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==Comparison to anal sex==
==Comparison to anal sex==
===Preferences===
===Preferences===
Some gay men, or [[men who have sex with men]] in general, prefer to engage in frot or other forms of [[mutual masturbation]] because they find it more pleasurable and/or more affectionate than [[anal sex]], to preserve [[technical virginity]], or as [[safe sex]] alternatives to anal penetration,<ref name=Advocate.com/><ref name="Perez">{{cite book | author =Joe Perez|title=Rising Up|isbn=1411691733, 9781411691735|publisher=Lulu.com|year=2006|pages=248|accessdate=March 24, 2011|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=caJ7gPv0DrAC&pg=PA191&dq=en&ei=z7-KTcKuC66L0QHfiOnTDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Bill%20Weintraub%20anal%20sex&f=false}}</ref><ref name="Virgin">{{cite book|first=Michael|last=Joseph Gross|title = Like a Virgin|id = 0001-8996|publisher=''[[The Advocate]]'', Here Publishing|year=2003|pages=104 pages, Page 44|accessdate=2011-03-12|url=http://books.google.com/?id=eWQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA44&dq=Gay+men+who+prefer+anal+sex#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref><ref name="Johnson and Johnson">{{cite book|title=Gay Perspective: Things Our Homosexuality Tells Us about the Nature of God & the Universe|isbn = 1590210158, 9781590210154 |publisher=Lethe Press|year=2008|pages=264|accessdate=2011-02-12|url=http://books.google.com/?id=LPyhsuVbUlAC&pg=PA139&dq=en#v=onepage&q&f=false | author =Edwin Clark Johnson, Toby Johnson}}</ref><ref name="Underwood">{{cite book | author =Steven Gregory Underwood|title =Gay men and anal eroticism: tops, bottoms, and versatiles|isbn = 1560233753, 9781560233756|publisher=Psychology Press|year=2003|pages=225|accessdate=2011-02-12|url=http://books.google.com/?id=i4wRl0_8NuUC&pg=PA4&dq=#v=onepage&q&f=false }}</ref><ref name="Ramone Johnson">{{cite news|first=Ramone|last=Johnson|title=Myth: All Gay Men Have Anal Sex|publisher=[[About.com]]|date=2008-04-12|accessdate=2011-02-12|url=http://gaylife.about.com/b/2008/04/12/myth-all-gay-men-enjoy-anal-sex.htm}}</ref> while other frot advocates denounce anal sex as an unnecessary health risk and degrading to the receptive partner.<ref name=Advocate.com/><ref name="Perez"/><ref name=gaytoday.badpuppy.com>{{cite web
Some gay men, or [[men who have sex with men]] in general, prefer to engage in frot or other forms of [[mutual masturbation]] because they find it more pleasurable and/or more affectionate than [[anal sex]], to preserve [[technical virginity]], or as [[safe sex]] alternatives to anal sex,<ref name=Advocate.com/><ref name="Perez">{{cite book | author =Joe Perez|title=Rising Up|isbn=1411691733, 9781411691735|publisher=Lulu.com|year=2006|pages=248|accessdate=March 24, 2011|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=caJ7gPv0DrAC&pg=PA191&dq=en&ei=z7-KTcKuC66L0QHfiOnTDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Bill%20Weintraub%20anal%20sex&f=false}}</ref><ref name="Virgin">{{cite book|first=Michael|last=Joseph Gross|title = Like a Virgin|id = 0001-8996|publisher=''[[The Advocate]]'', Here Publishing|year=2003|pages=104 pages, Page 44|accessdate=2011-03-12|url=http://books.google.com/?id=eWQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA44&dq=Gay+men+who+prefer+anal+sex#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref><ref name="Johnson and Johnson">{{cite book|title=Gay Perspective: Things Our Homosexuality Tells Us about the Nature of God & the Universe|isbn = 1590210158, 9781590210154 |publisher=Lethe Press|year=2008|pages=264|accessdate=2011-02-12|url=http://books.google.com/?id=LPyhsuVbUlAC&pg=PA139&dq=en#v=onepage&q&f=false | author =Edwin Clark Johnson, Toby Johnson}}</ref><ref name="Underwood">{{cite book | author =Steven Gregory Underwood|title =Gay men and anal eroticism: tops, bottoms, and versatiles|isbn = 1560233753, 9781560233756|publisher=Psychology Press|year=2003|pages=225|accessdate=2011-02-12|url=http://books.google.com/?id=i4wRl0_8NuUC&pg=PA4&dq=#v=onepage&q&f=false }}</ref><ref name="Ramone Johnson">{{cite news|first=Ramone|last=Johnson|title=Myth: All Gay Men Have Anal Sex|publisher=[[About.com]]|date=2008-04-12|accessdate=2011-02-12|url=http://gaylife.about.com/b/2008/04/12/myth-all-gay-men-enjoy-anal-sex.htm}}</ref>.
| last = Nichols
| first = Jack
| title = Interview: Cockrub Warrior Bill Weintraub
| publisher = Gay Today
| date =
| url = http://gaytoday.badpuppy.com/garchive/interview/120400in.htm
| accessdate =April 26, 2010}}</ref><ref name="out.com">{{cite news|first=Tom|last=Dolby|title=Why Some Gay Men Don't Go All The Way|publisher=''[[Out (magazine)|Out]]''|date=February 2004|accessdate=2011-02-12|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=jmIEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA77&dq=en&ei=P55WTZv8BILagAffxOz9DA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CEUQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref> Gay activist Bill Weintraub, who runs the sites HeroicHomosex.com and Man2manalliance.org, is one of the more vocal frot advocates<ref name=Advocate.com/><ref name="out.com" /> and insists frottage is "hotter" because anal sex "cannot give you the same experience as direct genital-on-genital sex."<ref name=Advocate.com/>

