Frot

[1][2] The term was popularized by gay male activists who disparaged the practice of anal sex,[1][3] but has since evolved to encompass a variety of preferences for the act, which may or may not imply particular attitudes towards other sexual activities.

[3] Gay activist Bill Weintraub began to heavily promote and recommend the genital-specific meaning of "penis-to-penis rubbing" as frotting on Internet forums sometime in the late 1990s, and said he coined the term.

Since frotting is a non-penetrative sex act, the risk of passing a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that requires direct contact between the mucous membranes and pre-ejaculate or semen is reduced.

[1][10][11][12] This preference has led to some debate in the gay male and MSM community regarding what constitutes "real sex" or the most sensual expression of sexual intimacy.

Some frotting advocates consider "two genitals coming together by mingling, caressing, sliding" and rubbing to be sex more than other forms of male sexual activity.

The lack of mutual genital stimulation and role asymmetry has led other frotting advocates to denounce anal sex as degrading to the receptive partner.

[1][3][13] This view of dominance and inequality associated with sex roles is disputed by researchers who state that it is not clear that specific sexual acts are necessarily indicative of general patterns of masculinity or dominance in a gay male relationship, and that, for both partners, anal intercourse can be associated with being masculine.

"[17] MSM who defend the essential validity of anal sex have rejected claims made by radical frotting advocates.

Others have at times disparaged frottage as a makeshift, second-rate form of male/male intimacy—something better left to inexperienced teenagers and "closeted" older men.