Frotting
Meaning
Frotting is a way of non-penetrative gay sex, when two men are either standing in front of each other, or laying face to face and one is jerking the two penises, which are touching, resulting in a heightened level of stimulation.
It is mostly performed because it is considered a lot safer alternative to penetrative anal sex.
Origin
The debate within the gay community has existed since the 50’s and 60’s if anal sex or frotting is better to be practiced.
The debate heightened again with the appearance of the HIV virus, which meant that penetrative sex poses a much bigger threat that frotting. The term itself was born on internet forums during the 90’s.
While it originates from the French word “frottage” it should not be mixed up, as gays deliberately distinguish frotting to refer especially to phallus to phallus stimulation.
Spread and Usage
The term was already present on Urban Dictionary in 2003, though it is described as “dry humping”.
Since then, more accurate descriptions have been added to the act of frotting.
According to a survey, performed in 2011, frotting is the most common out of 1300 different sexual practices.
It is still most oblivious to people outside of the LGBT community, only encountered on sites centered on queer sexual practices.
External References
- Urban Dictionary – Frot