Bukkake

Bukkake is ‘a photo or video depicting multiple men ejaculating on to a single woman’, usually in a tight or close-up shot (per the Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English). In a bukkake movie there is much less emphasis on watching the activities leading up to the finale; the 'sperm shower' is always the highlight.

Bukkake emerged as a niche in Japanese pornography during the mid-to-late eighties. What is commonly known as the facial (or body) cum-shot was expanded upon by depicting a single person, usually a woman, being ejaculated upon by many men - sometimes by the dozen, and in some cases over one hundred, in order to supply the vast amount of ejaculate needed to produce the desired effect.

The origin of the term is Japanese and is derived from the verb 'bukkakeru', meaning to splash. If you delve a little further, it also implies to shower or pour water, generally with enough force to cause a splash and/or spill effect. The receiver might swallow the semen or, in a related practice called gokkun, be made to drink ejaculate out of a container (usually a bowl or a cup) once everyone has masturbated into it.

Today, there are many forms of bukkake pornography produced all over the world. The expression can apply to male receivers in homosexual representations, lesbian bukkake (where females 'squirt' their ejaculate onto a subject), or any part of the body that can potentially receive a cum-shot, e.g. 'pussy bukkake'.

One popular bukkake website categorizes this style into three types: ‘body bukkake’, which features ejaculation on various body parts using miscellaneous techniques; ‘bukkake food’, which involves adding semen to food or drink before the receiver consumes it; and ‘other’, a hodgepodge of everything else including bukkake races, snowballing (a.k.a. cum-swapping) and group session bukkake.

Origin of Bukkake

Legend has it that bukkake used to be a form of public punishment (ritual degradation) in ancient Japan. A woman found guilty of infidelity would be restrained by being buried (sometimes to the neck), and then receive a 'semen shower' from fellow townsmen who wanted to show their distaste for her unfaithful behavior.

Bukkake in the Kitchen

Don’t be surprised to see the term in common usage! You'll often see the term 'bukkake udon' at an Asian grocery store or recipe book. In this case, the usage of the word relates to its literal meaning. Bukkake noodles are a common dish that involves a sauce being poured over thick wheat noodles, rather than dipping noodles into the condiment. This type of dish is very popular in Japan.

Emergence in Pornography

The public ban of certain sexual images in Japanese media has been a significant factor in the emergence of bukkake; it has also shaped the styles of pornography legally available for sale and distribution in the country. After the end of the Second World War, the American military imposed regulations prohibiting sexually explicit material of any kind. Neither genitals nor sexual intercourse were permitted to be shown, and were instead ‘mosaic-ed’ (meaning obscured from view using an imaging technique that pixelates part of the image). Note: pubic hair, breasts and male genitalia have since crept back into the censor's accepted list.

Because penetration could not (nor cannot) be viewed, Asian directors had to be more innovative about creating visually stimulating material and used loopholes to their advantage, e.g. the lack of restrictions on showing Male Ejaculation. Thus, bukkake emerged, along an array of non-mainstream pornographic material (at least according to western standards), including: animated sex (which is also subject to being mosaicked), fetish, bondage, public sex, rape fantasy, mature and elder sex.

Though American censorship rules were lifted six years after first being imposed, the Japanese government itself continues to uphold these laws to present day – however, their interpretation has also slowly relaxed. Since the late 1980's and early 1990's, regulators have gradually become more permissive about what kind of content is considered obscene and criminal conviction rates have thus also declined.

Despite the laws' aim to preserve public morality, it in no way implies that pornography is not accessible now within Japan. In fact, an article in the International Journal of Law and Psychiatry cites that ‘sexually explicit video tapes, books, and magazines which cater to all sorts of erotic interests and fetishes are readily available’; this extends to ‘sexually obvious’ manga (Japanese comic strips and graphic novels) and public displays of highly sexualized content in phone booths and newspapers. ‘Visual depictions of hard-core sexual encounters which include bestiality, sadomasochism, necrophilia and incest’ are also available to the public.

Critique

Overall there are many who feel generally offended by porn, and contend that it contributes to social harm such as rape and violence against women. However, others argue that it is a completely normal form of expression of our sexuality. There are numerous arguments for and against its legitimacy in a civilized society…

However, bukkake attracts heavier criticism (even from some who support pornography in general) due to its extreme depiction of male authority and female subservience; some fear that it encourages the less desirable aspects of male power and intimidation over women. Since its roots are so closely related to the practice of humiliation and degradation, some also believe bukkake symbolizes gang rape.

The act of bukkake has a powerful connotation of female objectification and an apparent glaring disregard for women. Pictures and videos of this act usually do not customarily portray the receiver receiving any pleasure from the undertaking. Furthermore, the receiver may demonstrate displeasure or unwillingness such as in 'forced bukkake'. The practice is not discussed in the mainstream and also comes along with health concerns about the increased risk of the spread of STDs/STIs.

Bukkake should not be confused with the ‘regular’ facial or bodily cum-shot aspect of sexual expression that is experienced and enjoyed by many. Here the focus is on the mutual enjoyment of sharing bodily fluids in a more blatant manner than that experienced in orifice-focused sex, such as oral, vaginal and anal; here there exists no (or very little) emphasis on humiliation or male domination.

Final Thoughts

Although this form of adult entertainment falls outside the scope of mainstream pornography, it does have its foundation firmly rooted as a pornographic niche. The irony of bukkake is that it emerged as a result of laws that were intended to rein in sexuality whereas, in reality, it ended up as a style that is considered by many to be more hardcore than regulators could have ever conceived.