A person with an exceptionally large penis could conceivably wreak some physical damage upon his partner, but this is not likely. More often, the damage would be preceded by enough pain that the subject would call a halt to the proceedings rather than go on. Of course, these observations do not apply to the introduction of foreign, non-human objects in the anal opening. The author of a tremendously successful guide to sexual knowledge reports that “some of the more routine items that find their way into the gastrointestinal systems of homosexuals via the exit are pens, pencils, lipsticks, combs, pop bottles, ladies’ electric shavers, and enough other items to stock a small department store.” (David Reuben, M. D., Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, p. 149.) We shall not be concerned here with the moral or religious arguments against anal sexual intercourse. Those arguments are real and convincing to many people, empty and false to others, and it seems profitless to try reconciling the varying extremes of opinion. Our purpose is, first, to provide information about what anal sexuality is and, second, to explain its physical and psychological appeal insofar as this is possible. Moral judgments will be left to the reader.
It is not necessarily a sign of a depraved, warped mentality to respond positively to stimulation of the anal area. The human nervous system is constructed in such a way that there is a plentiful supply of nerve endings in the anal region, especially on its surface. Thus the anus and the area immediately around it can easily be stimulated through touch. The anal sphincter muscles, which are designed primarily to keep the anal tract closed tight, can react to stimulation in a way that is erotically arousing to many people. Thus, a response to a partner’s loving touch in the anal region may simply be recognition of the physical facts of life: the touch is arousing and it does produce a positive erotic reaction.
In some people, to be sure, the taboos against any kind of anal sexual activity are sufficiently strong that these stimuli result in a negative reaction. In these cases, it seems clear the individual is applying a learned form of behavior to his physical reactions and is negatively stimulated. The sensations which arouse excitement and a desire to continue the stimulation can produce either a violent revulsion or a strong inclination to repeat the Stimulus, depending upon the training of the individual concerned.
To make the situation even more complex, we must also recognize that in many individuals the “forbidden acts” are even more arousing and exciting than those which are sanctioned by society. Moralists may be depressed by the fact that they can sometimes respond so energetically to violations of their own moral code, but the fact remains: there is sometimes more real excitement in violating social codes than in upholding and observing them.
As the foregoing discussion suggests, anal sex can provide real physical stimulation and also a form of psychological stimulation. These stimuli are not mutually exclusive, of course. They can easily be combined in the same individual. Anal sexuality, to use modern vernacular, “has a lot going for it.”
This being the case, we ought not to be surprised to find that a considerable number of people make use of the arousal potential of this form of sexual activity. While that number might not bulk especially large in the total population of the United States, even a minuscule percentage can equal a sizable body of people. Devotion to the anus, as a mode of achieving sexual satisfaction, is by no means a monopoly of the male homosexual, as some would have us believe.
Occasionally one finds women who greatly prefer anal intercourse to any other kind of sex play. Such was the case with Linda G-, who wrote, “Anal intercourse is, for me, a far more satisfactory means of obtaining multiple orgasms than vaginal intercourse and I have been enjoying the former act for nearly fifteen years, averaging no less than three times weekly. There have been no signs of hemorrhoids, no irregularity, and since the first few times I experienced no pain. There is considerable pleasure for me during the act, and after the emission of semen I enjoy a five or ten minute period of utter serenity.” (Schoenfeld, Dear Dr. Hip Pocrates,) In exceptional cases, anal intercourse may be combined with more orthodox forms of sexual activity, as the following letter indicates: “Recently my husband and I have submitted to “double-screwing,” i.e., one penis in my vagina and a second in my rectum simultaneously. It isn’t easy to do, but when it is I am transported into another world! For me to reach climax half a dozen times is not unusual and each orgasm is more gratifying than the one preceding it.” (Quoted in ibid., pp. 7–8.) In these cases, one feels sure, at least part of the pleasure reported stems from the fact that the subject is participating in a “forbidden act,” violating a deeply held social taboo. There are very few women in whom the vagina and the adjacent organs, together with the nerve endings which provide the physical stimulation needed for sexual arousal, are atrophied or dysfunctional. That is, there is seldom any clear physiological reason why the anus should be preferred to the vagina as a receptacle for the penis. The preference is far more likely to be due to psychological peculiarities of the particular individual.
In virtually every case history that we can find, the subject reports that first attempts at performing anal sexual intercourse were accompanied with at least a moderate amount of pain. Whether the individual was male or female, they found that a penis could not be inserted into the rectum with ease. The female subjects investigated were almost unanimous in agreeing that the first attempts at sodomy were more painful than the first attempts at performing vaginal intercourse. Many of the women agreed that practice worked wonders in easing the penis’s entrance but this is not the point we wish to make. The reader should realize that pain can sometimes be a stimulant and, in the case of some individuals, a powerful spur toward more complete sexual arousal.
Masochism, the ability to become sexually aroused through experiencing pain, would appear to explain the fascination anal sexual intercourse has for certain women. “Some women,” remarks a widely respected authority in the field, “enjoy being subjected to sodomrntic practices because of their strong masochistic component.” (Caprio, Variations in Sexual Behavior, p. 268.) We can hardly end this discussion of anal sexuality without commenting on the legal aspects of the act. It should be clearly understood by every reader that, in most states, anal sexual intercourse is illegal. We can do no better, when considering this question, than to quote from a widely respected authority on sexual behavior: “In most states the sodomy acts are so worded that they would apply to mouth-genital contacts and to anal coitus between married persons, as well as to both heterosexual and homosexual relations outside marriage. Few people are aware that the sodomy acts can be extended to married partners. The penalties for such acts may in some jurisdictions be exceeded only by the penalties for murder, kidnapping and rape. There are court statements on the applicability of these sodomy statutes, and one case even goes ‘so far as to uphold the conviction of a man for soliciting his ‘wife to commit sodomy. We have cases of persons who were convicted because one of the spouses objected, or because some other person became aware that oral or anal play had been included in the marital activities. There are, however, few prosecutions under these laws, but as long as they remain on the books, they are subject to capricious enforcement and become tools for blackmailers.” (Kinsey, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, p. 370.) It should be amply clear that while there may be no serious medical or physiological objections to anal sexual intercourse, the law is of another mind. Admittedly the chances of detection are slim, but the reader must realize that such acts are illegal.