Only recently has oral sex gotten its head out of the gutter. Once seen as a dirty and loathsome act, in the past few decades oral sex’s image has been refined and is now not only socially acceptable, but comparatively innocuous in relation to ‘real sex.’ Viewed as foul, those who practiced fellatio or cunnilingus in ancient Rome were thought to have bad breath and were even considered a public health risk. Further, to go down on someone in that time was considered a submissive act, thereby it was only acceptable for a man to receive fellatio from a woman or a man of low standing, such as a slave. It was considered abominable for a man to perform oral sex, implying that he was being penetrated, or dominated.

The Indian Kama Sutra also notes that oral sex was a practice of eunuchs and “unchaste women.” Conversely, Tang Dynasty’s Empress Wu, an early feminist and the only woman to reign in imperial China, insisted that government officials and visiting dignitaries perform cunnilingus on her to signify female empowerment and her own supremacy. However, her brazen sexuality and her great power shocked Confucian moralists. Oral sex remained a taboo in many cultures, including western nations until very recently. As society continued to discuss and tolerate a more public expression of sexuality, the younger generations have embraced oral sex as another aspect of sexual expression.

Nevertheless, even in the sexually liberal 1960s, oral sex was not prevalent. In 1969, only 48 percent of men and 42 percent of women were having oral sex; those numbers have since skyrocketed with 72 percent of men and 71 percent of women engaging in fellatio or cunnilingus. What caused such a dramatic change? "In previous generations, oral sex was considered disgusting," explains Jean Twenge, a psychology professor at San Diego State University and the study’s co-author. This is apparent when one considers how past cultures regarded the genital area as unclean. For the face to have contact with the genitals was degrading and was viewed as not only unhealthy but uncouth.

In the 1960s, oral sex’s lacking popularity is illustrated by its association with an outlaw biker gang: Hell’s Angels. In fact, they wore patches celebrating their counterculture status in relation to the lewd act. Those who wore red wing badges had performed cunnilingus on a woman with her period. If the same act was committed on an African-American woman, they sported black wings. Oral sex was associated with the underbelly of America and therefore not experienced in as wide or mainstream a circle as it is today.

Legally, the United States, as with many other countries around the world, reflected the cultural outlook that oral sex was a practice of degenerates. All states at one time had sodomy laws, which deemed sexual acts deviant because they were not practiced for procreation. In Rhode Island, before these laws—which banned anal and oral sex—were repealed in 1998, they were known as "Abominable and Detestable Crimes Against Nature."

Although most states repealed their statutes beforehand, it was not until 2003 that the U.S. Supreme Court finally declared these invasive laws unconstitutional. At the time of this decision, 15 states had anti-sodomy laws on their books, some threatening up to 10 years in prison. Idaho sentenced offenders anywhere from five years to life.

The Monica Lewinsky scandal visibly juxtaposed public opinion with conservative politician’s outrage at the moral corruption and the antiquated laws that remained on the books but were rarely enforced. The mainstream reaction was relatively unruffled. In fact, Clinton’s approval ratings rose during and after the scandal. Michael Adams, legal counsel for the ACLU's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project, deciphers "the attitude of people in the Clinton case…[as] what consenting adults do in private is of no concern to anyone else."

So, how did oral sex transform itself from a filthy taboo into an innocent act of sexual foreplay? Jean Twenge attempts to explain why oral sex is no longer taboo: “Now young people see it as another way of being sexual. It's also part of the general trend of sexual behavior moving away from marriage and reproduction and toward pleasure." Its increase in practice signifies our society’s more open-minded attitude towards sex and ultimately this open-mindedness will hopefully spur a perspective of equality.

For many men, when their partner swallows their ejaculate, they feel their partner accepts them. Oral sex represents, innately, a deep intimacy that celebrates the body and sexuality of both partners. No longer viewed as degradation, the acceptance of oral sex epitomizes sexual evolution in that it simultaneously expands our feelings toward and knowledge about sex.

With a more sexually open society fostering people’s sexual curiosity and development, the majority have become more comfortable having and discussing oral sex; however, this in no way means that our society no longer views the act as a black-and-white reflection of submission versus domination. Many conservatives have called out in fury over the proliferation of oral sex among teenagers. Most attribute this increase to young men having young women perform the lewd act as dramatized in Paul Riditis’s novel Rainbow Party. Despite the conservative propaganda, it is actually “more common for men to have performed oral sex on women than vice versa.”

Nevertheless, these conservative outcries may not be completely unfounded. Some men do consider receiving oral sex to be uplifting to their self-worth, especially if their partner is physically below them—servicing the man on their knees, believing that they are dominating their partner. The fellatio king himself, Bill Clinton, used a dominance argument reminiscent of the ancient Roman’s perception of oral sex to escape impeachment conviction. Since, as Clinton asserted, these acts were performed on him and not by him, he had been truthful in his claims that he “did not have sexual relations with that woman.”

Clinton is often blamed for influencing the current flippant attitude towards oral sex. And modern teens have adopted, whether directly or not, his thinking. In one study, teenagers surveyed “thought they had lower chances of having a relationship deteriorate, developing a bad reputation, getting into trouble, feeling bad about themselves and feeling guilty if they had oral sex…than if they had vaginal intercourse.”

The younger generation certainly views sex with decreasing temerity and the mere fact that they are more openly discussing their sexuality is a tremendous advancement. Culturally, these teens reflect curiosity and openness to oral sex, something not seen in past generations. However, ignorance remains as 13-14 percent of the teenagers polled were oblivious that Chlamydia and HIV (among other STDs and STIs) can be contracted through oral sex (though it is rare). But the ignorance is not exclusively health related; many still share the Roman supremacy conception. Though oral sex is no longer viewed as dirty in the mainstream, dominance is still bound up in the act. Apparently, a bit more maturation is required, especially when the Californian governor exclaims that “eating isn't cheating.”