through oral sex is particularly popular among teenagers in the United States,<ref name="Brady"/><ref name="CDC, oral sex"/><ref name="Jayson">{{cite news|first=Sharon|last=Jayson|title='Technical virginity' becomes part of teens' equation|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|date=2005-10-19|access-date=2009-08-07|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-10-19-teens-technical-virginity_x.htm|archive-date=2011-04-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428054421/http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-10-19-teens-technical-virginity_x.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> including with regard to teenage girls who not only fellate their boyfriends to preserve their virginities, but also to create and maintain intimacy or to avoid pregnancy.<ref name="Brady"/> Other reasons given for the practice among teenage girls are peer-group pressure and as their introduction to sexual activity.<ref name="Brady"/> Additionally, gay males may regard fellatio as a way of maintaining their virginities, with penile-anal penetration defined as resulting in virginity loss, while other gay males may define fellatio as their main form of sexual activity.<ref name="Carpenter"/><ref name="Virgin"/>

===Legality===
{{See also|Islamic views on oral sex}}

Fellatio is legal in most countries. Laws of some jurisdictions regard fellatio as [[Sexual penetration|penetrative sex]] for the purposes of [[Sex and the law|sexual offenses]] with regard to the act, but most countries do not have laws which ban the practice, in contrast to anal sex or [[extramarital sex]]. In [[Islam]]ic literature, the only forms of sexual activity that are consistently explicitly prohibited within marriage are anal sex and sexual activity during menstruation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.understanding-islam.com/q-and-a/social-issues/regarding-oral-sex-5555 |title=Regarding 'Oral Sex' |publisher=Understanding-islam.com |access-date=2013-03-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130218214658/http://www.understanding-islam.com/q-and-a/social-issues/regarding-oral-sex-5555 |archive-date=2013-02-18 }}</ref> However, the exact attitude towards oral sex is a subject of disagreements between modern scholars of Islam. Authorities considering it "objectionable" do so because of the penis' supposedly impure fluids coming in contact with the mouth.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zawaj.com/articles/fatwa_oral_desai.html |title=Articles and Essays |publisher=Zawaj.Com |access-date=2010-03-19 |archive-date=2018-10-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004154700/http://www.zawaj.com/articles/fatwa_oral_desai.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Others emphasize that there is no decisive evidence to forbid oral sex.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503543892 |title=Islam's Stance on Oral Sex - IslamonLine.net - Ask The Scholar |publisher=IslamonLine.net |access-date=2010-03-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100324080602/http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Islamonline-English-Ask_Scholar%2FFatwaE%2FFatwaE&cid=1119503543892 |archive-date=2010-03-24 }}</ref>

In [[Malaysia]], fellatio is illegal, but the law is seldom enforced. Under Malaysia's Section 377A of the Penal Code, the introduction of the penis into the anus or mouth of another person is considered a "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" and is punishable with imprisonment of 20 years maximum and whipping.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Star (Malaysia)|The Star]]|date=March 1, 2009|access-date=December 9, 2010|url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/3/1/focus/3375398&sec=focus|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622074655/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2009%2F3%2F1%2Ffocus%2F3375398&sec=focus|archive-date=June 22, 2011|title=Illegal but not abnormal}}</ref>

