Everything about Anal Sex totally explained
Anal sex is a form of
human sexual behavior which encompasses many sexual acts involving the
anus,
anal cavity, sphincter valve and/or
rectum. The term
anal sex, however, is often restricted to
anal intercourse: the
insertion of the erect
penis into the rectum.
It is a form of sexual behavior considered to be comparatively high in risk, due to the vulnerability of the tissues and the septic nature of the anus. As the
rectal mucosa provides little natural lubrication, a lubricant (such as a
personal lubricant, for example) is most often required or preferred when penetrating the anus.
Anal intercourse
Male homosexual
In modern times, particularly in
Western cultures, anal sex has been popularly associated with
gay and
bisexual men. Anal sex has also been associated with the spread of
HIV, starting in the early years of the discovery of the disease.
Among
gay men who have anal sex, some consistently take the
top (insertive) or
bottom (receptive) role, but this isn't always the case: some men who have anal sex act as both top and bottom at different times. This is known as "versatile" or "
switch". Common slang terms that identify the consistently insertive and receptive roles are (in the USA) "pitcher" and "catcher," respectively and (in the UK) "active" and "passive".
In men, anal sex can produce a pleasurable sensation due to the stimulation that the partner's erect penis causes when rubbing or massaging the
prostate (see below). Penetration can be painful for some men depending on their rectal anatomy or on the amount of lubrication used during penetration. While some men obtain strong sexual pleasure from being penetrated, occasionally becoming so aroused as to even avoid the need for penile stimulation to reach orgasm, others may find it discomforting at first or, at the other end of the spectrum, completely painful or unenjoyable.
Heterosexual
In modern Western countries anal sex is reported as being a widely practiced, if still minority, form of intercourse between men and women. In some cultures, receptive anal intercourse by heterosexual partners is widely accepted. One reason is that there's very low risk of unwanted
pregnancy via unprotected anal intercourse (though this isn't an absolute guarantee, because semen can leak from the anus, cross the
perineum, and enter the
vagina). Also, anal sex is sometimes seen as preserving female
virginity because it leaves the
hymen intact. Another reason is that the anus is considered to yield more tactile pleasure for the penis, being tighter than the vagina. The Renaissance poet
Pietro Aretino advocated the practice in his
Sonetti Lussuriosi (Lust Sonnets).
Alternatively, the male may take the receptive role in heterosexual anal sex, usually aided by sex toys. The practice of
pegging, in which a woman wearing a
strap-on dildo penetrates her male partner, is gaining acceptance. Moreover, due to the proximity of the prostate gland to the rectum, it has been suggested that males may derive greater satisfaction in this manner than females.
Anal sex and female virginity
Though more often applied to first penetration, the concept of "technical
virginity" is sometimes conceived as resting solely on vaginal penetration.
In
Norman Mailer's novel
Harlot's Ghost, a character states that in Italy, an unmarried woman had to be "a maiden before and a martyr behind", implying that such women were obliged to submit to anal sex and that anal sex was painful.
In other cases, first anal intercourse is conceived of as ending a separate virginity from first vaginal intercourse, with varying degrees of seriousness. In a
Rolling Stone interview, comedian
Sarah Silverman joked: "I didn't lose my virginity until I was twenty-six. Nineteen vaginally, but twenty-six what my boyfriend calls 'the real way.'"
Prevalence
According to a 2004 report, "Some research suggests that one in four heterosexuals in the US has tried anal sex and for one in 12, it's an occasional or episodic practice. Other surveys suggest that seven times as many women as gay men engage in anal intercourse, a figure reflecting the greater overall heterosexual population."
While at the present time it's reported more frequently among
same-sex couples, according to Dr. John Dean and Dr. David Delvin, "in absolute numbers, it's hypothesized that more heterosexual couples have anal sex than homosexual couples".
Homosexual
In the 1950s in the United Kingdom, it was thought that about fifteen percent of male homosexuals practiced the method. The Gay Urban Men's Study (P.I. Stall, UCSF) and the Young Men's Study (YMS, PI Osmond/Catania, UCSF), indicate that 50% of men surveyed engage in anal sex. The
Laumann study claims that 80% of gay men practice it, while the remaining 20% never engage in it at all.
