While researching the band L7 I decided to find out where they got their name from. That took me on a journey through the wonders of Wikipedia I’ll never forget. While just the fact that the term “69” is there wasn’t enough, the term “Date 68” is the one that caught my eye. If there isn’t a punk rock song in there somewhere, I’ll be sad. I don’t know how long Wikipedia will keep up their article so I’ve decided to repost the text below the LJ cut for your reading dementia…
Date 68
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Date sixty-eight or Date 68 is a colloquial term of folk etymology, describing a social situation which that may refer to a type of one-night stand, hotel pick-up, female domination or even male prostitution. It’s also linked to a particular urban legend called Foreigner Date-Trick that surfaced during the late 1990s boom in American economy. Since the story allegedly originated in New England, it’s also sometimes called New England First Date.
The Name
The colloquial term 68 is derived from the name of the famous 69 sex position, 68 being 69-1, describing a situation when only one of the participants is actually performing. Date 68 is used in conjunction with a date ending with one party (typically male) performing oral sex on another with no reciprocation.
Another related term – DATY (dining at the Y) – is used by female prostitutes, predominantly in the San Francisco Bay area, to describe a fairly new type of sexual service – cunnilingus for money.
The story
Foreigner Date-Trick is a story, circulating in the corporate world since late 1990s boom, when a flow of foreign specialists was rapidly imported in the US to cover the significant shortage of skilled labor force. It’s possibly based on a real event, is more known in the corporate circles, and have come down to very few variations in New England (New England First Date), DC and New York, due to the specific ending making up the whole story.
Story generally depicts a foreign corporate employee, fresh off the boat, and in the middle of the worst culture shock. Foreigner is quoted to be from either Middle East, India or Eastern (due to specific culture clash). Plunged into the restrictive litigious world of corporate America, the foreign employee is being educated by his office colleagues on the horrors and spoils of American lifestyle. He is introduced to the weekend BBQs, plays darts and pool, pays a first visit to a strip-club in his life, and then gets lectured on the complexity of American dating scene. Eventually, he is encouraged to ask a pretty female bartender out, who is made aware of his complete lack of knowledge about local lifestyle as well as his vague understanding of rules of common behavior in general.
The legend says that during the date the girl goes through a series of rigorous instructions on American dating ritual and bosses the eager-to-learn foreign guy for several hours. In the end of the night, when he is about to bow out, she tricks him to believe that in America, the first date always ends with a true gentleman showing homage to his date by providing unconditional oral sex. The foreigner, coming from parts of the world where it’s not customary even in marital relationships, is so overloaded with information by that time, that he reluctantly does as instructed to the sheer amusement of his date. His date later turns out to be in a separate relationship, using Date 68 only for her entertainment. The foreigner, in his own part, becomes a subject of numerous jokes, linked to the incident, and quits over embarrassment.
In another version, the story gets known when the foreign guy asked a question about his first date on a dating message board, causing silent ovation there.
It’s unclear what the hidden moral of the story is, which leads many to believe that it did indeed happen, later becoming a part of the happy hour culture.
Oddly enough, the legend of Foreigner Date-trick is practically unknown in the West Coast, partially due to a more feminist society in Pacific states, which strips the story of its embarrassing undertones. San Francisco may be an exception to that, being a well-known site for large conventions. The concept was allegedly imported in the city by traveling women on business from out of state (hotel culture). This is not to be confused with male prostitution and usually refers to a one-night stand.
Double Date 68
A more radical Date 68 version known to exist in Manhattan is called Double Date 68, or DD68. It has a loose relation to female domination, but usually describes a pick-up of a typically drunk male by two females, one of whom then engages him in a standard Date 68, while the second one penetrates him with a strap-on dildo. DD68’s idea is generally the same as with the Date 68 – one party (female) is entertained at the expense of another party. It’s unlikely to exist in macho societies in Europe (except France and the UK), Australia, and South America, where both subjects of DD68 are sometimes perceived as social taboos.