Gay men (and MSM in general) who prefer anal sex may view it as "[their] version of intercourse"<ref name="dailyuw.com">{{cite web|first=Celia|last=Hunko|title=Anal sex: Let’s get to the bottom of this |publisher=[[The Daily of the University of Washington]]|date=February 6, 2009|accessdate=April 26, 2010|url=http://dailyuw.com/2009/2/6/anal-sex-lets-get-bottom/}}</ref> and as "the natural apex of sex, a wonderful expression of intimacy, and a great source of pleasure..."<ref name="Johnson and Johnson"/> The insertive partner is referred to as the ''[[Top, bottom and versatile#Top|top]]'' or ''active'' partner. The man being penetrated is referred to as the ''[[Top, bottom and versatile#Bottom|bottom]]'' or ''passive'' partner. Preference for either is referred to as ''[[Top, bottom and versatile#Versatile|versatile]]''.<ref name="Underwood">{{cite book | author =Steven Gregory Underwood|title =Gay men and anal eroticism: tops, bottoms, and versatiles|isbn = 1560233753, 9781560233756|publisher=Psychology Press|year=2003|pages=225|accessdate=2011-02-12|url=http://books.google.com/?id=i4wRl0_8NuUC&pg=PA4&dq=#v=onepage&q&f=false }}</ref><ref>[http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Role+versatility+among+men+who+have+sex+with+men+in+urban+Peru.-a0168586762] Role versatility among men who have sex with men in urban Peru. In: ''The Journal of Sex Research,'' August 2007</ref> Psychologist Walt Odets said, "I think that anal sex has for gay men the same emotional significance that vaginal sex has for heterosexuals."<ref name=Advocate.com/> The act is generally viewed as [[vanilla sex]] among MSM,<ref> [http://www.bmj.com/cgi/reprint/318/7181/452.pdf British Medical Journal definition]</ref> and is often thought to be expected, even by MSM who do not prefer the act.<ref name="out.com"/> "Some people like [anal] because it seems taboo or naughty," stated author and sex therapist Jack Morin. "Some people like the flavor of dominance and submission... some don’t."<ref name=dailyuw.com/>


===Debates===
===Debates===

Revision as of 18:45, 25 March 2011

File:Frottage2.jpg
Artist's rendering of two men frotting.

