Are blowjobs “anti-feminist?”

A young man I know was on the feministing.com blog and by clicking through a series of links, he apparently came across an article on this theme, and then, asked me what I thought.
I read some of the literature and was shocked that nobody was really mentioning what I thought was perhaps the core issue: blowjobs are not inherently anti-feminist, but the fact that oral sex is so infrequently reciprocated in heterosexual relationships probably is.
There is a certain generation of people, I would venture to say perhaps 25 and younger (although that boundary is fuzzy) for whom fellatio is not and has not been especially taboo: the generation of people about whom TIME and Newsweek articles are written, proclaiming with statistics meant to unnerve the middle-age readership about X% of girls under the age of 14, 15, 16, etc. who have given oral sex.
It would seem that, for this generation, fellatio is “third base” of heterosexual relationships; some logical interim between fondling and sex.
I would contend, perhaps, that this is true because men feel more entitled than women do to sexual pleasure.


Among those young women who give but do not receive oral sex, I assume that there is a general awareness that the act of cunnilingus would be physiologically pleasurable. If they don’t ask, its because they feel ashamed, embarrassed or awkward.
One girl I know explained it like this: “I don’t really know what I’m supposed to be doing while I’m being out…just lay there twiddling my thumbs?”
I can’t really imagine a guy saying the same thing about receiving a blowjob, can you?
Men don’t seem to question what they ought to be doing, because for them, receiving sexual attention seems completely natural.
If women have been socialized to always be “giving”–giving to their friends, giving to their families, and giving in relationships–it is surprising that they’re less that comfortable in action where they only receive?
Another plausible reason exists as to why men feel more entitled to receiving sexual pleasure.
If we accept as true that men climax more readily than women (this would of course be true in missionary position “vanilla” sex, if the woman is given no special attention), then it might follow that men expect, and in turn, feel entitled to climax in any giving love-making session, whereas women would more frequently hold the attitude that they may or may not climax, even if their partner is being very attentive.
I genuinely believe that if women felt comfortable with their bodies, and comfortable being paid attention to, that they would ask for and receive oral sex in the same way that men do.
I don’t buy that a physical act can be inherently demeaning, in isolation from its social implications.

Disclaimer: This post was written by a Feministing Community user and does not necessarily reflect the views of any Feministing columnist, editor, or executive director.

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