Word of the Week - Frottage

FROTTAGE!

A couple of weeks ago, I was reading along in a nice AH E/B fic (OK, maybe 'nice' isn't the right word. Age of Consent involves a 26 year old Edward and a 16 year old Bella, and LittleSecret84 moved it to ADF before she got thrown off FFnet, but that is neither here nor there. It's a good story. Well, so far, anyway. I haven't finished it yet.)

And I wondered, WTF? Because, so far in this fic, the grammar had been great, the spelling had been great, content great, and the author hadn't been the type to just pull words out of thin air - or her ass. So I figured this must be a real word.

Edward, from Age of Consent : “Well, I've never actually done this with this level of premeditation before,” I admit. I don’t think a lot of people just wake up and think, it’s a beautiful day for some frottage.

A word referring to a sexual act. The act I was familiar with, the word not so much. Not at all, in fact. So I checked dictionary.com. Sure enough, there's frottage in all its glory. Dry humping. There is actually a proper term, a technical term, for dry humping. Who knew? Not me. Fellatio? Yep. Cunnilingus? Check. Frottage? Nada. Of course, nobody actually USES those words...well, not normally...when referring to those acts. But the first two you at least see - in print and occasionally spoken. The last one was totally new. And I don't live in a cave, people. I read fanfic, where NOTHING is sacred (glares at Maj. Still thinking about Diaperward, Maj).

Part of me was shocked that there was a 'real' word I didn't recognize or know (I'm not counting slang, here). Part of me was pleased because there's not much new under the sun, and I like to learn something new every day. Especially words.

I ran it up the flagpole with the other Lambs. Two of them had heard it, two hadn't (appeared to be along age lines, but I don't want to think about that...). And one...well, one was too busy cursing at something else to answer my inquiry. At least I no longer felt like a sexually repressed nun.

Tina graciously sent along a link she'd immediately gone out and found for me, “Frottage Among Friends”, by aseriesofhellos. Another fine example of the activity, and the word is part of the title!

It's an act that's in a lot of the stories we read and write. In fact, since I discovered the word for it, it seems to be popping up in every fic I read lately. Apparently a lot of authors have fond memories of it, based on how much their characters are enjoying it. And now I have a 'real' word to go with the act.

Frottage. Frottage. Frottage. Maybe we SHOULD wake up and think, “It's a beautiful day for some frottage!”

Of course, if you're in a (*cough* 'long term' *cough*) relationship already, it might be a bit difficult to convince your mate of that...but give it a try anyway. Make it more enticing by initiating it in public, up against a wall maybe, at the office, or in the front seat of your car at the local grocery store.

And, in case you don't have a good mental image in your head of frottage, here's something Maj found for me. It MORE than makes up for the whole Diaperward incident (I can say that because I never actually READ that story. Those of you who did...well, this won't erase the experience, but maybe it will help a little bit...):