Frot is a slang term derived from frottage (ult. from the French verb frotter, "to rub") describing a form of non-penetrative male/male sex that usually but not always involves direct penis-to-penis contact.

The term "frot" was originally popularized by gay male activists who disparaged the practice of anal sex. The term evolved to encompass a variety of preferences for the act, which may or may not imply particular attitudes towards other sexual activities.

Owing to its non-penetrative character, frot has the safe sex advantage of minimizing the transmission risk for HIV/AIDS,[1] and may also help to lower the risk of certain other sexually transmitted infections, without the inconvenience of purchasing condoms and condom-safe lubricants.

Concept and etymology

Genito-genital sex or genital-genital (GG) sex is a physically descriptive term for sex in which there is contact between the genitals, in the same naming convention as "genital-anal sex" and "genital-oral sex".[2] This type of sexual intimacy is not restricted to humans. "GG rubbing" is a term frequently used by primatologists to describe tribadism among female bonobos,[3][4] and is sometimes used in reference to "GG rubbing" among bonobo males, under the colorful term "penis fencing." Thus, the physical act described by the term "frot" -- i.e., penis-to-penis rubbing between males -— is thought, according to some evolutionary theory, to have existed before the development of hominids into humans and bonobos, and may or may not have occurred in the homosexual activity of both of these genetically related species.[5]

As a modern concept that describes a specific activity among men who have sex with men (MSM), the term "frot" emerged in a context of a debate about the status of anal sex within the gay male community; some in the anti-anal, pro-frot camp insist that anal sex ought to be avoided altogether.[6] Another view argued that the popularity of anal sex would decline (presumably with a corresponding drop in HIV rates) if gay men could somehow be persuaded to stop thinking of anal sex as a "vanilla" practice, but rather as something "kinky" and not-quite-respectable—as was the case in the 1950s and 1960s, when homosexual men who preferred to do only mutual masturbation and fellatio sometimes used the mildly disparaging slang term "brownie queen" for aficionados of anal sex., "The 1950s and early 1960s were big on oral sex. People who invited anal sex were called by a pejorative name, 'brownie queens'. ... I vividly remember many gay men in those days gossiping with [the phrase 'brownie queen']." [7]

Before frot came into use as a specific term for this act, the available alternatives included frictation (though fricate can refer to any genital friction, including frottage, coitus and masturbation), and frontism. Frot was at some point shortened from the term "frottage" (rhyming with "massage"), a more generic and unisex term for various types of non-penetrative genital rubbing.

While it is possible that frottage in the unisex sense of "non-penetrative sexual rubbing" was casually shortened to frot by many anonymous individuals over the years, gay activist Bill Weintraub began to heavily promote and recommend the gender-specific meaning of "penis-to-penis rubbing" on Internet forums sometime in the late 1990s. On the basis of this, Weintraub has said that he coined the term frot. "I don't use the word 'frottage,' because it is an ersatz French word which can indicate any sort of erotic rubbing," he stated. "Frot, by contrast, is always phallus-to-phallus sex." Weintraub believes that is what actual sexual intimacy is – genital-genital contact.[8]

Synonyms

Slang terms for frot include "cock rub," "bumping dicks," "knocking cocks," "tummy stix," "sword-fighting", "Oxford style", "Princeton rub", and "Ivy League rub".[8]On the Internet, the slang term "g0y" (spelled with the numeral zero) is sometimes used to describe a man who has sex with men but tends to abstain from anal sex and has a preference for frot.

