Mike Phillips

The many tongues of love

INTRODUCTION

Oral-genital intercourse has been practiced since primeval times. In the Orient, thousands of years of oral-genital activity have resulted in the development of fellatio as an art. African natives, at least those as yet untouched by all of "modern" society's mores, find great interest in all forms of sexual stimulation and gratification, with the exception of the universal incest taboo. This applies as well to their counterparts in all the less "civilized" areas of the world.

However, members of civilized society indulge in oralism as well, and in a few countries in the Western world can do so freely. According to the laws of the United States, however, oral-genital sexual activity is strictly illegal, and, therefore, unethical and immoral. Morality is certainly not something which can be legislated, and oralism between consenting sexual partners cannot be termed unethical. That such laws have been established is proof of the horror with which many members of our society, composed of various ethnic groups, view oral sexuality, and this horror can no doubt be traced to guilt feelings resulting from inhibited sexual development. In Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, Freud points out the remarkable dichotomy regarding the use of the mouth as a normal sexual variation:

"The use of the mouth as a sexual organ is regarded as a perversion if the lips (or tongue) of one person are brought into contact with the genitals of another, but not if the mucous membranes of the lips of both of them come together."

Those people who would experience real disgust at the thought of giving or receiving fellatio or cunnilingus, an act between two mucous membranes, in this case the mouth and genital, would think nothing of giving or receiving a passionate mouth-to-mouth kiss, which is a purely conventional meeting of two mucous membranes.

Subjectively, sexual activity, both infantile and mature, is connected with pleasure sensations which are different, in kind and intensity, from any other forms of gratification. And the very earliest pleasure sensations came from the mouth. The forerunner of fellatio was the mother's breast, and, when the breast was removed, the thumb filled the void nicely, and baby was a self-contained sexual being, simultaneously self-stimulating and self-satisfying.

This satisfaction from sucking is removed from the first use of the mouth and tongue, namely nourishment, and becomes sensual for its own pleasure alone. It is a pleasurable enough experience to repeat often throughout life, and is obviously a universal characteristic.

While the openness with which people discuss their sexual activities and preferences varies from society to society, the activities themselves do not. Ethnic differences have as far as can be determined by the statistics at hand, no bearing on the relationship between sexual activity and oral-genital sexuality.

Religious differences, however, most certainly serve to influence sexual practices. The Amish and Quaker people are raised to view sexual activity as an adjunct to procreation only. Foreplay and sexual variation are unthinkable.

Conversely, Buddhists and their cultures arising there from pay special attention to schooling woman to serve man sexually to the best of her ability. It is a logical progression that fellatio is a learned skill in these cultures. In Japan, sexual attitudes have become so liberalized that, for the past twenty years, no stigma has attached to a bride for having formerly been a prostitute.

Muhammed, founder of Islam, so idolized woman that he attempted to raise her to a pedestal above man. However, in reality, the Islamic woman is regarded as little more than a sex object, and no concern is shown for her sexual enjoyment. Richard von Krafft-Ebing, in Psychopathia Sexualis, notes that: