Editing Fellatio (section)

==Practice==
===General===
[[File:Édouard-Henri Avril (20).jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Illustration by [[Édouard-Henri Avril]] (1849–1928) depicting fellatio]]

The essential aspect of fellatio is oral stimulation of the penis (including the [[Body of penis|shaft]] and [[Glans penis|glans]]) through sucking with the mouth, use of the tongue for licking, using the lips, or some combination.<ref name="Carroll"/> One method is the sex partner taking the penis into the mouth and moving smoothly up and down to a rhythm while being careful to avoid contact with the teeth.<ref name="Carroll"/> Fellatio also includes oral stimulation of the scrotum, whether licking, sucking or taking the entire scrotum into the mouth.<ref name="Kar"/><ref name="Crooks"/> During the act, [[orgasm]] may be achieved and [[semen]] may be [[Ejaculation|ejaculated]] into the partner's mouth.<ref name="Carroll"/><ref name="Weiten"/> When the penis is thrust into someone's mouth, it is called ''[[irrumatio]]'', though the term is rarely used.<ref name="SL">{{cite web|url=http://www.sex-lexis.com/Sex-Dictionary/irrumatio|title=irrumatio in Sex-Lexis|access-date=2009-07-07|archive-date=2018-09-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930020011/http://www.sex-lexis.com/Sex-Dictionary/irrumatio|url-status=live}}</ref>

Performing fellatio can trigger the [[pharyngeal reflex|gag reflex]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bullough |first1=Bonnie |last2= Bullough|first2= Vern|title = Human Sexuality: An Encyclopedia | publisher = Garland Pub.|year = 1994|access-date = September 14, 2023 |page=427|isbn= 978-0-82407-972-7 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=y5HFtMkmFMYC&dq=%E2%80%9Cfellatio%E2%80%9D+%E2%80%9Cgag+reflex%E2%80%9D&pg=PA427}}</ref> 

It is physically possible for men with sufficient flexibility, penis size, or both, to perform fellatio on themselves as a form of [[masturbation]], in an act called [[autofellatio]]. However, few men possess the flexibility and penis length to safely perform the necessary [[frontbend]].<ref>{{cite book | title=[[Savage Love (book)|Savage Love: Straight Answers from America's Most Popular Sex Columnist]] | publisher=[[Penguin Books]] | author=Savage, Dan | year=1998 | pages=242 | isbn=978-0452278158|author-link=Dan Savage}}</ref>

===Deposition of semen===
{{Further|Semen#Ingestion}}
During fellatio, a partner may ingest semen from the penis. As late as 1976, some doctors were advising women in the eighth and ninth months of pregnancy not to swallow semen lest it induce premature labor, but it was later determined to be safe.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Pregnant Couple's Guide to Sex, Romance, and Intimacy|author1=Sandra Margot |author2=Tonianne Robino |isbn=978-0-8065-2323-1|pages=122–123|year=2002 |publisher=Citadel Press }}</ref>

