Examining the present set of narratives gathered together under a single theme – oralism – one cannot fail to be impressed with the wide-ranging changes in attitude that have led to the current sexual revolution among young people. The general acceptance of oralism and other extra vaginal (or non-genital-to-genital) means of attaining sexual satisfaction has been attested to by the current popularity of marriage manuals and other sources of sex education in which these practices are rather prominently featured.
These changes, bolstered thus by the proliferation of sex education manuals and other educational aids, have led to what many consider a complete reversal of sexual attitudes, as Albert Ellis observes in the Encyclopedia of Sexual Behavior:
As we enter the closing phases of the twentieth century, a curious semireversal of the Eastern and Western attitudes toward coitus seems to be taking place. At least, among the highly educated, intelligent, and widely read classes of English-speaking society, an unusually liberal attitude toward extravaginal coital relations has been and is still spreading: so that it may be confidently predicted that by the close of the present century an individual in these classes will be considered neurotically inhibited and to some degree sexually deviated if he does not at times spontaneously and joyously engage in all forms of heterosexual coitus, vaginal as well as nonvaginal.
The objective observer may well wonder what the future holds if this prediction becomes even partially true. How will the eyes of the future look back upon our era of widespread sexual neurosis and psychological conflict? What will they think of the masses of pilgrims wending their way to the offices of psychiatrists and psychologists all over the country? Will even such narratives as the foregoing seem exceptional in their fascination with oral sex? Note that even to Ellis the criterion for sexual health seems to be the exclusivity of nonexclusivity of sexual interest.
It may be then, that there is a gradual relaxation of the more neurotic forms of sexual vigilance working its way through our society and the societies of the Western world in general. It was not so long ago, in Victorian England, that the mention of such parts of the body as the arm or the leg brought shocked amazement at a mixed gathering. The taboos of that period have been relaxed to a substantial degree in the present day. It should not take much imagination to postulate the further alteration of ingrained sexual taboos as the world moves on.
However, even with the relaxation of sexual prejudice and the improvement of scientific and psychological techniques for the investigation of human sexual behavior, it cannot be assumed that topics such as oral sex will be accepted quickly and without reservation throughout the general public. As always, the advancement of knowledge will proceed in slow, steady steps.