QI am desperately in need of your help. After eight years of marriage, it turns out that the blow jobs I give are “good but not great” and are now getting “boring.” My husband is unable to tell me anything specific that he wants me to do, just that I should do something different and “be creative.” I’ve done pretty much everything I can think of over the years, fingers and hands included, so I have no idea where to go from here! My husband is my first partner, so I have no past experience to draw from, and porn hardly seems the proper inspiration: visually exciting (for a guy) but no visible technique other than some rather extreme deep-throating, which I am incapable of, as I have an annoyingly sensitive gag reflex. Is there anything nonstandard but fun that you (or your fans) could suggest? I’m not exactly vanilla, so I’m willing to try pretty much anything at this point. —Thought I Was Doing It Well
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You seem like a nice person, TIWDIW: a good sex partner, GGG, open to constructive criticism. But “I grow weary of your blow jobs, they bore me—do something about it!” isn’t constructive criticism. It’s destructive criticism, the kind of feedback that can leave a sex partner feeling inadequate and self-conscious. To be constructively critical, your husband needs to come through with some suggestions and direction—something more helpful than “surprise me.” (I bet he’d find that mouthful of Tabasco sauce surprising.)
Minor unfairnesses slosh around relationships like water in the bottom of a canoe, of course, but “Be creative!” in this context isn’t just unfair, it’s paralyzing. Putting all the responsibility for busting out new tricks on the shoulders of the person whose blow job/ass fucking/bondage skills have been criticized rarely results in the criticized person busting out new and mind-blowing blow job/ass fucking/bondage moves. A destructively criticized sex partner is apt to shut down. So your husband isn’t just guilty of unfair behavior here, TIWDIW, he’s guilty of self-defeating behavior. Meaning, you may be able to give better head—we all have room for improvement—but this is not the way to go about getting better head from you.
QI was upset by the letter in last week’s column about the devotee who posted pictures of her disabled girlfriend’s body and wheelchair online without permission. I cannot speak for all devotees, but I was disgusted by the behavior of GIMP’s girlfriend. I do not date people solely for their bodies and would never see my partner as “just a body” or post pictures of them online. As a devotee, I do find particular disabled bodies more attractive and sexually appealing than most “able” bodies. But physical attraction is only a starting point. In order for a relationship to move forward, there must be attraction on other levels and compatibility on an interpersonal level, and there must always be mutual respect. I wanted to put this perspective out there for people who, like GIMP, are wary of devotees. I’m sorry this happened to her. In any “group,” there will be people who are perverted and disrespectful. But when a devotee acts up, it contributes negatively to an already largely misunderstood attraction. —Good Dev in Canada
