Sex History: Nine Things You Never Knew About Cunnilingus (Patreon)

Eating vagina has never been more popular than in this day and age. It's not only because Lil Wayne drawls about eating pussy in every other line of his music, but because more and more people are beginning to see it as an essential part of foreplay (and not something filthy or degrading). In this post I decided to delve into the history of cunnilingus. Has it always been accepted? Who was typically doing it back in the day? What are some alternate religious beliefs about cunny? Check out 9 things below that you probably never knew about eating strange. 

1) Many scholars believe the first allusion to cunnilingus was made in Song of Solomon, a book in the bible. The following passage is from Chapter 7, verse one. 
How beautiful your sandaled feet,
O prince's daughter!
Your graceful legs are like jewels,
the work of a craftsman's hands.
Your navel is a rounded goblet
that never lacks blended wine.
You may be wondering which part of that verse equates to eating vagina. Apparently, "Your navel is a rounded goblet that never lacks blended wine" is a polite (and biblical!) way of saying your pussy is always wet.

2) Cunnilingus is offered by "The House Slave Logas" (or Martimus) in the ancient Lupanar of Pompeii, a fully preserved brothel from ancient times. Their services, which include "licking vulvas" was scribbled on the wall for a paltry 4As, which costs no more than a loaf of bread at the time. 

3) There is no set date for when cunnilingus became taboo. But many religions would come to see it as filthy, most prominently Islam and Christianity. Christians condemned cunny because it was seen as a deviant and unnatural sexual act- something that didn't result in a baby. In the 5th century, Augustine declared sex immoral unless used for procreation- effectively placing a "do-not-not-do-or-be-labeled-a-heathen" label on anything other than vaginal penetration. This would affect Cunnilingus's rep for a while. 

4) During the middle ages, cunnilingus continued to be a deviant sexual behavior that was frowned upon and punishable by law. 

5) During the 16th & 17th centuries, people were deathly terrified of washing themselves with water. You can only imagine the smells and odors floating above the bodies of vigorous workers like maids, nannies, and factory workers. While before cunnilingus was considered sexually deviant because it went against God's natural order, it was now considered a "heinous sexual crime" because it defouled the mouth of a man.

6) In the 1833 Judicial case Comer vs State, Georgia court upheld a statute that prohibited cunnilingus being performed by a man by a woman. However, it was not seen as possible for cunnilingus to happen between two women. 

7) There have been more instances in history where lesbian cunnilingus was disregarded as improbable. For example, Queen Victoria dismissed the possibility of female homosexuality when creating moral laws for her kingdom. This would ultimately give birth to a thriving yet secretive underground world of lesbians, in which cunnilingus was called "Tipping the Velvet". 

8) During the 1920's-50's, cunnilingus in porn was almost non existent. In the 1940's and 50's, Alfred Kinsey was conducting his studies on sex. He found that oral sex (including cunnilingus) was much more popular than people thought. This would begin the process of normalization. Also, the term "Giving Head" was coined in the 1950's. 

9) By the 20th Century, cunnilingus was starting to primarily be seen as an acceptable act of foreplay. Though some cultural and religious groups still condemn cunny (fundamentalist religious folk, Caribbean Blacks, and general bums), others have rallied to push the boundaries of cunnilingus by expanding to ass eating or "earning your red wings". What is Earning Your Red Wings? Eating a woman out while she's on her period.