Glossary MM
Rimming — receiving
Also called · getting rimmed · receiving a rim job
At a glance
- In one line
- Having a partner's mouth and tongue on your anus, with nothing going inside.
- Usually looks like
- Face-down with hips raised or on your back with knees up, a few minutes at a time, usually alongside other stimulation.
- Gear needed
- None. A dental dam is the barrier option; a shower beforehand is what most people actually rely on.
- Talk about first
- Whether you want warning first, how much prep you want to do, and barrier or not.
Rimming as the receiving partner means having a partner's mouth and tongue on your anus. The sensation is soft, warm, and largely external, concentrated in the nerve endings around the opening, and because it rarely produces orgasm by itself it is usually combined with a hand, a toy, or other stimulation rather than done alone.
Self-consciousness rather than sensation is the usual reason this gets rated low, because worrying about cleanliness while trying to relax is close to impossible, which is why routines matter here — timing it well after a bowel movement, showering, or rinsing beforehand — and why people who settle on a routine often rate this much higher afterward than they did before. Light levels and duration are also common preferences.
The other kind of low score is simpler: for some people attention there does very little physically, and being on the receiving end of something a partner is visibly working at starts to feel like an obligation. High scores generally belong to people who want both the sensation and the particular intimacy of a partner being willing to do it.
What a score means here Rimming — receiving
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0
Hard no: you do not want a mouth there under any conditions.
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1–33
1-33: not unpleasant, but you spend the whole time self-conscious rather than enjoying it.
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34–66
34-66: good when you have showered and you are already turned on, not a default.
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67–99
67-99: you want it regularly and it reliably works better on you than most other oral.
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100
100: this is the sensation you want a session built around.
Rating it
A low score often reflects worry about hygiene or the sensation doing little for you; a high score means you want it as an ordinary part of sex rather than something reserved for a partner in an unusually generous mood.
Common misconceptions
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You need to douche before anyone does this.
In practiceRimming is external, so a normal shower is sufficient for most people. Douching for it irritates the lining without improving anything a tongue would encounter.
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Wanting it means you want anal sex.
In practiceThe sensation is external and nerve-dense, which is a different thing entirely from penetration. Many people rate rimming high and anal penetration at zero, in both directions.
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There is no risk for the person receiving.
In practiceHerpes, HPV and syphilis transmit both ways through this contact, and a partner's mouth flora can contribute to infections. The barrier protects both people, not just the giver.
Worth knowing
The health risk here falls mainly on the partner using their mouth, so hepatitis A vaccination and the option of a dental dam are worth raising rather than leaving unspoken; shaving or waxing right beforehand leaves small abrasions, so do it a day or two ahead.
About this item Frequently asked
Rimming — receiving — questions people ask
what does getting rimmed feel like
Most descriptions centre on how sensitive the area is and how different the sensation is from anything penetrative: warm, wet, soft pressure across a densely nerve-supplied area with nothing going inside. It tends to be either very good or completely uninteresting rather than middling. Self-consciousness is the most commonly reported obstacle, which is why most people find it works far better once they are already aroused and have showered recently. It is often combined with a hand elsewhere, since on its own it rarely finishes anyone.
how do i prepare for receiving a rim job
Shower with plain soap and water and dry properly; that is the whole requirement for most people. Elaborate douching is unnecessary because rimming stays external, and doing it regularly irritates the lining without making the outside cleaner. Timing helps more than washing does: pick a point after your normal bowel movement rather than before. Trimming hair is a preference, not a hygiene measure, and shaving immediately beforehand creates small nicks that raise infection risk, so leave a day. Tell your partner what you want first, since being surprised is what most self-consciousness comes from.
rimming receiving vs receiving anal play with fingers, what's the difference
Rimming stays outside and cannot cause injury; anal fingering goes internal and can. The sensations are unrelated. Rimming works on the dense nerve supply of the opening and surrounding skin, producing a soft, spread-out sensation, while fingering produces pressure and internal fullness and needs lube, pacing and short nails to be safe. What they share is a squeamishness threshold, which is why they often get lumped together. Wanting one is not a signal about the other in either direction.
what score should i give receiving rimming
Rate whether you want it, treating a shower and reasonable timing as already handled. A 0 marks it as a hard no under any conditions. Between 1 and 100 the scale is continuous, so being into it in principle but self-conscious in practice belongs in the middle, not near zero. Self-consciousness tends to fade with familiarity, so this is an item worth revisiting later. The number describes this one act, and rating it high or low carries no wider meaning about you.
is it risky for the person receiving
Yes, though less so than for the giver. Herpes, HPV and syphilis pass through skin-to-skin contact in both directions, and oral bacteria introduced to the area can contribute to local infections. The reductions that work are a dental dam or a cut-open condom laid flat, avoiding it when either of you has a cold sore, a gut infection or diarrhoea, and not shaving immediately beforehand, since fresh nicks are entry points. Hepatitis A and B vaccination protects your partner more than you, but is worth having anyway.
Appears on
This item appears on the MM test — one vial each.