A survey conducted from 1994 to 1997 in San Francisco by the Stop AIDS Project indicated that over the course of the study, among
men who have sex with men, the proportion engaging in anal sex increased from 57.6% to 61.2%.
Heterosexual
In 2005, a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control determined that the incidence of anal relations in the heterosexual population is on the increase. The survey showed that 40 percent of men and 35 percent of women between 25 and 44 had engaged in heterosexual anal sex; in 1992 a similar survey found that only 25.6 percent of men 18 to 59 and 20.4 percent of women 18 to 59 had.
A 2001
French survey of five hundred female respondents concluded that a total of 29% had practiced anal sex, though only one third of these claimed to have enjoyed the experience. In contrast, in a 1999
South Korean survey of 586 women, only 3.5% of respondents reported having had anal sex.
Figures for the prevalence of sexual behavior can fluctuate over time.
Edward O. Laumann's 1992 survey, reported in
The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States found that about 20% of heterosexuals have engaged in anal sex.
Sex researcher Alfred Kinsey, working in the 1940s, had found that number to be closer to 40% at the time. More recently, a researcher from the
University of British Columbia in 2005 put the number of heterosexuals who have practiced anal sex at between 30% and 50%.
According to
Columbia University's health website,
Go Ask Alice!: "Studies indicate that about 25 percent of heterosexual couples have had anal sex at least once, and 10 percent regularly have anal penetration."
Other anal sexual behavior
Anal sex need not involve penile insertion. The active partner (male or female) may use appendages other than a penis, such as
the fingers and
a fist. The use of the mouth and tongue on the anus, called
rimming or
anilingus is also common, often in conjunction with other sexual acts. He or she might also use an artificial device, often a phallic reproduction (
dildo) or one that's generally engineered specifically for anal penetration (
butt plug). A female using a
strap-on dildo to anally penetrate a male is often referred to as
pegging. Due to the proximity of the prostate gland to the rectum, it has been suggested that males may achieve greater satisfaction in this manner than females.
Prostate stimulation
The
prostate gland, also known as a "
male G-spot",
"P-spot", or "A-spot" can be stimulated during anal intercourse.
Stimulation of the
prostate gland can result in pleasurable sensations and can lead to a distinct type of
orgasm in some cases. The prostate is located next to the rectum and is the larger, more developed male
homologue to the
Skene's glands, also known as the "G-spot" or "female prostate", which are located around the urethra and can be felt through the wall of the vagina.
Risks
Anal sex exposes participants to two principal dangers: infections, due to the high number of infectious
microorganisms not found elsewhere on the body, and physical damage to the anus and the rectum due to their vulnerability.
Recent reports have documented that risky behavior is on the rise among men who have sex with men. Among gay men, anal sex without the use of a condom is referred to as
barebacking.
Infectious diseases
Among the diseases with which anal sex is associated are HIV,
anal cancer, typhoid fever and various diseases associated with the infectious nature of
fecal matter or sexual intercourse in general. Among these are:
Amoebiasis;
Chlamydia;
Cryptosporidiosis;
E. coli infections;
Giardiasis;
Gonorrhea;
Hepatitis A;
Hepatitis B;
Hepatitis C;
Herpes simplex;
Human papillomavirus;
Lymphogranuloma venereum;
Pubic lice;
Salmonellosis;
Shigella;
Syphilis;
Tuberculosis.
HIV/AIDS
The high concentration of
white blood cells around the rectum, together with the risk of cuts to the rectum and that one of the functions of the rectum is to absorb fluid, increases the risk of HIV transmission because the HIV retrovirus reproduces within the immune system's
T-cells/CD4 cells. Use of
condoms and other precautions are a medically recommended way to lessen risk of infections. Unprotected receptive anal sex is the most risky sexual behavior in terms of HIV transmission.
Physical damage
Physical damage to the rectum and anus can manifest as generalized ano-rectal trauma,
hemorrhoids,
anal fissures, and
rectal prolapse. An insufficient amount of lubricant can make it especially painful or injurious. Damage is more likely if intercourse is forcible or aggressive, if alcohol or other drugs have dulled sensitivity, if communication is poor, or if technique is clumsy.
