Anal sex

[5][6] Most homosexual men report engaging in anal sex,[7] though other types of sexual behaviour are more frequently practised in this group.

It is controversial in various cultures, often because of religious prohibitions against anal sex among males or teachings about the procreative purpose of sexual activity.

[12][26][27] The vaginal walls contain significantly fewer nerve endings than the clitoris (which has many nerve endings specifically intended for orgasm), and therefore intense sexual pleasure, including orgasm, from vaginal sexual stimulation is less likely to occur than from direct clitoral stimulation in the majority of women.

[2][31] The vagina, for example, is flanked on each side by the clitoral crura, the internal legs of the clitoris, which are highly sensitive and become engorged with blood when sexually aroused.

In pornography, anal sex is commonly portrayed as a desirable, painless routine that does not require personal lubricant; this can result in couples performing anal sex without care, and men and women believing that it is unusual for women, as receptive partners, to find discomfort or pain instead of pleasure from the activity.

Researchers say adequate application of a personal lubricant, relaxation, and communication between sexual partners are crucial to avoid pain or damage to the anus or rectum.

[19][37][45] Some couples may practice anal sex as a way of preserving female virginity because it is non-procreative and does not tear the hymen; this has been reported in Christian communities in the United States.

[48][49][50][51] Heterosexuals may view anal sex as "fooling around" or as foreplay; scholar Laura M. Carpenter stated that this view "dates to the late 1600s, with explicit 'rules' appearing around the turn of the twentieth century, as in marriage manuals defining petting as 'literally every caress known to married couples but does not include complete sexual intercourse.

"[5] According to a 2010 study from the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior (NSSHB) that was authored by Debby Herbenick et al., although anal intercourse is reported by fewer women than other partnered sex behaviors, partnered women in the age groups between 18 and 49 are significantly more likely to report having anal sex in the past 90 days.

[38][39][10] Seidman et al. argued that "cheap, accessible and, especially, interactive media have enabled many more people to produce as well as consume pornography", and that this modern way of producing pornography, in addition to the buttocks and anus having become more eroticized, has led to a significant interest in or obsession with anal sex among men.

[56] Other sources suggest that roughly three-fourths of gay men have had anal sex at one time or another, with an equal percentage participating as tops and bottoms.

When asked what techniques they used in their last ten sexual encounters, lesbians in their 30s were twice as likely as other age groups to engage in anal stimulation (with a finger or dildo).

[2] A 2014 study of partnered lesbian women in Canada and the U.S. found that 7% engaged in anal stimulation or penetration at least once a week; about 10% did so monthly and 70% did not at all.

[15][17] Unprotected penile-anal penetration, colloquially known as barebacking,[71] carries a higher risk of passing on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) because the anal sphincter is a delicate, easily torn tissue that can provide an entry for pathogens.

[3][85] Because of the rectum's lack of elasticity, the anal mucous membrane being thin, and small blood vessels being present directly beneath the mucous membrane, tiny tears and bleeding in the rectum usually result from penetrative anal sex, though the bleeding is usually minor and therefore usually not visible.

[87][88] Kegel exercises have been used to strengthen the anal sphincters and overall pelvic floor, and may help prevent or remedy fecal incontinence.

[6][91][92] In some societies, if discovered to have engaged in the practice, the individuals involved were put to death, such as by decapitation, burning, or even mutilation.

[6][93] For example, regarding LGBT rights in Iran, Iran's Penal Code states in Article 109 that "both men involved in same-sex penetrative (anal) or non-penetrative sex will be punished" and "Article 110 states that those convicted of engaging in anal sex will be executed and that the manner of execution is at the discretion of the judge".

[94] Entu priestesses were forbidden from producing offspring[95][96] and frequently engaged in anal sex as a method of birth control.

[94] The gala, a set of priests who worked in the temples of the goddess Inanna, where they performed elegies and lamentations, were especially known for their homosexual proclivities.

[98] Male-male anal sex was not a universally accepted practice in Ancient Greece; it was the target of jokes in some Athenian comedies.

"[100] The terms kinaidos, europroktoi, and katapygon were used by Greek residents to categorize men who chronically[101] practiced passive anal intercourse.

[102] Pederastic practices in ancient Greece (sexual activity between men and adolescent boys), at least in Athens and Sparta, were expected to avoid penetrative sex of any kind.

[99] Some sources explicitly state that anal sex between men and boys was criticized as shameful and seen as a form of hubris.

[103][105] Evidence suggests, however, that the younger partner in pederastic relationships (i.e., the eromenos) did engage in receptive anal intercourse so long as no one accused him of being 'feminine'.

[106] In later Roman-era Greek poetry, anal sex became a common literary convention, represented as taking place with "eligible" youths: those who had attained the proper age but had not yet become adults.

[111] Evidence suggestive of widespread male-female anal intercourse in a pre-modern culture can be found in the erotic vases, or stirrup-spout pots, made by the Moche people of Peru; in a survey, of a collection of these pots, it was found that 31 percent of them depicted male-female anal intercourse significantly more than any other sex act.

[113] The Mishneh Torah, a text considered authoritative by Orthodox Jewish sects,[114] states "since a man's wife is permitted to him, he may act with her in any manner whatsoever.

"[115] Christian texts may sometimes euphemistically refer to anal sex as the peccatum contra naturam ('the sin against nature', after Thomas Aquinas) or Sodomitica luxuria ('sodomitical lusts', in one of Charlemagne's ordinances), or peccatum illud horribile, inter christianos non nominandum ('that horrible sin that among Christians is not to be named').

[116][117][118] Liwat, or the sin of Lot's people, which has come to be interpreted as referring generally to same-sex sexual activity, is commonly officially prohibited by Islamic sects; there are parts of the Quran which talk about smiting on Sodom and Gomorrah, and this is thought to be a reference to "unnatural" sex, and so there are hadith and Islamic laws which prohibit it.