The front lines of the “back door”: Navigating (dis)engagement,coercion,and pleasure in women’s anal sex experiences

Abstract

Despite the frequent depiction of heterosexual anal sex in pornography, and growing indications that heterosexual couples engage in anal sex, almost no research has examined women’s subjective experiences with receptive anal sex with men. This study draws upon qualitative interviews with 20 American women (mean age = 34, SD = 13.35) from diverse ages and backgrounds to illuminate five themes in women’s narratives about receptive anal sex: (1) initial resistance followed by submission; (2) initial interest followed by withdrawal from subsequent anal sex experiences; (3) violence and coercion surrounding anal sex; (4) social norming (e.g. men’s male friends normalizing heterosexual anal sex; seeing anal sex as normative after watching pornography); and (5) pleasurable experiences with anal eroticism. Implications for the re-evaluation of consent, imagining a continuum of sexualized violence, heteronormative assumptions about access to and power over women, silences surrounding non-penetrative anal eroticism, and women’s (dis)engagement with anal sex are explored.

Keywords

women’s sexuality anal sex gender norms sexual health patriarchy sexual consent

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Baldwin

J. I.

Baldwin

J. D.

(2000) Heterosexual anal intercourse: An understudied, high-risk sexual behavior. Archives of Sexual Behavior 29: 357–373. doi:10.1023/A:1001918504344.

Billy

J. O. G.

Grady

W. R.

Sill

M. E.

(2009) Sexual risk-taking among adult dating couples in the United States. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 41: 74–83. doi:10.1363/4107409.

Botticelli

(2010) Thinking the unthinkable: Anal sex in theory and practice. Studies in Gender & Sexuality 11: 112–123. doi:10.1080/15240657.

Braun

Clarke

(2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology 3: 77–101. doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa.

Bridges, A. J., Wosnitzer, R., Scharrer, E., Sun, C., & Liberman, R. (2010). Aggression and sexual behavior in best-selling pornography videos: A content analysis update. Violence against Women, 16, 1065–1085. doi:10.1177/1077801210382866.

Brückner

Bearman

(2005) After the promise: The STD consequences of adolescent virginity pledges. Journal of Adolescent Health 36: 271–278. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2005.01.005.

Burkett

Hamilton

(2012) Postfeminist sexual agency: Young women’s negotiations of sexual consent. Sexualities 15: 815–833. doi:10.1177/1363460712454076.

Carter

Henry-Moss

Hock-Long

Bergdall

Andes

(2010) Heterosexual anal sex experiences among Puerto Rican and black young adults. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 42: 267–274. doi:10.1363/4226710.

DeCitore

(2012) Arouse her anal ecstasy: The most innovative step-by-step guide for pleasurable anal sex, Amazon: EroticFlow.Com Publishers.

10.

Elliott

Umberson

(2008) The performance of desire: Gender and sexual negotiation in long-term marriages. Journal of Marriage and Family 70: 391–406. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2008.00489.x.

11.

Erickson

P. I.

Bastani

Maxwell

A. E.

Marcus

A. C.

Capell

F. J.

Yan

K. X.

(1995) Prevalence of anal sex among heterosexuals in California and its relationship to other AIDS risk behaviors. AIDS Education and Prevention 7: 477–493.

12.

Fahs

(2011) Performing sex: The making and unmaking of women’s erotic lives, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

13.

Fahs

Swank

(2011) Social identities as predictors of women’s sexual satisfaction and sexual activity. Archives of Sexual Behavior 40: 903–914.

14.

Fortenberry

J. D.

(2005) The limits of abstinence-only in preventing sexually transmitted infections. Journal of Adolescent Health 36: 269–270. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2005.02.001.

15.

Foxman

Aral

S. O.

Holmes

K. K.

(1998) Heterosexual repertoire is associated with same-sex experience. Sexually Transmitted Diseases 25: 232–236. doi:10.1097/00007435-199805000-00003.

16.

Gavey

(1989) Feminist poststructuralism and discourse analysis. Psychology of Women Quarterly 13: 459–475. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1989.tb01014.x.