Incontinence
Incontinence has also been reported; the result of the anal sphincter losing its tonus. However a 1997 study published in the
American Journal of Gastroenterology found no difference in levels of incontinence between homosexual men who engaged in anal sex and heterosexual men who did not, and severely criticised an earlier 1993 study published in the
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine which had found that fourteen out of a sample of forty men receiving anal intercourse experienced episodes of frequent anal incontinence for its inclusion of
flatus in its definition of incontinence.
Dr. Jack Morin recommended
kegel exercises to prevent loss of muscle tone from anal fisting or insertion of large objects in a presentation of clinical aspects of anal sexuality, delivered at the 1998 joint conference of the
Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality and the
American Association of Sex Educators. He added, however, that he'd never personally observed "loosening" in any of his patients.
Cancer
Most cases of anal cancer are related to infection with the
human papilloma virus. The incidence of the disease has jumped 160% in men and 78% in women in the last thirty years, according to a 2004 American study. The increase is attributed to changing trends in sexual behavior and
tobacco use. Current use of tobacco increased the incidence of anal cancer four-fold, while a history of multiple sex partners (fifteen or more) or receptive anal sex increased the incidence seven-fold.
Legal issues
The legal status of anal sex varies greatly between jurisdictions, from being completely open and legal, to being illegal for male to male participation, to only being legal in marriage or even totally outlawed. In some areas where anal sex may otherwise be legal and the participants are above the general
age of consent there exists a higher age of consent for anal sex.
United States
Until 2003, the legality of anal sex varied from state to state. In some states, the practice was illegal. New York, Montana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Georgia had their anti-sodomy laws challenged and struck down by
state supreme court decisions, but other states, including Texas, upheld their state's laws criminalizing such conduct.
In 1986, in its decision in
Bowers v. Hardwick,
478 U.S. 186, the
United States Supreme Court held that there was no
constitutional right to privacy with respect to acts of anal sex performed in the privacy of one's home. A Georgia law criminalizing consensual sodomy in the privacy of one's home was therefore found to be constitutional. (The
Supreme Court of Georgia, in the case
Powell v. Georgia 270 Ga. 327, 510 S.E. 2d 18 (1998), later found that statute inconsistent with the
Georgia state constitution.)
In 2003, the
Supreme Court revisited
Bowers in the case of
Lawrence v. Texas,
539 U.S. 558, and held the Texas law against consensual sodomy to be unconstitutional. This ruling invalidated all statutes in the United States that made consensual sodomy illegal. The principle has been held applicable to laws governing similar behavior: for example, the
Supreme Court of Virginia held in
Martin v. Ziherl,
607 S.E.2d 367 (Va. 2005), that the generally unenforced law against
fornication was unconstitutional; the court's reasoning relied on
Lawrence.
Cultural issues
Historically, a number of cultures have recorded the practice of anal intercourse between men. The males who participated in such relationships often didn't do so exclusively, as participation in these relationships between men didn't preclude sex with women. Such relations have also been documented as taking place in houses of prostitution, which provided youths or young men.
Ancient and non-Western cultures
The term "Greek love" has long been used to refer to the practice, and in modern times, "doing it the Greek way" is sometimes used as
slang for anal sex. However, homosexual anal sex was far from a universally accepted practice in
Ancient Greece. It was the target of jokes in surviving comedies;
Aristophanes mockingly alludes to the practice, claiming that "Most citizens are europroktoi (wide-arsed) now." While
pedagogic pederasty was an essential element in the education of male youths, these relationships, at least in Athens and Sparta, were expected to steer clear of penetrative sex of any kind. There are very few works of pottery or other art that display anal sex between older men and boys, leave alone with adult men. Most such works depict fondling or
intercrural sex, which wasn't condemned for violating and feminizing the boys. Other sources make it clear that the practice was criticized as shameful, and seen as a form of
hubris.
In later
Roman age Greek poetry, anal sex became a common topos, represented as taking place with "eligible" youths: those who had attained the proper age but hadn't yet become adults. Seducing children into the practice was considered very shameful for the adult, and having such relations with a male who was no longer adolescent was considered more shameful for the young male than for the one mounting him. Greek courtesans, or
hetaerae, are said to have frequently practiced heterosexual anal intercourse as a means of preventing pregnancy, a matter in dispute. The acceptability of anal sex thus varied with the time-period and the location, as Ancient Greece spanned a long time and stretched over three continents and two major seas.
