Tribadism

What is tribadism?

Tribadism (also called tribbing) is a non-penetrative sexual technique in which two women move their vulvas against each other, or the vulva against another body part such as a thigh or belly. The aim is usually clitoral stimulation through friction. The best-known form is scissoring. The word comes from the Greek tribas, from the verb tribō, “to rub.”

How tribadism works

It’s about friction, not penetration. The encyclopedia describes tribadism as vulva-to-vulva contact or rubbing the vulva against the other person’s thigh, belly, buttocks or arm, mainly for clitoral stimulation, and calls scissoring the well-known variant where the legs interlock like a pair of scissors. The medically reviewed explainer at Healthline adds that tribbing works in all kinds of positions, not only the scissor position.

What tribadism is not

“Scissoring is the only way.” No. The scissor position got famous through porn, but in practice tribadism happens in many positions: a thigh in between, lying across each other, from the side. What works is whatever rubs well, not the pose from a video.

What I make of it

Tribadism is something between women, so it isn’t something I do with you as a gigolo. Still, there’s a lesson in it that I carry with me: a lot of pleasure comes from friction and from the clitoris, and not at all from penetration. That’s exactly why I never want to rush inside. The outside, the rhythm and the pressure often do most of the work. That slow pace, where attention does the work rather than penetration, is what intimate togetherness with me is about. Once you know that, you find there’s already plenty to enjoy along the way. It’s a nice reminder that the road there often gives as much as the destination, no matter who you’re with.

Sources

• Tribadism. Wikipedia. Provides that tribadism is vulva-to-vulva contact or rubbing the vulva against a body part for clitoral stimulation, that it is non-penetrative, that scissoring is the well-known variant, and the Greek origin of tribas from tribō, to rub.
• Scissoring. Gabrielle Kassel, medically reviewed by Janet Brito, PhD, Healthline. Provides that tribbing is the rubbing of vulvas against each other and works in all kinds of positions, not only the scissor position.

Related terms

• Scissoring. The best-known position in which tribadism happens.
• Frottage. The broader term for pleasure from friction against a body.