Anal sex
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Template:Portalpar Image:Romanmanandyouth.jpg Anal sex or anal intercourse is a commonly practiced form of human sexual behavior. While the term anal sex can be used to describe any sexual act involving the anus and/or rectum, it is more specifically used to describe the insertion of the erect penis into the rectum through the anus. It is practiced by a wide variety of people including both heterosexual and homosexual partners.
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Overview
Although it is also practiced by heterosexuals and bisexuals, anal sex is often associated with homosexual men. However, like persons of other sexual orientations, some gay and bisexual men enjoy sexual activities of this kind while others do not. Due to the wide range of people that practice anal sex, the reasons that people have for practicing anal sex vary greatly.
Generally, for women, pleasure is derived through anal intercourse due to the shared nerve endings that are located between the rectal wall and the vagina. The anus itself also contains many nerves which can also react in a pleasurable manner when excited. In regular sexual intercourse, the vagina normally produces its own lubrication while the rectum does not do so. That is why personal lubricants (which can generally be bought in drug stores) are recommended by sexologists for use during anal sex.
On the other hand, males who participate in anal sex have different reasons for the pleasure experienced. Men who have anal sex with a female partner generally cite the tightness of the anus as a primary source of pleasure, while males recieving anal intercourse generally gain pleasure through the prostate gland that is located near the rectal wall. Much like women, men do not produce lubrication in the rectal area; that is why men are simillarly encouraged to use personal lubricants if chose to recieve anal sex.
Using personal lubricants during anal sex not only increases the pleasure of the people involved, it also decreases the risk of STIs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, unprotected anal sex carries more risk of STI transmission than vaginal or oral sex due to the less lubricated nature of the rectal area. In addition to lubrication, people who engage in anal sex are encouraged first and foremost to use a latex condom in order to reduce these risks with their sexual partners.
Anal sex among heterosexuals
Edward O. Laumann's The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States found that about 20% of heterosexuals have engaged in anal sex, and sex researcher Alfred Kinsey found that number to be closer to 40%. More recently, a researcher from the University of British Columbia (quoted in the May 5 2005 issue of The Georgia Straight) puts the number of heterosexuals who regularly practice anal sex at between 30% and 50%.
In several cultures (such as the Mediterranean area, Middle East and Latin America) female receptive anal intercourse in a heterosexual context is widely accepted, especially as there is less risk of unwanted pregnancy via unprotected anal than unprotected vaginal intercourse. Anal sex is even sometimes seen as preserving female virginity (or at least preserving an intact hymen until marriage) Template:Fact.
Some have purported that the appeal of anal sex, to heterosexuals, is the concept of degradation: the woman is being used for the man's pleasure, without receiving any on her own. However, this is generally not considered to be the reason most people have anal sex. One of the predominant reasons for it is to prevent pregnancy, but this method is not fool-proof. Another is that the anus is considered to be "tighter" than the vagina, therefore yielding more tactile pleasure for the penis. However, women can enjoy anal sex greatly and even can achieve anal orgasm if performed correctly.
In certain contexts male-male anal intercourse among males who otherwise identify as heterosexual is seen as a temporary behaviour to which they resort when confined in single-sex environments. An example of such situation can be found in prisons or with soldiers that are separated from partners. (See: Situational sexual behavior and Prison sex) Some men have sex with men without categorising themselves as homosexual or bisexual. These men who have sex with men (MSM) may still identify as heterosexual while engaging in same sex activity from time to time. (See Down-low.)
Anal sex among gay/bisexual men
In modern times in Western cultures, anal sex is popularly associated with gay men, and studies (Lauman, for example) claim that about 80% of gay men in the United States have engaged in anal sex.
Not all gay/bi men, however, regularly engage in anal sex or find it pleasurable. A significant minority may never engage in the activity at all (the remainaing 20% in the Lauman study). Furthermore, the numbers in sexual surveys tend to reflect whether a gay man has ever had anal sex or has had anal sex in the last year, not distinguishing between men who've simply tried it and men who regularly engage in it. Among men who do enjoy anal sex some may reserve it only for committed relationships. Since data on gay (or bi) sexual behavior tends to arouse such controversy, it is difficult to make solid claims in this area.
While some gay/bi male couples comprise an "active" partner and a "receptive" or "passive" partner (a top and a bottom) this is not true of all gay/bi couples who practice anal sex: many gay/bi men who have anal sex both "top" and "bottom" at different times, also known as "versatile" or "switch."
