Robert Stark

Jan 15, 2024

Oral sex was taboo throughout much of Western History for cultural and religious reasons, as sex was considered to be purely about reproduction. Not to mention that bathing was not widespread for much of history. In his 2000 study, The Social Organization of Sexuality, sexual behaviorist E. O. Laumann assessed that there was a big jump in oral sex right around the time when the Baby Boomers started hooking up. However, Laumann also theorized that oral sex became more popular in the 1920s. Regardless, oral sex was not commonly referenced in cinema until the 90s, with even 80s movies having to rely upon innuendo.

Oral sex is spiritually neoliberal because it is hierarchical yet transactional, and a non-reproductive Malthusian ritual, in which sex is totally detached from reproduction. Plus oral sex was first normalized amongst the LGBTQ and sex workers. Under neoliberalism everything is about consumption and transactions rather than creation, and oral sex fits in with that, just with bodily fluids. The Clintonian approach to oral sex (that it was not actually sex) was the late 90s catchphrase, and reflected the neoliberal 90s zeitgeist, epitomizing nihilism and hedonism. Today oral sex can be a metaphor for the gig economy, as well as OnlyFans, and online grifters. The online slang term, “bl-wjob kings,” describes those who expect your subscriptions and engagements, but there is zero reciprocation and their substance is nothing but metaphorical goo.

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