Sexual practices

General

Frot can be enjoyable because it mutually and simultaneously stimulates the genitals of both partners as it tends to produce pleasurable friction against the frenulum nerve bundle on the underside of each man's penile shaft, just below the urinary opening (meatus) of the penis head (glans penis). The lesbian form is referred to as tribadism, a term derived from the Greek word for "rub" and that was historically used interchangeably with lesbian.[9] According to this way of looking at things, penetration, including anal penetration, is "male-defined" sexuality.[10]

Similarly, the term "frictation" can refer to the wider meaning of "frottage"[11] but it can also describe penis-penis sex specifically.[12]

Partly because the word "frottage" was potentially ambiguous as a descriptive term for various permutations of non-penetrative sex in male/female and female/female contexts, and partly because frottage was sometimes stigmatized as "only foreplay" or "a substitute for the real thing", some MSM writers began using and recommending the shortened form "frot" with the specifically intended meaning of penis-to-penis sex as a favorite or even preferred act. That is, the short form carried implicit encouragement for men who had sex with men to "choose frot".

Safe sex

Since frot is a non-penetrative sex act, the risk of passing a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that requires direct contact between the mucous membranes and pre-ejaculate or semen is reduced. Notably, HIV is among the diseases that require such direct contact, and is therefore very unlikely (but possible) to be transmitted via frot.[13] However, frot can still transmit other sexually transmitted infections, such as HPV the viruses causing genital herpes and genital warts, either of which can lead to serious health problems.

Comparison to anal sex

Preferences

Some gay men, or men who have sex with men in general, prefer to engage in frot or other forms of mutual masturbation because they find it more pleasurable and/or more affectionate than anal sex, to preserve technical virginity, or as safe sex alternatives to anal sex,[6][14][15][16][17][18].

Debates

There is some debate in the gay male community, and among MSM in general, regarding what constitutes "real sex" or the most sensual expression of sexual intimacy. Some frot advocates view "two genitals coming together by mingling, caressing, sliding" and rubbing as "sex" more than other forms of bodily pleasuring.[14][19][7] Others associate male masculinity with the sexual positions of "tops" and "bottoms" during anal sex,[20] with some frot advocates insisting that it introduces inequality during sexual intimacy, and that frottage is "equal" because of mutual genital-genital stimulation.[19][7] This view of dominance and inequality associated with sex roles is disputed by researchers, who state that it is not clear that specific sexual acts are necessarily indicative of general patterns of masculinity or dominance in a gay male relationship, and that, for both partners, anal intercourse can be associated with being masculine.[20]

Additionally, some frot advocates, such as Weintraub, are concerned with diseases that may be acquired through anal sex.[7][14][21] In The Advocate, in 2005, one opponent of anal sex supported no longer depicting anal sex as erotic to help avoid the transmission of AIDS. "It's truly unfortunate that some folks perceived [me] to be antigay when nothing could be more pro-gay than keeping gay and bisexual men alive and healthy," he stated.[6]

The view that anal sex is something that should be discouraged is not supported by all frot supporters. Author Joe Perez states that Weintraub and his followers have "gone overboard" in their enthusiasm for frot by claiming that supporting frot means disowning anal sex or that the latter is "inherently degrading, unnatural, or disease-spreading." He says Weintraub and his supporters' views should be taken "with a grain of salt if you can" and that he hopes for more inclusive frot communities.[14]

Gay men who defend the essential validity of anal sex have rejected most of the claims made by radical frot advocates. Others have at times disparaged frottage as a makeshift, second-rate form of male/male intimacy — something better left to inexperienced teenagers and "closeted" older men.[8] Odets said, "No one would propose that we initiate a public health measure by de-eroticizing vaginal sex. It would sound like a ridiculous idea. It's no less ridiculous for gay men."[6]

Occurrence among male bonobos and other animals

Genital-genital rubbing has been observed between males in regards to other animals as well. The homosexual activities of bonobos are of special interest because of their genetic closeness to humans; however, despite their genetic similarity, bonobo sexuality has been described as "not driven by orgasm or seeking release. Nor is it often reproductively driven. Sex for a bonobo is casual, it's quick".[22] Among bonobos, frot frequently occurs when two males hang from a tree limb and engage in penis fencing. Frot also occurs while two males are in missionary position. A special form of frot called "rump rubbing" in which males stand back to back on all fours and rub their genito-anal regions together.[23]

Frot-like genital rubbing between non-human males has been observed among bull manatees, in conjunction with "kissing". Bottlenose dolphins have been observed rubbing their genitals against the genital area of other males often leading to the penetration of the genital slit, or less commonly the anus.[23] Other forms of frot are also common among homosexually active mammals.[24] Most species of bird do not possess a penis; for those animals, the distinction between penetrative and non-penetrative sex does not exist, though mounting and insemination are common aspects of avian homosexuality even when a phallic organ is not present.

