Myths About Anal Fisting

Just as there are many myths about anal sex in general, there are several misconceptions about anal fisting (or handballing) in particular. The following are a few of the most common myths.

Myth #1: Fisting is literally what it sounds like it is. Anal fisting is not exactly what it sounds like—you don't just make a fist and stick it in someone's ass. Fisting is a gradual penetration process of adding finger after finger until you can curve your fingers and comfortably fit your entire hand in someone's rectum. Some people may cringe when they read that, but when done safely and properly, fisting can be an incredibly intense, pleasurable experience for both partners. As Bert Herrman, one of the leading experts on anal fisting, reminds us, "The joy comes from the feeling not the anatomical description."

Myth #2: Only gay men practice anal fisting. In the late 1960s and 1970s, gay and bisexual men popularized the practice of anal fisting, especially in bathhouses and private parties in major urban areas. It is widely believed that people engaged in fisting for decades before the sexual revolution, but the recorded history of the practice in Western culture dates to the late sixties. (According to sex educator Robert Morgan, fisting has been practiced in China and India for thousands of years.) Like other forms of anal sex, anal fisting has become intrinsically linked with gay men, and only gay men, because particular communities of gay men were widely practicing it. However, while not as common as other forms of anal eroticism, anal fisting is practiced and enjoyed by many women, with both female and male partners.

In her erotic writing of the early 1980s, Pat Califia wrote about anal fisting among lesbians who practiced S/M, and by the early 1990s, Bert Herrman reported that both men and women subscribed to Trust/The Handballing

TWO FINGERS, THEN THREE, sank into Roxanne's ass. She barely noticed. She was humming along on a smooth road. This was so easy, there was so little friction that it barely qualified as flicking. Nevertheless, there was pleasure, enough to turn her into a squirmy little girl, so bad and dirty that she wanted people to bend her over, pull down her panties, put things up her ass, move them in and out, make her tell them how much she liked it and squeal for more. Some women, in fact, become aware of and interested in anal fisting through gay male pornography. Many women, especially lesbians, enjoy gay male erotic stories, photography, and videos and have learned about techniques and safety from these sources as well as from gay men who practice anal fisting. My most erotic fantasies have always revolved around gay male pornographic images, which is part of why anal fisting appeals to me.

Myth #3: Anal fisting is dangerous. Some people think that anal fisting will leave the receptive partner in diapers or the insertive partner with a disease. When anal fisting is done with patience and care, it will not injure either of you. Insertive partners can practice safer sex to protect themselves from contracting an STD or other diseases. Contrary to some popular misconceptions, being anally fisted will not make you bleed excessively, damage your rectum, stretch out your anus, or rupture your intestines—if done correctly.