According to Wikipedia, a wingman is defined as the following:
A pilot who supports another in a potentially dangerous flying environment.

The less technical definition and probably more popular definition of wingman is as follows (or wingwoman if you want to be female-specific/wingmate if you want to be gender neutral):
A role that a person may take when a friend needs support with approaching potential partners.

Are there gender differences in being a wingman or wingwoman? Well, some might say that female wingwomen help their friends avoid undesirable partners whereas male wingmen help their friends attract desirable partners.

Same same. But different.

Now a real wingman/wingwoman knows how to read the situation. I’ve heard (elaborate) tales from male friends who go to great lengths playing the role of Goose to help their buddy, Maverick. Because not only is the wingman/wingwoman there to help their friend, they are there to prevent a potential cockblock.

Now Wikipedia gets a bit strict with their definition of cockblock:
To cockblock is to prevent another person, intentionally or inadvertently, from having sexual intercourse with a third party.

I’m a bit more loose in my usage of cockblock and twat swat but I feel like you can be a cockblock/twat swat or get cockblocked/twat swatted without preventing intercourse. Interestingly, no Wikipedia entry for twat swat.

So what does the wingman/wingwoman do to prevent cockblocks? The wingman/wingwoman may distract the targets’ friends, buy them drinks, dance with them….just keep them occupied so that pilot has time to make sufficient progress with the target.

There is debate over who is a better wingmate: men or women. Some woman feel that a man being ‘endorsed’ by a wingwoman is proof that the guy is a great catch, at least that’s what the folks over at WingWomen.com think. You can hire your own “attractive, outgoing and free spirited” wingwoman for $75/hr. Hopefully the wingwoman doesn’t get cockblocked trying to help her ‘friend’ out.

I’ve had some great wingwomen in my day. I once gave one of these wingwomen a fake gold medal because she had clearly won the Wingwomen Olympics for repeatedly hooking up with the little troll friend of the guy that I was spending time with. I am a firm believe in wingwomen karma so I try to give back whenever I can.

So may not only just the wind be at your back, but an outstanding wingman/wingwoman gently guiding you on your way to new partners.

Jocelyn Wentland is a Sex Researcher, PhD student at the University of Ottawa. You will find her blogs are sexual, risqué (she likes to push the envelope), potentially offending, fun, but most of all, real. Read more of Jocelyn’s blog at Sex Research and The City.com