By Sharissa Washington

Controversial

As you begin to read this article, you have to realize that there are two opposing camps when it comes to anal sex. One group regards the practice as unnecessary, and downright evil, while the other group regards the practice as a source of good healthy pleasure. Between the camps are the varying degrees of acceptance and millions of people who have a very limited understanding of this subject which has been taboo until recent times.

Any mainstream newsstand these days is packed with magazines which contain articles that blatantly promote anal sex as a normal and acceptable practice. True, it’s usually men’s health, and culture related magazines or adult magazines featuring stimulating pictures of undressed female models, but there it is, anal sex at the mainstream newsstands of America.

Illegal

There was a time when a woman’s husband could be imprisoned for having anal sex with her in their own bedroom, even if she invited him to. Anal sex was illegal and there are many places where it still is. When traveling out of town or abroad, it’s always a good idea to walk into the local police station, clear your throat and shout, ” Excuse me, I’m new in town and I was wondering if it’s legal to have anal sex here.” I’m kidding of course. The police are just like everyone else. Some of them will be regular anal fans, and some will want to hurt you for even thinking about such an evil deed.

Generally, although not universally, these days it’s no longer against the law to have anal sex. Discretion is advisable, however.

Immoral

So what if the priests find out? Is hell full of butt-bandits and shirt-lifters? Even after the legal issues are disregarded, there are still many people who wonder if a little back door work might get them into trouble on judgement day. If you think God has more important issues to consider than where things were placed during your sex life, or if you don’t even think about God, period, then the moral issues involved shouldn’t bother you. Anal sex is as moral or immoral as you decide it should be. It’s up to you. As with everything else, moralists generally decide what is okay or not according to their own particular needs and desires. If they have no desire to experiment with anal, they may be inclined to imagine that anyone who does may be regarded as being very bad and due for some kind of punishment.

Homosexual

It should come as no surprise that both partners in a male, same-sex relationship are lacking a vagina! Possessors of penises have a tendency to want to put them somewhere that can provide a pleasurable thrusting environment, so for millions of years, males have been entering other males from behind. Consequently, anal sex is regarded as being a mainly homosexual practice my many people.

Surprise! Women have anuses too. Not only do they have them, but more and more female people are discovering that it can be a pleasure to be on the receiving end of this practice. It’s not only fun for the visitor, but also for the gracious host.

The shift in mainstream public opinion about anal sex is not only towards acceptance of the issue, but also towards the image of the practice being both homosexual and heterosexual.

Discouraged

A lot changed when the AIDS pandemic began to take so many lives in the eighties. The acceptance of gay men in society suffered a setback. They were doing quite well before the deaths started, and then suddenly they were back in the fifties as far as their social standing was concerned.

It seemed as if the free, loving lifestyles of many promiscuous gay men had contributed to the rapid spread of the killer condition. Anal sex in particular re-acquired it’s evil status almost overnight. The cross contamination of body fluids between the giver and the recipient, who can get tiny bleeding lesions seemed to be spreading the disease after every new union.

Our featured practice seemed all of a sudden to be as dangerous as Russian Roulette.

Accepted but barely understood

With the rapid spread of safe-sex practices, however, anal sex crept it’s way out of the dark shady corners of society and onto the pages of trendy magazines. At last, for it’s fans, anal was okay. It’s practically on tee-shirts and bumper stickers now. Everyone seems to be doing it and talking about doing it.

Encouraged, with informative guidelines

So here we are, society’s sheep, obediently preparing to try the latest hot trend. Some of us have experienced nothing more than our doctor’s gloved finger in there once a year, and some of us have been taking it forever.

What is a good way to go about experiencing this new thing for the first time? What about the dreaded substance? What about smell? What about pain or discomfort? What about AIDS?

Be willing and clean

First and foremost, anal sex should never be a surprise! The receiver has to be willing! Some forward planning is advisable. When adult movie actors prepare to indulge in anal for the cameras, as they often do because anal movies are a hugely popular category in that business, they frequently administer an enema before commencing to perform the scene. This is so that no matter what happens, the audience won’t see any distasteful color on the star object following it’s withdrawal.

For the none performer, a bath or shower will usually suffice. Evacuation of the bowels should have taken place, and the application of soap and water is usually enough to prevent the horrors. We hear stories about food poisoning from restaurants where the chef didn’t wash his hands after visiting the bathroom. True, the bacteria present in the anus are dangerous when ingested. But a good wash renders the area fairly safe, if not completely without risk.

Aside from penile penetration, the sensitive nerve endings around and just inside the orifice respond very favorably to stimulation from the tongue. Now some people will have gagged after reading this. Surely this is the last place anyone would want to place their tongue?

No! Analingus is a common practice which has been known to produce as much pleasure for some recipients as any other act possible. There is a product available called an oral dam which is a sheet of latex that forms a barrier between the tongue and the object being licked. Use of such a device is the only sure fire way of being protected here, but human saliva does a fairly good job of forming the necessary barrier. So do some of the edible lubricants.

The key to the door

The sphincter muscle is designed to control what leaves the anus. It also controls what is admitted! Patience and care may be needed to get by here. Of course protection is highly recommended for the sake of both partners, but just as important as the condom is the water based lubricant. The back door doesn’t have the same properties as the vagina when it comes to self lubrication. Unlike the vagina, however it is self cleaning to a certain extent. What goes up, must come down.

The vagina can stretch considerably. I know because I once gave birth to my daughter! The anus, on the other hand is much less elastic. Go easy the first time. Start with one, and then two well lubricated fingers before bringing the horse to the stable door.

But why bother?

Because it’s there. Because it feels naughty and forbidden. Because it can be intensely physically pleasurable for many people.

What the recipient feels depends to large extent upon their gender. A female experiences heightened arousal and a connection to the clitoris. A male experiences unique sensations connected to the prostate gland. People of either gender can orgasm as a result of anal penetration alone. The male who has entered the door experiences something quite different from the vagina that his appendage evolved to fill. Many men prefer the back door to the front door.

Even during vaginal penetration, or male or female oral sex, the insertion of a vibrator into the anus can heighten the sensations considerably. Some prefer to have it switched on at the point of climax, others like it on earlier.

But I don’t want to!

You don’t want to try it? Then don’t. It’s not necessary to try something because your friends do it, or because some woman in an E-zine says it’s great. If you get old and die without experiencing anal sex, your life will not suffer for it. There are plenty of other things in the universe that can make you feel good. I’m a strange woman, and I know that my tastes differ from those of most people. You can be a different as you like.

But if you do indulge, be safe, be clean, be patient and be considerate of your partner. If one of you is having a lousy time, stop! Because that means there’s something terribly wrong going on.

Sharissa Washington wrote this article in 2000