People on both sides of the oral sex equation can have anxiety about oral sex taste. When receiving oral sex, you may worry about the way you taste or smell, that your genitals are the wrong size or shape, or generally that once a sexual partner gets up close and personal with parts of you that you’ve always been told are “private” they may be disgusted. When giving oral sex you may worry about not liking the taste of a partners’ body, their natural lubrication, and their fluids.

As a result, you may approach this act with trepidation which, believe me, is easily sensed by your partner.

In many cases, if not most, these worries are unjustified. Our partners are eager and excited and don’t judge us nearly as harshly as we judge ourselves. On the giving side of the equation, many find that when you’re really turned on and when the idea of giving your partner pleasure is something you feel in your body (and not simply a directive you picked up in a magazine that you’re fulfilling as an obligation), you’ll probably find you like the way they taste.

At the same time, there’s nothing wrong with playing around with foods, flavors, and toys in order to change the taste of oral sex, as long as you’re not doing it as a way to put yourself or your partner down.

Here are some ways to play with oral sex taste.

Condoms

Condoms don’t just provide a barrier against STDs. By blocking the exchange of fluids, they block out the taste as well. You might not like the rubbery or lube taste any better than that of your partner, so if you’re using condoms for oral sex, a non-lubricated or flavored condom may be a better choice.

A dental dam offers the same dual taste/STD protection when performing oral sex on a woman or analingus on any partner.

Flavored Lubricants

Almost every lubricant company is now offering its products in flavored versions. Sometimes these lubricants have sugar in them, but more often these days they are using artificial sweeteners. There’s no accounting for taste, and while some people find flavored lubes fun and a pleasant alternative to the taste of oral sex, others find the faux flavors unpleasant or downright disgusting. I recommend buying from a store where they offer testers so you can taste a bit on your hand before buying.

Food

Of course food can also be a way to change or mask our natural tastes and fluids. Food can also be a way to embrace the messiness of sex (there’s a whole fetish based on this connection and, while I wouldn’t want the cleaning bills, I have to admit they always look like they’re having fun). Have fun with food and sex, but keep these safety tips in mind:

• Inserting anything sweet and/or high in sugar inside the vagina is a great way to get a yeast infection.
• Remember that objects can easily be drawn up into the rectum, so choose carefully.
• Play carefully with very hot or very cold foods, or anything that creates heat (e.g. tiger balm) or cold (e.g. menthol).

Foods that Change Vaginal Taste
There’s no scientific evidence to back it up, but there are plenty of folksy references to foods you can eat more of, or avoid, to change the way you taste. Mind you, taste is very much in the mouth of the beholder. So you may find that pineapple has an impact, for example, but that doesn’t mean you’ll like it.

Foods That Change the Taste of Semen
Again, there haven’t been any validated clinical studies in this area, but several sources cite foods that will impact the relative bitterness or sweetness of the taste of semen.