Several gay slang terms, such as the ones described are generally reserved only for anal sex between two males.
Cultural issues
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Eastern Cultures
Historically, several cultures, such as medieval Japan and others are known to have been normative practitioners of male-male anal intercourse, often in the context of a mentor-student relationship between an adolescent male and an adult man (see pederasty). Some claim that the males who participated in such relationships cannot properly be called homosexual, arguing that in classical cultures such distinctions did not exist, and participation in these male-male relationships did not preclude sex with women. The persistence of such practices in areas such as certain nomadic parts of the Middle East (where it is believed men are for pleasure and women are for sex) Template:Citation needed clouds this distinction, however.
The practice is thought to have been so common in Ancient Greece that the term "Greek love" was used to refer to the practice, and in modern times, "Greek" is sometimes used as slang for anal sex. However, the view that homosexual anal sex was a commonly accepted practice in Ancient Greece is widely disputed. Some literature has argued that the important social transgression was lowering oneself socially, that is, a high status person was not supposed to be penetrated by a lower status person, and thus passive anal intercourse by men was frowned upon in Ancient Greece and considered a serious moral transgression. Certainly, male passive anal intercourse was (officially) frowned-upon in RomeTemplate:Citation needed. Others have argued that in Greece, rather than anal sex, male-male couples actually engaged in non-penetrative interfemoral intercourse. However, this view has been disputed. The historian K.J. Dover discusses these matters thoroughly in his classic work Greek Homosexuality.
In several cultures, notably Japan, records (including detailed woodblock prints) leave no question that male-male couples did engage in penetrative anal intercourse.
The 19th century anthropologist Richard Francis Burton has theorized that there is 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.<ref name="burton1885">Template:Cite web</ref>
In many cultures, even those where female receptive anal intercourse is considered normative, male receptive anal intercourse, even in a heterosexual context, is seen as taboo, or as less common. In some cultures anal sex is so commonly linked with homosexuality that any male who engages in receptive anal intercourse is considered homosexual, even if he is penetrated by a female partner with a sexual device (see pegging) or other things such as her hand, finger, or fist. In some cultures, only males who are penetrated by other males are considered homosexual, while males who penetrate other males are not.
Some women, both lesbians and heterosexual women, practice anal sex as the "active" partner, using fingers or sex toys to penetrate their partners.
Western Cultures
In many Western countries, anal sex has generally been thought taboo since the Middle Ages when heretical movements were sometimes slandered by rumours that their members practiced anal sex among themselves. At that time the mainstream Christian clergy was not 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 the Buggre sect. This sect originated in medieval Bulgaria, where its followers were called bogomils, but when they spread out of the country they were called buggres (from the ethnonym Bulgars).
Some medieval European woodcuts portray persons kissing the anus of a goat-like figure representing the Christian Devil.
As recently as 2003, several jurisdictions in the United States had laws making anal sex and other forms of sodomy a crime. Many of these statutes purported to prohibit anal sex by same-sex partners. In 2003, John Lawrence and Tyron Garner brought a landmark suit that challenged as unconstitutional Texas's anti-sodomy law before the United States Supreme Court. Lawrence and Garner had previously been apprehended in Lawrence's home in the act of anal sex, after a neighbour had made a false noise complaint to the local police. The Supreme Court struck down the Texas law by a 6–3 vote. Five of the justices joined the deciding opinion, which overturned the Court's previous ruling on sodomy in Bowers v. Hardwick. The Court reached the conclusion that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibited the state from regulating private behaviours between adults without furthering a legitimate state interest. The governmental interest behind the law, moral objection to homosexuality, was held to not be a legitimate interest. (See Lawrence v. Texas.)
Health issues
Unprotected sex, including anal sex, is an effective means of transmitting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). According to health-care professionals, condoms should always be used for anal intercourse, but they should not be considered an absolute safeguard. In principle, anal sex with anyone known to have a sexually transmissible disease, and indeed with anyone whose disease status has not been determined, should be avoided. HIV testing, however, can be unreliable; it is possible for someone who is tested to receive a "false negative". This advice applies to all sexual activity that effectively transmits STDs.