The receiver of fellatio typically becomes [[sexually aroused]]. Once the prerequisite level of sexual stimulation has been achieved and ejaculation becomes imminent, the semen may be discharged onto his partner. The male may position his penis prior to ejaculation so that semen will be deposited onto his partner's face (known as a "[[facial (sexual act)|facial]]"), or other body part such as their [[pearl necklace (sexual act)|neck, chest]] or breast.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Staff|first1=Dalzell Victor Eds|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mAdUqLrKw4YC&pg=PA1455|title=The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English: J-Z|last2=Partridge|first2=Eric|date=2006|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-25938-5|language=en|access-date=2021-06-02|archive-date=2021-06-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603002407/https://books.google.com/books?id=mAdUqLrKw4YC&pg=PA1455|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Deep-throating===
[[File:Wiki-dthroat (cropped).png|alt=A woman with the full length of a man's penis inside her mouth.|thumb|An illustration of a woman deep-throating a man]]
Deep-throating is a sexual act in which a person takes a partner's entire erect penis into the mouth and throat.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/leonardodavincip00freu_0|title=Leonardo da Vinci: A Psychosexual Study of an Infantile Reminiscence|author=Freud, Sigmund|publisher=Moffat Yard & Company|year=1916|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/leonardodavincip00freu_0/page/39 39]|quote=The situation contained in the phantasy, that a vulture opened the mouth of the child and forcefully belabored it with its tail, corresponds to the idea of fellatio, a sexual act in which the member is placed into the mouth of the woman.|access-date=January 7, 2012}}</ref> The technique and term became popularized by the 1972 [[pornographic]] film [[Deep Throat (film)|''Deep Throat'']].{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}} For deep-throating, the penis must be long enough so that it can reach the back of the receiver's throat.<ref name="Grandma's Sex Handbook 161">{{cite book |author=Wright, Anne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZxVCHdCqOKYC&pg=PA161 |title=Grandma's Sex Handbook |publisher=Intimate Press, USA |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-578-02075-4 |page=161 |access-date=January 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731130558/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZxVCHdCqOKYC&pg=PA161 |archive-date=July 31, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Deep-throating can be difficult because of the natural [[Pharyngeal reflex|gag reflex]] that is triggered when the [[soft palate]] is touched.<ref name="urlMedical Neurosciences">{{cite web|url=http://www.neuroanatomy.wisc.edu/virtualbrain/BrainStem/09NA.html|title=Medical Neurosciences|last1=McDougal|first1=David|last2=Van Lieshout|first2=Dave|publisher=UW-Madison Medical school.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306024508/http://www.neuroanatomy.wisc.edu/virtualbrain/BrainStem/09NA.html|archive-date=March 6, 2012|access-date=January 7, 2012|last3=Harting|first3=John}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://wordnet.princeton.edu/|title=About WordNet - WordNet - About WordNet|date=2010|publisher=Princeton University.|access-date=January 7, 2012|archive-date=February 8, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100208082435/http://wordnet.princeton.edu/wordnet/related-projects/|url-status=live}}</ref> People have different sensitivities to this reflex. With practice, some learn to suppress it. Deep-throating leads to a different kind of sexual stimulation of the penis than regular fellatio: the tongue's movement is restricted during deep-throating and sucking becomes impossible;<ref name="Gentry">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q8qtd61hoB8C&pg=PA260|title=The Bedside Orgasm Book: 365 Days of Sexual Ecstasy|author=Gentry, Cynthia W.|publisher=Fair Winds Press|year=2005|isbn=1-59233-101-7|location=Gloucester, Massachusetts USA|page=260|access-date=January 7, 2012|archive-date=July 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731141337/https://books.google.com/books?id=q8qtd61hoB8C&pg=PA260|url-status=live}}</ref> the tightness of the [[pharynx]] can intensely stimulate the glans of the penis.

===Other aspects===
[[File:Wiki-sixtynine-male.jpg|thumb|250px|An illustration of two men performing fellatio on each other in the [[69 position]]]]
The male receiving fellatio receives direct sexual stimulation, while his partner may derive satisfaction from giving him pleasure. Giving and receiving fellatio may happen simultaneously in sex positions like 69 and [[Group sex#Daisy chain|daisy chain]].

Fellatio is sometimes practiced when vaginal or anal penetration would create a physical difficulty for a sex partner. For example, it may be practiced during pregnancy instead of vaginal intercourse by couples wishing to engage in intimate sexual activity while avoiding the difficulty of vaginal intercourse during later stages of pregnancy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.babycenter.com/400_is-it-safe-to-swallow-semen-during-pregnancy_510175_1000.bc |title=Is it safe to swallow semen during pregnancy? |publisher=BabyCenter |access-date=2010-03-19 |archive-date=2008-02-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215195603/http://www.babycenter.com/400_is-it-safe-to-swallow-semen-during-pregnancy_510175_1000.bc |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

Other reasons why a woman may not wish to have vaginal intercourse include apprehension of losing her virginity or of becoming pregnant,<ref name="Carpenter"/><ref name="Brady"/> or because she may be [[menstruation|menstruating]].