Homosexinfo | Sexuality / Anal Sex among Male Homosexuals

I see god in my asshole in the flashbulb of orgasm.
-William Burroughs (Naked Lunch)

Introduction

Anal sex is a highly cherished activity of homosexual men. Before engaging in anal sex, homosexuals often like to prepare the anus for penile penetration, usually by lubing it with saliva. The act of stimulating the perianal region with one’s tongue is referred to as rimming by homosexuals. Some homosexuals don’t mind coming in contact with feces; others do. For the latter, anal cleanliness and smell is important. Some homosexuals put perfume on their anus to make it smell better, but the alcohol may sting. Others try massage-oils, but such oils can taste bad, weaken condoms, or even irritate the anus. Goldstone suggests honey or jam on the anus for an agreeable taste.¹

Sometimes, attempts to maintain anal cleanliness may be deleterious for homosexuals. Goldstone described a homosexual patient who complained of pain and bleeding with his bowel movements. The patient had deep cuts in the skin surrounding his anus. The patient wiped so hard with toilet paper before anal sex that he was literally wiping away his skin.² On the other hand, anal sex itself may lead to bleeding. Coplan et al. reported that among 2,758 men who were tested between June 1991 and December 1992 in Mexico City, bleeding during anal intercourse was a common occurrence.³ More than one-third of the men in the study reported some bleeding, and 8% reported bleeding in half or more of their intercourse episodes. The prevalence of HIV infection was 42% in bleeders and 28% in non-bleeders.

Homosexuals that don’t mind feces do not have to deal with anal cleanliness. After rimming, a homosexual may insert one or two fingers up the anus of his partner, prior to penile penetration. After ejaculating in the rectum, the penetrator or another partner may rim the recipient again to suck back the ejaculate. Alternatively, the penetrator or another partner may insert a straw in the recipient’s rectum and “slurp” back the ejaculate.

The negatives of anal sex

Anal sex is a bizarre form of sex given that the anus is an orifice used to expel feces. Anal sex is expected to be risky on numerous counts since the anorectal region has a very thin tissue lining and lacks natural lubrication. The negatives of anal sex should be abundantly documented in the medical literature, but the following incident shows why there aren't many studies that directly address this issue:⁴

Dr. Robert Gould, a friend of homosexuals, was among the first psychiatrists to argue for the removal of homosexuality from the DSM, and as an expert witness, also gave friendly testimony for lesbians in child custody hearings.

In a January 1988 Cosmopolitan article, he explained that vaginal sex in the absence of rough sex was highly unlikely to be responsible for HIV infection. However, this is what he had to say about anal sex:

“Anal intercourse is another matter. Because hemorrhoidal vessels are very near the surface of the anus, because the mucosa is delicate, and because the insertion of the penis in an orifice so small and tight is often traumatic, bleeding and/or lacerations may occur. And this is what makes anal intercourse a high-risk activity, regardless of whether the recipient of the penis is a man or a woman, heterosexual or gay.”

The response of homosexual activists that followed shouldn’t be surprising. As usual, there were death threats. Additionally, lesbians from ACT-UP picketed the offices of Cosmopolitan, chanting “Cosmo kills and murderers of women.” The police had to set up barricades to prevent the lesbians from storming the office. A lesbian ACT-UP member called Dr. Gould, requesting a meeting to discuss his comments, and he invited an ACT-UP group to his home. Far from a decent discussion, Dr. Gould had to endure verbal abuse and bullying. Additionally, he was filmed by a video crew, the footage of which ended up in a documentary titled, “Doctors, Liars, and Women.” Some APA (American Psychiatric Association) members attempted to revoke Dr. Gould's license to practice psychiatry. Dr. Gould had to defend himself in an informal meeting and managed to retain his license, but he was asked to step down from his membership on the APA's gay/lesbian committee. Dr. Gould passed away in 1998.

