Print, Paul AvrilIn modern Western countries anal sex is reported as being a widely practiced, if still minority, form of intercourse between men and women. In some cultures, receptive anal intercourse by heterosexual partners is widely accepted. One reason is that there is very low risk of unwanted pregnancy via unprotected anal intercourse. Also, anal sex is sometimes seen as preserving female virginity because it leaves the hymen intact. Another reason is that the anus is considered to yield more tactile pleasure for the penis, being tighter than the vagina.[3] The Renaissance poet Pietro Aretino advocated the practice in his Sonetti Lussuriosi (Lust Sonnets).
Anal sex and female virginity
Though more often applied to first penetration, the concept of "technical virginity" is sometimes conceived as resting solely on vaginal penetration. In Norman Mailer's novel Harlot's Ghost, a character states that in Italy, an unmarried woman had to be "a maiden before and a martyr behind", implying that such women were obliged to submit to anal sex and that anal sex was painful.
In other cases, first anal intercourse is conceived of as ending a separate virginity from first vaginal intercourse,[9] with varying degrees of seriousness. In a Rolling Stone interview, comedian Sarah Silverman joked: "I didn't lose my virginity until I was twenty-six. Nineteen vaginally, but twenty-six what my boyfriend calls 'the real way.'"
Pegging
A woman using a strap-on dildo to anally penetrate a man is referred to as pegging. Due to the proximity of the prostate gland to the rectum, it has been suggested that males may achieve greater satisfaction in this manner than females.
Prevalence
According to a 2004 report, "Some research suggests that one in four heterosexuals in the US has tried anal sex and for one in , it is an occasional or episodic practice. Other surveys suggest that seven times as many women as gay men engage in anal intercourse, a figure reflecting the greater overall heterosexual population."
In 2005, a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control determined that the incidence of anal relations in the heterosexual population is on the increase. The survey showed that 40 percent of men and 35 percent of women between 25 and 44 had engaged in heterosexual anal sex; in 1992 a similar survey found that only 25.6 percent of men 18 to 59 and 20.4 percent of women 18 to 59 had. One theory about the increase in anal relations amongst heterosexual couples is that "as gay culture has become more acceptable, especially among a younger generation, traditionally gay practices, like anal sex, are becoming more common in the rest of society." .
A 2001 French survey of five hundred female respondents concluded that a total of 29% had practiced anal sex, though only one third of these claimed to have enjoyed the experience. In contrast, in a 1999 South Korean survey of 586 women, only 3.5% of respondents reported having had anal sex.]
Figures for the prevalence of sexual behavior can fluctuate over time. Edward O. Laumann's 1992 survey, reported in The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States found that about 20% of heterosexuals have engaged in anal sex. Sex researcher Alfred Kinsey, working in the 1940s, had found that number to be closer to 40% at the time. More recently, a researcher from the University of British Columbia in 2005 put the number of heterosexuals who have practiced anal sex at between 30% and 50%.[18]
According to Columbia University's health website, Go Ask Alice!: "Studies indicate that about 25 percent of heterosexual couples have had anal sex at least once, and 10 percent regularly have anal penetration."