For a male citizen to take the passive (or receptive) role in anal intercourse was condemned in Rome as an act of
impudicitia (immodesty or unchastity). Free men, however, frequently took the active role with a young slave, known as a
catamite or
puer delicatus. In fact the Romans thought of anal sex as something specifically "Greek," although Roman men often availed themselves of their own slaves or others in this way.
In Japan, records (including detailed
shunga) show that at least some men in relationships with other men did engage in penetrative anal intercourse.
Evidence suggestive of widespread heterosexual anal intercourse in a pre-modern culture can be found in the erotic vases, or stirrup-spout pots, made by the
Moche people of Peru; in a survey of a collection of these pots, it was found that 31 percent of them depicted heterosexual anal intercourse, more by far than any other sex act. Moche pottery of this type belonged to the world of the dead, which was believed to be a reversal of life. Thus the reverse of common practices was often portrayed. The
Larco Museum houses an
Erotic Gallery
in which this pottery is showcased.
The 19th century anthropologist
Richard Francis Burton has theorized that there's a geographical
Sotadic zone wherein male/male penetrative intercourse is particularly prevalent and accepted; moreover he was one of the first writers to advance the premise that such an orientation is biologically determined.
Western cultures
In many Western countries, anal sex has generally been
taboo since the
Middle Ages when
heretical movements were sometimes attacked by accusations that their members practised anal sex among themselves. At that time the mainstream
Christian clergy wasn't celibate, but the highest orders of some heretical sects were, leading to rumours that their celibacy was a sign of their attraction to members of the same sex. The term
buggery originated in
medieval Europe as an insult used to describe the rumoured same-sex sexual practices of the heretics from a sect originating in
Bulgaria, where its followers were called
bogomils; when they spread out of the country they were called
buggres (from the
ethnonym Bulgars). Another term for the practice, more archaic, is "pedicate" from the
Latin pedicare, with the same meaning.
While men who engaged in homosexual relationships were generally suspected of engaging in anal sex, many such individuals did not. Among these, in recent times, have been
André Gide, who for that reason was said to have been the pope of a religion to which he didn't belong;
Oscar Wilde, who despite being accused of being a "
somdomite" (sic) by
the Marquess of Queensberry actually didn't engage in anal sex ; and
Noel Coward, who had a horror of disease, and asserted when young that "I'd never do anything - well the disgusting thing they do - because I know I could get something wrong with me."
In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
This prohibition of the
Abrahamic religions against anal sex has been promulgated under the rubric of "
sodomy," which includes various other transgressions of a sexual nature, whether with men, women or animals, or, according to some, as "not supporting the poor and the needy." This idea is vividly brought to life in the popular interpretation of the story of Sodom, where the people were prone to sexual immorality, and as a result were destroyed. There are conflicting views as to why Sodom was destroyed.
Judaism
Orthodox Judaism teaches that sodomy is homosexual anal sex, and is a sin and toevah (abomination), based on the Bible passages Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13; the injunction "Do not lie with a man the lyings of a woman; it's abhorrent." has led rabbinical scholars to conclude "these verses to prohibit anal sex between men without any exception." This interpretation is contrary to many scholars' belief that the passage is intended to refer only to temple prostitutes. The Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist branches of Judaism are accepting of homosexuality, but less so of sodomy.
However, Judaism permits heterosexual anal sex.
Christianity
In Christian countries it has often been referred to euphemistically as the
peccatum contra naturam (the sin against nature, after
Thomas Aquinas) or
Sodomitica luxuria (sodomitical lusts, in one of Charlemagne's ordinances), or
peccatum illud horribile, inter christianos non nominandum (that horrible sin that among Christians isn't to be named).
Although most
Christian denominations disapprove of anal sex, some believe it to be acceptable.
Islam
Liwat, or the sin of Lot's people, is officially prohibited by most Islamic sects. There are parts of the Qur'an which talk about smiting on
Sodom and Gomorrah, and this is thought to be a reference to unnatural sex, and so there are
hadith and Islamic laws which prohibit it. Practitioners of anal relations are called
luti and are seen as criminals in the same way that a thief is a criminal, meaning that they're giving in to a universal temptation. Liwat with a woman is known as
lesser liwat and with a man as
greater liwat.Further Information
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