17.

Gill

(2010) Mediated intimacy and postfeminism: A discourse analytic examination of sex and relationships advice in a woman’s magazine. Discourse and Communication 3: 345–369. doi:10.1177/1750481309343870.

18.

Gill, R., & Donaghue, N. (2013). As if postfeminism had come true: The turn to agency in cultural studies of “sexualisation.” In S. Madhok, A. Phillips, & K. Wilson (Eds.), Gender, agency, and coercion (pp. 240–258). London, UK: Palgrave.

19.

Gurman

Borzekowski

D. G.

(2004) Condom use among Latino college students. Journal of American College Health 52: 169–178. doi:10.1016/S1055-3290(06)60201-X.

20.

Halperin

(1999) Heterosexual anal intercourse: Prevalence, cultural factors, and HIV infection and other health risks, part I. AIDS Patient Care & STDs 13: 717–730. doi:10.1071/SH11155.

21.

Hensel

D. J.

Fortenberry

Orr

D. P.

(2010) Factors associated with event level anal sex and condom use during anal sex among adolescent women. Journal of Adolescent Health 46: 232–237. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.06.025.

22.

Herbenick

Reece

Hensel

D. J.

Sanders

Jozkowski

Fortenberry

J. D.

(2011) Association of lubricant use with women’s sexual pleasure, sexual satisfaction, and genital symptoms: A prospective daily diary study. Journal of Sexual Medicine 8: 202–212. doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2010.02067.x.

23.

Hollows

(2007) Anodyspareunia: A novel sexual dysfunction? An exploration into anal sexuality. Sexual & Relationship Therapy 22: 429–443. doi:10.1080/14681990701481409.

24.

Houston

A. M.

Fang

Husman

Peralta

(2007) More than just vaginal intercourse: Anal intercourse and condom use patterns in the context of “main” and “casual” sexual relationships among urban minority adolescent females. Journal of Pediatric & Adolescent Gynecology 20: 299–304. doi:10.1016/j.jpag.2007.01.006.

25.

Hsu

Kling

Kessler

Knapke

Diefenbach

Elias

J. E.

(1994) Gender differences in sexual fantasy and behavior in a college population: A ten-year replication. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy 20: 103–118. doi:10.1080/00926239408403421.

26.

Jenness

S. M.

Begier

E. M.

Neaigus

Murrill

C. S.

Wendel

Hagan

(2011) Unprotected anal intercourse and sexually transmitted diseases in high-risk heterosexual women. American Journal of Public Health 101: 745–750. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2009.181883.

27.

Kaestle

C. E.

Halpern

C. T.

(2007) What’s love got to do with it? Sexual behaviors of opposite-sex couples through emerging adulthood. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 39: 134–140. doi:10.1363/3913407.

28.

Kippax

Smith

(2001) Anal intercourse and power in sex between men. Sexualities 4: 413–434. doi:10.1177/136346001004004002.

29.

Kleinplatz

P. J.

(1998) Sex therapy for vaginismus: A review, critique, and humanistic alternative. Journal of Humanistic Psychology 38: 51–81. doi:10.1177/00221678980382004.

30.

Langdridge

Barker

(2008) Safe, sane, and consensual: Contemporary perspectives on sadomasochism, London, UK: Palgrave.

31.

Laumann

E. O.

Gagnon

J. H.

Michael

R. T.

Michaels

(1994) The social organization of sexuality: Sexual practices in the United States, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

32.

Lewis

D. K.

Watters

J. K.

Case

(1990) The prevalence of high-risk sexual behavior in male intravenous drug users with steady female partners. American Journal of Public Health 80(4): 465–466.

33.

McBride

K. R.

Fortenberry

J. D.

(2010) Heterosexual anal sexuality and anal sex behaviors: A review. Journal of Sex Research 47: 123–136. doi:10.1080/00224490903402538.

34.

McClelland

S. I.

(2010) Intimate justice: A critical analysis of sexual satisfaction. Social and Personality Psychology Compass 4: 663–680. doi:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00293.x.

35.

