Cunnilingus is the practice of orally sexually stimulating a female by licking and kissing her vulva and/or clitoris. There are many slang terms for cunnilingus, they include; 'going down', 'giving head', 'eating pussy' and 'drinking from the furry cup', but whatever the name given, it's something to be celebrated - don't be scared to try it!

Starting Out

Like everything to do with sex, don't even think of doing something unless you're both comfortable with the idea. Struggling to please while having a terrible time yourself isn't the point of sex, but on the other hand avoiding something simply because it sounds like something you won't like is no way to go about it either. Talk about it first, but make sure that you, as the one going down, are happy to try it out. If you're freaked out by the thought, then it's probably best not to try it until you're more relaxed in your relationship.

Another important thing is that many women are shy when it comes to their bodies. They care what their partner thinks about them, and cunnilingus is a particularly vulnerable position, so the most important first step is to develop trust. Don't blow it by jumping down there all enthusiastically, only to emerge a minute later looking rather shocked and suddenly more interested in moving things along to intercourse. You've got to be totally relaxed, and so has she.

So start it off with a few kind words about her body, and take it as a bad sign if you have to struggle to think of what to say. If you can't be complimetary now, you're not going to be much good later on.

Teasing

Like the whole sex act, going down is a slow build-up to a bigger climax. Start off by kissing, cuddling and all the other sweet little nothings that together build up into a definite something. Her tongue will probably give you some idea of what she'd like you to do later.

Start moving your kisses down her body, licking and nibbling her skin en route. Stop and kiss her breasts, paying attention to her nipples: you're teasing her, so manipulate her nipples with your tongue as if it were her clitoris - you can bet she'll be thinking about that part of her already. Make sure you kiss both nipples equally, as having one erect nipple and one unaroused feels a little odd.

Women, even more so than men, love to be teased, so slowly kiss down her body, stroking her pubic hair, but moving your lips onto the inner part of her thigh. Gently lick and kiss her inner thigh, nuzzle into it, and draw patterns on it with the tip of your tongue. Slide your tongue towards her pubic area, then slide tantilisingly away. Anticipation is everything.

Getting Down to It

One of the really sensitive areas is the inside of her thighs, where they meet her body, so if you want to drive her wild, lick and kiss her there. Move over and kiss her public area, and by this time she'll be getting more and more turned on.

Gently use the fingers of both hands to separate her outer lips and when she opens up, run your tongue up and down between the labia. Gently spread her legs apart even more with your hands.

Don't rush straight towards the clitoris with your tongue, start by licking around the area. Stick your tongue between the folds of the labia and lick. Start just below the vaginal opening and lick upwards several times in long strokes. Circle your tongue around her vagina, and dip the tip of your tongue into the opening, as if you were teasing her with the tip of your penis.

Spread her outer lips with your hand. Then, with your tongue pointed and stiff, gently flick here and there. Feel free to roam, but start moving over to her clitoris, and returning there again and again. With her clitoris still exposed, give it a quick little suck - pull it into your mouth briefly and letting it go.

Now start to feel the clitoris with your tongue; suggestions for techniques include the following:

• Practise by turning a Minstrel sweetie around on the tip of your tongue.
• Write the alphabet on the clit with your tongue (the person volunteering this information suggested starting with lower case letters and moving onto upper case).
• Pretend to be licking cake mix off your little finger.
• Try lapping or flicking the clitoris with the tongue or stimulating the clitoris with the nose.
• Try humming, preferably in a deep profunodo bass, as it's said to vibrate the clitoris in a very stimulating way.
• Another technique involves rolling your tongue into a tube, if you can (you can't learn to do this it's genetic, either you can or you can't). But if you can, roll your tongue into a tube around the shaft of her clitoris. Slide it up and down; in effect, your tongue makes a tiny pussy for her clitoris to slide into.
• Alternatively, shape your lips into an 'O' shape and suck the clitoris into your mouth, gently at first.

By this stage your partner should be getting excited, so at the same time as flicking and stimulating her clitoris with your tongue, slide first one finger and then two into her vagina. You can either slide them in and out gently or move or turn them around inside her. You should try and stimulate the G-spot, which is an erotic zone on the anterior wall of the vagina (that's the part of the vaginal wall that is next to the urethra).

And that's about it. There are loads of different positions that you can try, and experimentation is really the best way to find out what your partner likes. Get to it...