===Tradition===
[[File:Depiction of fellatio on Attic red-figure kylix, c. 510 BC.jpg|thumb|180px|Depiction of fellatio on Attic red-figure kylix, c. 510 BC]]
Galienus called fellatio ''lesbiari'' since women of the island of [[Lesbos]] were supposed to have introduced the practice of using one's lips to give sexual pleasure.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/priap/prp105.htm |title=Priapeia, translated by Leonard Smithers and Richard Francis Burton: Irrumation |publisher=Sacred-texts.com |access-date=2010-03-19 |archive-date=2011-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514230255/http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/priap/prp105.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:KamaSutra08.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Oral sex depicted in the ''[[Kama Sutra]]'']]
The [[India|Ancient Indian]] ''[[Kama Sutra]]'', dating from the first century AD, describes oral sex,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kamashastra.com/kama209.htm |title=The actual kama sutra or kamasutra: Part II: On Sexual Union: Chapter IX. On Holding the Lingam in the Mouth by Kamashastra |publisher=Kamashastra.com |access-date=2010-03-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100313043325/http://www.kamashastra.com/kama209.htm |archive-date=2010-03-13 }}</ref> discussing fellatio in great detail (the ''Kama Sutra'' has a chapter on {{lang|sa-Latn|auparishtaka}} (or {{lang|sa-Latn|oparishtaka}}), "mouth congress")<ref name=Badger>{{cite web |url=http://badgerherald.com/artsetc/2003/04/09/the_ageold_question_.php |title=The age-old question: Spit or swallow? |date=9 April 2003 |publisher=The Badger Herald |access-date=2010-03-19 |archive-date=2011-09-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928073425/http://badgerherald.com/artsetc/2003/04/09/the_ageold_question_.php |url-status=live }}</ref> and only briefly mentioning [[cunnilingus]]. However, according to the ''Kama Sutra'', fellatio is above all a characteristic of [[eunuch]]s (or, according to other translations, of [[effeminacy|effeminate homosexuals]] or [[trans woman|trans women]] similar to the modern [[Hijra (South Asia)|Hijra]] of India), who use their mouths as a substitute for female [[sex organ|genitalia]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Penrose |first=Walter |date=2001 |title=Hidden in History: Female Homoeroticism and Women of a "Third Nature" in the South Asian Past |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3704787 |journal=Journal of the History of Sexuality |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=3–39 |doi=10.1353/sex.2001.0018 |jstor=3704787 |issn=1043-4070}}</ref>

[[Vātsyāyana]], the author of the ''Kama Sutra'', states that it is also practiced by "unchaste women", but mentions that there are widespread traditional concerns about this being a degrading or unclean practice, with known practitioners being evaded as love partners in large parts of the country. The author appears to somewhat agree with these attitudes, claiming that "a wise man" should not engage in that form of intercourse while acknowledging that it can be appropriate in some unspecified cases.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bastia |first=Binaya Kumar |date=2006 |title=Socio-cultural aspect of sexual practices and sexual offences – An Indian scenario |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1353113106000344 |journal=Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine |language=en |volume=13 |issue=4 |pages=208–210 |doi=10.1016/j.jcfm.2006.02.002|pmid=16564197 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nag |first=Moni |date=1996 |title=Paradox of eroticism and sexual abstinence in Hindu culture |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/11287462.1996.10800961 |journal=Global Bioethics |language=en |volume=9 |issue=1–4 |pages=171–185 |doi=10.1080/11287462.1996.10800961 |issn=1128-7462}}</ref>

The [[Moche culture]] of ancient [[Peru]] depicted fellatio in their ceramics.<ref>Berrin, Katherine & Larco Museum. ''The Spirit of Ancient Peru:Treasures from the [[Larco Museum|Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera]].'' New York: [[Thames & Hudson]], 1997.</ref>