Anal penetration carries some risks which vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and "outercourse" do not. These are mostly due to two factors:
- The rectum and large intestine, unlike the vagina, do not contain their own lubricating mechanism, which means friction or insertion damage can happen more easily. Also, the tissues in these areas are particularly delicate and susceptible to tearing, and the intestine as a whole twists and is much less strongly muscled and padded, which means physical injury is somewhat easier too. This is especially the case when using sex toys, because forceful insertion of large or sharp objects can damage or even rupture it much more easily.
- Part of the rectum's function is to absorb fluid into the blood stream, so it has strong blood circulation and is an easy barrier to cross if there is even a small tear in the intestinal lining; therefore infections can be transmitted easily.
These risks can be mitigated by the use of personal lubricant and condoms, and taking care while using sex toys. Like all forms of penetrative sex with a non-exclusive partner, condoms should always be used for anal intercourse, but they should not be considered an absolute safeguard. Oil-based lubricants like Vaseline, however, destroy latex condoms, and the two should not be used together. Basic blood tests can be used to determine HIV status but may result in "false positives" or "false negatives", and it is recommended that a person retest every six months to show a reliable reaction.
Since the rectal tissues are so easily damaged, and since the anorectal muscles are largely under involuntary control, slow, gentle, and responsive insertion is necessary to avoid pain and tearing.
It is also very important to be careful when inserting objects into the anus. Objects with edges or points can cause severe injury. Moreover, objects could get lodged in the rectum, requiring medical intervention; hospital records confirm how inventive human beings can be in discovering objects to insert into their rectums. For this reason, most modern dildos are made with flared bases. Additionally, nothing longer than eight inches (20 cm) should be inserted into the rectum without care and preparation. Objects forced more than seven or eight inches (17-20 cm) into the body risk colliding with the sigmoid colon, a bend in the intestine, and in cases of rough handling, trauma can result in internal bleeding with potentially fatal results.
Nothing that has been placed in or at the anus, including fingers, should ever contact the vagina or the mouth, either externally or internally, without being thoroughly washed with anti-bacterial soap or a similar disinfectant, to avoid infection caused by the transmission of bacteria or by feces becoming lodged internally. Condoms can be placed over sex toys and latex or nitrile gloves can be worn to protect the hands and fingers. These should be used once and then discarded. Objects inserted in the anus should be washed carefully after every use. Shared sex toys can also transmit disease or infection, and should be thoroughly cleaned between use or be covered with a condom that is discarded between users. Silicone, metal acrylic, and glass dildos may be sterilized via cleaning and boiling instead. (See masturbation for more information on the use of sex toys.)
Some couples engage in "felching," where the top sucks out the semen he has deposited in the anus of the bottom as a result of "bareback" anal intercourse. Like rimming, this practice carries with it considerable health risks.
Like any form of sex, anal sex is rendered much more dangerous under the influence of alcohol or drugs, which reduce responses, judgment, and ability to pay attention to one's own needs.
Condoms and anal sex
Condoms are known to be less effective and more prone to burst or slip during anal sex than vaginal sex. It has been estimated that condoms fail anywhere from 10% - 32% of the time during anal sex.<ref name="silverman1997">Template:Cite journal</ref> Due to this Durex has added a warning to boxes of their condoms saying "for vaginal sex only".
Some manufacturers offer "extra strong" condoms designed specifically for anal intercourse. These condoms, while stronger, are usually not coated with spermicide and so offer less protection against pregnancy should semen enter a woman's vagina. However, since spermicide is not believed to help prevent STDs, the lacking of spermicide is not an issue for homosexual sex, and strengthened condoms should be used.
Legal issues
References
Further reading
- Bentley, Toni The Surrender: An Erotic Memoir, Regan Books, 2004.
- Houser, Ward Anal Sex. Encyclopedia of Homosexuality. Dynes, Wayne R. (ed.), Garland Publishing, 1990. pp. 48-50.
- Morin, Jack Anal Pleasure & Health: A Guide for Men and Women, Down There Press, 1998.
- Taormino, Tristan Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women, Cleis Press, 1997, 2006.
See also
- Anal-oral contact
- Anal masturbation
- Anal orgasm
- Ass to mouth, aka "ATM" or "A2M"
- Ass to pussy
- Barebacking
- Buggery Act (UK)
- Fisting
- List of anal sex positions
- Santorum controversy
- Sexual slang
- Splash conception
- Strap-on dildo
- Tristan Taorminobg:Анален секс
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