A person with an exceptionally large penis could conceivably wreak some physical damage upon his partner, but this is not likely. More often, the damage would be preceded by enough pain that the subject would call a halt to the proceedings rather than go on. Of course, these observations do not apply to the introduction of foreign, non-human objects in the anal opening. The author of a tremendously successful guide to sexual knowledge reports that “some of the more routine items that find their way into the gastrointestinal systems of homosexuals via the exit are pens, pencils, lipsticks, combs, pop bottles, ladies’ electric shavers, and enough other items to stock a small department store.” (David Reuben, M. D., Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, p. 149.) We shall not be concerned here with the moral or religious arguments against anal sexual intercourse. Those arguments are real and convincing to many people, empty and false to others, and it seems profitless to try reconciling the varying extremes of opinion. Our purpose is, first, to provide information about what anal sexuality is and, second, to explain its physical and psychological appeal insofar as this is possible. Moral judgments will be left to the reader.

It is not necessarily a sign of a depraved, warped mentality to respond positively to stimulation of the anal area. The human nervous system is constructed in such a way that there is a plentiful supply of nerve endings in the anal region, especially on its surface. Thus the anus and the area immediately around it can easily be stimulated through touch. The anal sphincter muscles, which are designed primarily to keep the anal tract closed tight, can react to stimulation in a way that is erotically arousing to many people. Thus, a response to a partner’s loving touch in the anal region may simply be recognition of the physical facts of life: the touch is arousing and it does produce a positive erotic reaction.