In some cultures, such as [[Cambodia]], [[Overseas Chinese|Chinese]] in [[Southeast Asia]], northern [[Manchu people|Manchu]] [[tribe]]s along [[Amur River]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KlMLAQAAMAAJ&q=%E6%BB%A1%E6%97%8F%E7%9A%84%E7%A4%BE%E4%BC%9A%E7%BB%84%E7%BB%87|title=Social Organization of the Manchus: a study of the Manchu clan organization (Chinese Translation)|author=Sergeĭ Mikhaĭlovich Shirokogorov|translator-last=Gao|translator-first=Bingzhong|others=corrected by Liu Xiaomeng|year=1997|publisher=Commercial Press|location=Shanghai|isbn=978-7-100-01912-5|pages=1, 12–13|access-date=2017-11-01|archive-date=2022-01-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125035706/https://books.google.com/books?id=KlMLAQAAMAAJ&q=%E6%BB%A1%E6%97%8F%E7%9A%84%E7%A4%BE%E4%BC%9A%E7%BB%84%E7%BB%87|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Sambia people|Sambians]] in [[Papua New Guinea]], [[Thailand]], [[Telugu people|Telugus]] of [[India]], [[Native Hawaiians]] and other [[Pacific Islander]]s, briefly taking the penis of a male infant or toddler into one's mouth was considered a nonsexual form of affection or even a form of [[ritual]], [[greeting]], [[respect]], parenting love, or [[lifesaving]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vMaNCgAAQBAJ&q=Telugu+baby+penis&pg=PA575|title=Introduction to Maternity and Pediatric Nursing|author=Gloria Leifer|year=2014|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|isbn=978-1-4557-7015-1|page=575|access-date=2020-10-25|archive-date=2022-01-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125035737/https://books.google.com/books?id=vMaNCgAAQBAJ&q=Telugu+baby+penis&pg=PA575|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EwY_AQAAIAAJ|title=Social Organization of the Manchus: a study of the Manchu clan organization|author=Sergeĭ Mikhaĭlovich Shirokogorov|year=1924|publisher=Ardent Media|isbn=978-0-404-56946-4|pages=122, 123|access-date=2020-06-07|archive-date=2020-07-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731153328/https://books.google.com/books?id=EwY_AQAAIAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sWboBAAAQBAJ&q=Banoi++genitals&pg=PA36|title=Parenting for a Peaceful World|author=Robin Grille|year=2014|publisher=New Society Publishers|isbn=978-1-55092-581-4|page=36|access-date=2020-10-25|archive-date=2022-01-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125035707/https://books.google.com/books?id=sWboBAAAQBAJ&q=Banoi++genitals&pg=PA36|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Abnormal">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SXvyCAAAQBAJ&q=chinese+fellatio+culture&pg=PA375|title=Normal and Abnormal Behavior in Chinese Culture: Volume 2 of Culture, Illness and Healing|author1=A. Kleinman|author2=T.Y. Lin|year=2013|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-94-017-4986-2|page=375|access-date=2020-10-25|archive-date=2022-01-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125035708/https://books.google.com/books?id=SXvyCAAAQBAJ&q=chinese+fellatio+culture&pg=PA375|url-status=live}}</ref> According to some sources, it was an ancient [[Chinese culture|Chinese custom]] for grandmothers, mothers, and elder sisters to calm their baby boys with fellatio.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lCA1kKWEw-EC&q=chinese+fellatio+boy&pg=PA63|title=Night Thoughts: Reflections of a Sex Therapist|author=Avodah K. Offit|year=1995|publisher=Jason Aronson, Incorporated|isbn=978-1-4616-2975-7|page=63|access-date=2020-10-25|archive-date=2022-01-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125035708/https://books.google.com/books?id=lCA1kKWEw-EC&q=chinese+fellatio+boy&pg=PA63|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-sZrAAAAMAAJ&q=Masturbation:+from+infancy+to+senescence |title=Masturbation: from infancy to senescence |author1=Irwin M. Marcus |author2=John J. Francis |year=1975 |publisher=International Universities Press |isbn=978-0-8236-3150-6 |page=371 |access-date=2017-11-02 |archive-date=2022-01-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125035753/https://books.google.com/books?id=-sZrAAAAMAAJ&q=Masturbation%3A+from+infancy+to+senescence |url-status=live }}</ref> It has also been reported that some modern Chinese mothers have performed fellatio to their moribund sons as affection and means for lifesaving, because they culturally believe that when the penis is completely retracted into the abdomen, the boy or man will die.<ref name="Abnormal"/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TUXzCQAAQBAJ&q=chinese+fellatio+boy&pg=PA8|title=Vietnamese Traditional Medicine: A Social History|author=C. Michele Thompson|year=2015|publisher=NUS Press|isbn=978-9971-69-835-5|page=375|access-date=2020-10-25|archive-date=2022-01-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125035712/https://books.google.com/books?id=TUXzCQAAQBAJ&q=chinese+fellatio+boy&pg=PA8|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tA9sAAAAMAAJ&q=chinese+mother+boy+fellatio+abdomen |title=Handbook of Anxiety: Biological, clinical, and cultural perspectives |author1=Martin Roth |author2=Russell Noyes |year=1988 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-444-90475-1 |page=314 |access-date=2017-11-03 |archive-date=2021-08-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827144406/https://books.google.com/books?id=tA9sAAAAMAAJ&q=chinese+mother+boy+fellatio+abdomen |url-status=live }}</ref>