Making out

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For the television series, see Making Out.

In human sexuality, making out is a sexual euphemism[1] of American origin dating back to at least 1949, and is used synonymously with the terms "necking," "petting," and "hooking up".[2] Making out covers a wide range of sexual behavior,[3] and means different things to different age groups in different parts of the U.S.[1] It typically involves kissing,[4] including prolonged, passionate kissing (also known as French kissing), intimate contact, including heavy petting, that is, skin-to-skin contact,[1] or other forms of foreplay.[5] Making out is usually considered an expression of affection or sexual attraction to a current or prospective sexual partner. An episode of making out is frequently referred to as a make-out session or a make-out sesh depending on the speaker's vernacular.

Studies indicate that at the beginning of the 20th century, premarital sex increased, and with it, petting behavior in the 1920s and 1930s. By the postwar period, necking and petting became accepted behavior as long as the partners were dating.[6]

The perceived significance of making out may be affected by the age and relative sexual experience of the participants. Teenagers sometimes play party games in which making out is the main activity as an act of exploration. Games in this category include Seven minutes in heaven and Spin the bottle. Teenagers are also known to have social gatherings in which making out is the predominant event. In the United States, these events were referred to as "make-out parties" and would sometimes be confined to a specific area called the "make-out room."

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[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Lief, Harold I. (1975). Medical Aspects(in other words SEX) of Human Sexuality: 750 Questions Answered by 500 Authorities. Williams & Wilkins. p. 242. "Among the city kids of 13 to 17 who live along the Boston, New York, Philadelphia string, "making out" is heavy petting." 
  2. ^ Partridge, Eric (2006). The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. New York: Routledge. p. 1259. ISBN 041525938X. 
  3. ^ Lafollette, Hugh (2002). Ethics in Practice. Oxford: Blackwell. p. 243. ISBN 0631228349. ""making out," which can comprise a rather wide variety of activities" 
  4. ^ Bolin, Anne (1999). Perspectives on Human Sexuality. Albany: State University of New York Press. p. 222. ISBN 0791441334. "Making out usually refers to kissing, but it also may escalate into petting." 
  5. ^ Crownover, Richard (2005). Making out in English. Boston: Tuttle Publishing. p. 4. ISBN 0804836817. ""Making out," used in the title of this book is a colloquialism that can mean engaging in sexual intercourse, ..." 
  6. ^ Breines, Wini (2001). Young, White, and Miserable: Growing Up Female in the Fifties. University of Chicago Press. pp. 117–118. ISBN 0226072614. 

[edit] External links

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