Bagpiping
Bagpiping is a slang term for a form of non-penetrative sex in which a penis is placed in and rubbed between a partner’s armpit, usually while the arm is held against the body to create pressure. The term has occasionally been used for other sexual acts, but armpit sex is its most established modern meaning.
Origins of the Term
Bagpiping is an old sexual slang term that's been around since at least the eighteenth century, although the earliest definitions were deliberately vague. Its name likely comes from the position of the act: one partner holds a penis beneath their arm and presses it against the body, somewhat like a musician squeezing the bag of a bagpipe.
A possible early version of the term appears in Francis Grose’s 1785 slang dictionary, "A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue." Grose included the entry “Bagpipe, to bagpipe,” but described it only as “a lascivious practice too indecent for explanation.” Because he refused to explain the act, this entry proves that bagpipe already had a sexual meaning, but not that it specifically referred to armpit sex.
The armpit meaning becomes clearer around the early 190ss. Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor’s "Sex Slang" dates the verb bagpipe to 1904 British slang, defining it as stimulating a penis beneath a lover’s armpit.
The term was also documented in twentieth-century gay slang. Bruce Rodgers included bagpiping in his 1972 book "The Queens’ Vernacular: A Gay Lexicon," using an example about men who enjoyed bagpiping partners with hairy arms. This suggests that the term was established within at least some English-speaking gay communities long before it became an online curiosity.
The word received renewed attention in 2022 because of a viral rumor about “armpit crabs” at Brigham Young University. News and social-media coverage connected the supposed outbreak to bagpiping, presenting it as another alleged sexual “loophole” used by unmarried Mormon students. While this is believed to be an unsubstantiated internet rumor, it likely contributed to more widespread awareness of the term.
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