For years, media headlines have been screaming that everyone is into oral sex. But it’s only recently that we’ve started to see the research results to back this claim. According to a newly published study out of the University of Alberta, oral sex has become quite the common activity for young Canadian women.

Every participant who reported having had sexual intercourse also reported having engaged in oral sex, though interviews with the lead researcher, Brea Malacad, do not clarify if this is oral action is giving, receiving, or both. The research, published in the European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care, further showed that about half of respondents see oral sex as less intimate than sexual intercourse, though 41 percent find the sex acts equally intimate. What surprised Malacad was the fact that most young women enjoyed oral sex, reporting having mostly positive emotions about the act, with over 30% feeling powerful when performing fellatio.

Whether you’re male or female, going down on a man or woman can invite some of the most intense sexual experiences. For many women, having someone perform cunnilingus on them is their only means or the most effective means to realizing orgasm. This is in large part because the clitoris receives ample attention and can be effectively stimulated quite easily. For many men, having a nice, hot, wet mouth on their genitals, lips tightening around their pride and joy, is an experience like no other. Then there’s the matter of “hero worship” both genders are rather fond of.

For those with disability or chronic illness, oral sex can be an excellent way of staying intimate while getting around a lot of issues that get in the way of other types of sex. If you’re low on energy, have issues with spasticity, lubrication, or erections, or find penetration or thrusting difficult and uncomfortable, oral sex is one way to provide intense pleasures.   

Considered by many to be the most intimate sexual act both physically and emotionally, partners get off on tasting, smelling, and seeing each other in the most up close and personal way. The receiver thrives off of being doted on, while the giver can take great joy in making sure that their lover feels absolutely amazing.

While the prevalence of sexual activity, in general, declines with age, a significant number of men and women still engage in oral sex, amongst other sexual behaviors, even into their eighties and nineties. A 2007 AARP Modern Maturity Sexuality Survey of 1,384 individuals 45 and older found that age itself has the greatest impact on the frequency of oral sex for men and women. Greater physical satisfaction with the relationship was also found to be associated with more frequent oral sex for women. Men and women in shorter relationships were also found to engage in more frequent oral sex than those in long-term relationships.

Such blows away negative stereotypes regarding sexual inactivity in getting older. It further shows that oral is officially a part of many lovers’ sexual repertoires, putting it back in the bedroom as a revered celebration of sexual pleasuring, as it was amongst some of Earth’s earliest people for centuries.