It was a common practice in ancient Greek society prior to the early centuries AD, and was frequently discussed by writers and portrayed in artwork such as vases.
In the 17th century, intercrural sex was featured in several works of literature and it took cultural prominence, being seen as a part of male-on-male sexual habits following the trial and execution of Mervyn Tuchet, 2nd Earl of Castlehaven, in 1631.
Studies have found a fluctuating percentage of sexual assault cases have involved intercrural rape, with little to no physical evidence.
[20] In 15th-century Italy, it was a part of sodomy's infamous reputation; in renaissance Venice, capital punishment was considered against the partner initiating intercrural sex.
[3][22] Islamic jurisprudents considered intercrural sex "reprehensible," although its lesser status led to practitioners avoiding harsh punishments.
[25] Richard Ellmann believed Oscar Wilde solely performed intercrural sex in the hope he could consequently declare his innocence against the allegation of "posing as a sodomite".
[26][d] In 1885, the UK Parliament passed a statute penalizing "gross indecency" between men under the Labouchere Amendment; intercrural sex was within the law's remit because it fell short of sodomy.
[27][28][e] In both the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany, intercrural sex between men was an indictable offense, although German South West African law did not see it punishable under sodomy.
[34][35] Before European colonization, Azande warriors would only have intercrural sex with their young partners; it was a popular form of eroticism in pre-colonial Asia.
[42]Hickson et al.. (1994) found intercrural sex took place in five of 219 cases of male sexual assault reviewed in England and Wales.
[45] A 1957 analysis of 148 sexual offenders in the United States who assaulted children under the age of 14 found that 6 percent committed their offences by means of intercrural intercourse.
By 2012, Mary van der Riet of KwaZulu-Natal University noted; "The shift from intercrural sex to the use of the injectable contraceptive set up particular conditions for condom use in response to HIV and AIDS".
[55][56] Shere Hite's 1976 and 1981 research on female sexuality found some adult women reported being able to achieve orgasm via intercrural contact to stimulate the clitoris.