Correlates of anal sex among individuals with heterosexual interests

Homosexuals point out that some heterosexuals, too, indulge in anal sex. This is true though far fewer heterosexuals do so, but it should be noted that even among individuals with heterosexual interests, anal sex is associated with a higher frequency of anomalies, which again reflects the unusual nature of anal sex:

In a sample of 30 sexually sadistic serial killers from the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC, U.S.A.) database (1984-1989), although only 13 (43%) were homosexual, 22 (73.3%) anally raped their victims, while only 17 (56.7%) vaginally raped their victims.⁵
25% of actual forcible female rape complaints report forced oral or anal sex.⁶
In a sample of sexually abused Swedish girls, 14/77 (19%) reported anal penetration.⁷ Herein, the anal rapists with heterosexual interests undoubtedly were strongly interested in anal sex. A comparable proportion of heterosexuals may have tried anal sex, but significantly fewer heterosexuals would be strongly interested in anal sex.
In a random sample of 356 whites and 140 African-Americans ages 18-39 years, from Seattle, who had ever engaged in vaginal intercourse, the 5% of whites engaging in vaginal, oral, and anal intercourse with their most recent opposite-sex partner were 2.7 times^[1] as likely to report non-monogamy and 8.4 times^[2] as likely to report a history of same-sex partners than those not reporting one or more of the above.⁸ Persons reporting a history of both same- and opposite-sex partners were more likely than those with only opposite-sex partners to report engaging in anal^[3] and oral sex^[4] with their most recent opposite-sex partner. Persons with a history of a same-sex partner were also more likely than those with only opposite-sex partners to have a non-monogamous current relationship^[5] or to engage in sex during menses^[6] and to have more^[7] sex partners in their lifetime.^[8]

Comment

Homosexuals desirous of receptive anal intercourse prefer to be penetrated by a big penis, but most penises fall short of their liking. However, one should not underestimate the ingenuity that allows them to overcome the shortcomings of the human penis (see here).

Footnotes

95% CI = 0.9-7.9; this find would likely have been significant if the sample size were larger.
95% CI = 2.6-27.2.
Women: 24% vs. 4%, p < 0.001; men: 33% vs. 6%, p < 0.001.
Women: 95% vs. 74%, p = 0.03; men 89% vs. 78%, p = 0.4.
Whites: OR = 2.3, 95% CI = 0.9-5.7; African-Americans: OR = 6.8, 95% CI = 0.6-338.
Whites: OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 0.7-5.4; African-Americans: OR = 9.6, 95% CI = 1.0-458.
Whites: p = 0.002; African-Americans: p = 0.07.
The non-significant finds above would most likely have been significant had the sample size been larger.

References

^ Goldstone SE. The Ins and Outs of Gay Sex: a medical handbook for men. New York, NY: Dell Publishing, 1999 [The author is an out-of-the-closet homosexual physician].
^ See above: Goldstone (1999)
^ Coplan PM, Gortmaker S, Hernandez-Avila M, et al. Human immunodeficiency virus infection in Mexico City. Rectal bleeding and anal warts as risk factors among men reporting sex with men. Am J Epidemiol 1996;144(9):817-27.
^ Wright MP. Vicious ACT-UP campaign against an AIDS dissenter. 2001 [http://members.aol.com/mpwright9/aids9.html].
^ Dietz PE, Hazelwood RR, Warren J. The sexually sadistic criminal and his offenses. Bull Am Acad Psychiatry Law 1990;18(2):163-78.
^ Kanin EJ. False rape allegations. Arch Sex Behav 1994;23(1):81-92.
^ Edgardh K, von Krogh G, Ormstad K. Adolescent girls investigated for sexual abuse: history, physical findings and legal outcome. Forensic Sci Int 1999;104(1):1-15.
^ Foxman B, Aral SO, Holmes KK. Heterosexual repertoire is associated with same-sex experience. Sex Transm Dis 1998;25(5):232-6.