Rectal gonorrhea is transmitted exclusively through sexual contact. Symptoms appear within three to seven days of exposure and include soreness or burning during bowel movements and an anal discharge. Up to 80 percent of women who have gonorrhea have no symptoms, and this is even more true in cases of rectal gonorrhea than vaginal gonorrhea.’ Rectal gonorrhea is treated with antibiotics, including penicillin, tetracycline, and ceftriaxone.[61]
The symptoms of chlannydia, which is transmitted through sexual contact, present one to three weeks after infection and are very similar to those of gonorrhea, including bowel movement discomfort, anal burning, soreness, and discharge; women may also experience swelling and soreness of the lymph nodes and rectal bleeding. Two-thirds of women, however, have no symptoms.[62] Chlamydia is also treated with antibiotics like doxycycline and azithromycin. Studies show that 45 percent of people with gonorrhea also have chlamydia, so people who’ve been diagnosed with one disease should definitely be tested for the other.[63]
Much less common today than in the past, syphilis is transmitted through vaginal, oral, and anal sex or through mucous membranes and cuts in the skin. It can have an incubation period of two to eight weeks. Ten to ninety days after exposure, people with syphilis experience the primary stage of the virus. A round ulcer (called a chancre) erupts in the affected area. The area in and around the chancre may ache or burn—or not. People may also have swollen lymph nodes. After the chancre hardens, heals, and disappears, the secondary stage begins. The secondary stage is marked by a general skin rash that may be itchy and painful. You may also experience fever, swollen glands, aching joints, headaches, nausea, and/or constipation. This stage is when people are most contagious.
The third and fourth stages, latent and tertiary, are very serious and can be deadly if untreated. Syphilis is treated with antibiotics, usually penicillin, doxycycline, or tetracycline.
HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is carried and transmitted through bodily fluids and most concentrated in blood, semen, menstrual blood, breast milk, and vaginal secretions. HIV is transmitted in several ways: through unprotected sexual contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person, by sharing needles with an infected person (through intravenous drug use), by receiving infected blood (through a transfusion), or from mother to baby via amniotic fluid, during delivery or breast-feeding. Current literature confirms that it’s easier for women to get AIDS from men through sexual intercourse than vice versa.[64] This is because the tissue of the vagina is more susceptible than the tissue of the penis to trauma, tears, and minute sores, which provide infected semen a direct route to the bloodstream—and this is even more true of the tissue of the rectum. Also, semen has a higher viral load than vaginal fluid.
Women can transmit the virus to their women partners through unprotected oral and digital stimulation, especially if there are cuts or sores (which may or may not be visible) in their mouths or on their hands. They can also transmit the virus by sharing sex toys without using condoms or disinfecting them.
Finally, intravenous drug use is the riskiest route of all.
12 • THE ULTIMATE FRONTIER
My goal for this book is to give women knowledge about their bodies, so we may all have safe, pleasurable anal erotic experiences. In my research, I have come across so many women who really enjoy anal sex—the unique physical sensations, the emotional intensity, the complex psychological dynamics. These same women took a major step in breaking their silence—a silence so widespread among all of us—to tell me that they love anal sex. Then they told me why they love to do it, how they love to do it, when they love do it, and with whom (or what) they love to do it. It felt great to finally hear other women’s stories and not feel so alone with my own desires, fantasies, and experiences of anal sex. I hope The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women incites this kind of communication among its readers and that this important dialogue continues.
There are other books about anal sexuality in the works as this one goes to press, and I find that very exciting. There is so much more scientific, medical, and anecdotal research yet to be done on the subject. Just as each person’s ass is unique, each person’s particular take on anal sexuality is, too. We need more surveys, more stories, more guides, more information. Just think—the more information we have, the more anal sex we can have!
You obviously had the desire and curiosity to learn more about anal sexuality or you would never have picked up this book. If you’ve gotten this far, my desire is that you are now armed with information, resources, ideas, and some answers to your questions. Questions! People have so many questions about anal eroticism. I hope I have answered some important ones. I also hope that if you’ve got others, you’ll ask them. Ask a friend, a lover, a health care professional, a sexologist, or one of the incredibly well-trained voices on the other end of the line at San Francisco Sex Information. The more I’ve brought up the subject of anal eroticism in my travels, the more people I’ve found who really want to talk about it. If we try not to censor ourselves, we just may learn something new—a simple how-to technique or even a secret hunger your lover never thought she could tell you.
Use this book with love, understanding, desire, and trust; ideally, it will reward you with some hot, sexy anal play.
Remember that patience and practice make perfect. In my anal erotic experiences, I’ve felt sheer bliss, absolute surrender, indescribable rapture, and overwhelming pleasure—and I haven’t gotten anywhere near perfect yet. In fact, I don’t really want to. For me, the ultimate thrill is in the voyage.
RESOURCES
The American Medical Women’s Association Guide to Sexuality by Roselyn Payne and Susan Cobb Stewart (New York: Dell Books, 1996). Although it may look like a conservative, straight-laced, dry medical guide, don’t judge this book by its cover (or title); in fact, it’s incredibly informative and has especially useful details on women’s sexual health as well as STDs and how they affect both the vagina and the rectum.
Anal Pleasure and Health by Jack Morin (San Franicisco: Yes/Down There Press, 1986). As far as I am concerned, Jack Morin is the anal sex guru, and everyone should get a copy of this book; based on over six years of research, this latest of several revised editions is the most reliable source for information on anal sex. It also includes extensive work on psychological aspects of anal sexuality. A new edition is due in 1998.