See also

References

  1. ^ http://aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/prevention/reduce-your-risk/sexual-risk-factors/
  2. ^ "Safer Sex for Women who Have Sex with Women". LGBT Health Channel. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ de Waal FB (1995). "Bonobo sex and society" (reprint). Sci Am. 272 (3): 82–8. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0395-82. PMID 7871411. Perhaps the bonobo's most typical sexual pattern, undocumented in any other primate, is genito-genital rubbing (or GG rubbing) between adult females. One female facing another clings with arms and legs to a partner that, standing on both hands and feet, lifts her off the ground {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  4. ^ Paoli T, Palagi E, Tacconi G, Tarli SB (2006). "Perineal swelling, intermenstrual cycle, and female sexual behavior in bonobos (Pan paniscus)". Am J Primatol. 68 (4): 333–47. doi:10.1002/ajp.20228. PMID 16534808. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ M., Hodge (2000). "The Evolution of Human Homosexual Behavior". Current Anthropology: 385. ISBN 1-0768-88-1. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ a b c d "The New Sex Police". The Advocate. 2005-04-12. Retrieved 2011-02-12. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ a b c d Nichols, Jack. "Interview: Cockrub Warrior Bill Weintraub". Gay Today. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  8. ^ a b c Piepenburg, Erik (February 2006). "What's Rub Got to Do With it?". Out. Retrieved 2011-02-18. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ archives.xtra.ca
  10. ^ www.thefword.org.uk
  11. ^ "Aaron's Dictionary of Gay Terms, F". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  12. ^ "sex-lexis.com's Dictionary of sexual terms, entry for "frictation"". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ Kelly, Jeffrey A (October 1995). "Advances in HIV/AIDS education and prevention". Family Relationship. 44 (4). National Council on Family Relations: 345–352. doi:10.2307/584989. JSTOR 584989. ISSN: 0197-6664. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  14. ^ a b c d Joe Perez (2006). Rising Up. Lulu.com. p. 248. ISBN 1411691733, 9781411691735. Retrieved March 24, 2011. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
  15. ^ Joseph Gross, Michael (2003). Like a Virgin. The Advocate, Here Publishing. pp. 104 pages, Page 44. 0001-8996. Retrieved 2011-03-12. {{cite book}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ Edwin Clark Johnson, Toby Johnson (2008). Gay Perspective: Things Our Homosexuality Tells Us about the Nature of God & the Universe. Lethe Press. p. 264. ISBN 1590210158, 9781590210154. Retrieved 2011-02-12. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
  17. ^ Steven Gregory Underwood (2003). Gay men and anal eroticism: tops, bottoms, and versatiles. Psychology Press. p. 225. ISBN 1560233753, 9781560233756. Retrieved 2011-02-12. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
  18. ^ Johnson, Ramone (2008-04-12). "Myth: All Gay Men Have Anal Sex". About.com. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
  19. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference out.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ a b John H. Harvey, Amy Wenzel, Susan Sprecher (2004). The handbook of sexuality in close relationships. Routledge. p. 686. ISBN 0805845488,9780805845488. Retrieved 2011-03-12. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ Edward C. Green (2011). Broken Promises: How the AIDS Establishment Has Betrayed the Developing World. PoliPointPress. p. 288. ISBN 1936227002, 9781936227006. Retrieved March 24, 2011. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
  22. ^ www.ishipress.com/sci-bono.htm
  23. ^ a b community-2.webtv.net/headbands/GAYANIMALS/index.html
  24. ^ Bagemihl, Bruce. Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity. St. Martin's Press, 1999.

Further reading

  • B. Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity (1999)
  • Olivia Judson., Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation (2002)