Choose to Explore
While it still remains a taboo subject in public, privately more and more men and women are interested in exploring anal play in one form or another. While it is by no means a required part of healthy sexual expression (as with any other sexual behavior, anal play should be a choice, not a pressure) this increased interest is good news for at least two reasons.The Benefits of Anal Eroticism
Firstly, more interest means more of us can get clear and accurate information about a part of the body often shrouded in mystery.Secondly, this whole area of our body has been largely ignored for its sexual potential. The bum, the anus, and the rectum are all sites of enormous potential pleasure. They respond to feelings of touch, pressure, movement, and can be incredibly pleasurable.
That said, there is still a pervasive taboo about anal play, and perhaps because of this, sharing this sort of forbidden activity can also be a way of increasing the intimacy between partners.
Dispelling fear and combating ignorance is the first step to enjoying anal sex. Here are five important steps to exploring anal play.
- Learn about the anus. These are some of the pleasure points: The opening of the anus contains the highest concentration of nerve endings. Thereafter, the anus responds mostly to feelings of fullness or pressure. Putting pressure on the ventral wall of the anus a couple of inches in will stimulate the (male) prostate gland. The tip of the (internal) clitoral body in women can also be stimulated through the anus.
- Relax and take the time to explore your anal opening (sphincter muscles), anal canal, (male) prostate gland. Be conscious of what feels good, what does not. Stop if you are overwhelmed by difficult or negative emotions. Breathe, relax, continue if you choose. If it hurts, do not force it. Pain is an indication that something is not quite right.
- Open your mind to all the possibilities of anal play. These include touching with fingers or other body parts or objects, licking or oral-anal contact (popularly known as rimming), pulling open the buttocks thereby stretching the anal opening, and penetration with fingers, toys, penis. Do not forget fantasy and dirty talking to augment anal play -- or during another type of play entirely!
- Play safely. Because the lining of the anus is very sensitive to damage, special precautions should be taken. Anything near or in the anus should be smooth or free of jagged edges; cut fingernails short and round the edges with an emery board. Dildos with a flared base are advised - anything that slips out of your grasp may not be easily retrievable! Lubricant is essential for anal penetration as the anus does not produce its own lubrication.
- Keep clean. Do not put anything from the anus to vagina -- bacteria that live quite happily in the anus with cause havoc in the vagina. Use a fresh condom on penis or toys and a fresh latex glove on hands, or wash very thoroughly. Use a dental dam or slice open a condom to use as a barrier for oral-anal contact.