MacDonald, N. E., Wells, G. E., Fisher, W. A., Warren, W. K., King, M. A., Doherty, J. A., & Bowie, W. R. (1990). High-risk STD/HIV behavior among college students. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 263, 3155–3159.

36.

McRobbie

(2007) Top girls? Young women and the post-feminist sexual contract. Cultural Studies 21: 718–737. doi:10.1080/09502380701279044.

37.

McRobbie

(2008) Young women and consumer culture. Cultural Studies 22: 531–550. doi:10.1080/09502380802245803.

38.

Madhok

Phillips

Wilson

(2013) Gender, agency, and coercion, London, UK: Palgrave.

39.

Mandziuk

R. M.

(2000) Necessary vigilance: Feminist critiques of masculinity. Critical Studies in Media Communication 17: 105–108. doi:10.1080/15295030009388379.

40.

Maynard

Carballo-Diéguez

Ventuneac

Exner

Mayer

(2009) Women’s experiences with anal sex: Motivations and implications for STD prevention. Perspectives on Sexual & Reproductive Health 41: 142–149. doi:10.1363/4114209.

41.

Melby

(2007) Anal sex: An ‘extraordinary taboo.’. Contemporary Sexuality 41: 1–6.

42.

Middelthon

A. L.

(2002) Being anally penetrated: Erotic inhibitions, improvisations, and transformations. Sexualities 5: 181–200.

43.

Misegades

Page-Shafer

Halperin

McFarland

(2001) Anal intercourse among young low-income women in California: An overlooked risk factor for HIV? AIDS 15: 534–535. doi:10.2174/1874613601206010142.

44.

Morin

(2010) Anal pleasure and health: A guide for men, women, and couples, San Francisco, CA: Down There Press.

45.

Mosher

W. D.

Anjni

Jones

(2005) Sexual behavior and selected health measures: Men and women 15--44 years of age, United States 2002. Advance Data 362: 1–55.

46.

Petersen

Hyde

J. S.

(2011) Gender differences in sexual attitudes and behaviors: A review of meta-analytic results and large datasets. Journal of Sex Research 48: 149–165. doi:10.1080/00224499.2011.551851.

47.

Peterson

Z. D.

Muehlenhard

C. L.

(2011) A match-and-motivation model of how women label their nonconsensual sexual experiences. Psychology of Women Quarterly 35: 558–570. doi:10.1177/0361684311410210.

48.

Phillips, A. (2013). Does the body make a difference? In S. Madhok, A. Phillips, & K. Wilson (Eds.), Gender, agency, and coercion (pp. 143–156). London, UK: Palgrave.

49.

Pinkerton

Cecil

Bogart

L. M.

Abramson

P. R.

(2003) The pleasures of sex: An empirical investigation. Cognition and Emotion 17: 341–353. doi:10.1080/02699930302291.

50.

Reinisch

J. M.

Hill

C. A.

Sanders

S. A.

Ziemba-Davis

(1995) High-risk sexual behavior at a Midwestern university: A confirmatory survey. Family Planning Perspectives 27: 79–82.

51.

Rogala

Tydén

(2003) Does pornography influence young women’s sexual behavior? Women’s Health Issues 13: 39–43. doi:10.1016/S1049-3867(02)00174-3.

52.

Rosenberger, J. G., Reece, M., Schick, V., Herbenick, D., Novak, D. S., Van Der Pol, B., & Fortenberry, J. D. (2012). Condom use during most recent anal intercourse event among a U.S. sample of men who have sex with men. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 9, 1037–1047. doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2012.02650.x.

53.

Rosser

B. R. S.

Short

B. J.

Thurmes

P. J.

Coleman

(1998) Anodyspareunia, the unacknowledged sexual dysfunction: A validation study of painful receptive anal intercourse and its psychosexual concomitants in homosexual men. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy 24: 281–292.

54.

Salazar, L. F., Crosby, R. E., DiClemente, R. J., Wingood, G. M., Rose, E., McDermott-Sales, J., & Caliendo, A. M. (2009). African-American female adolescents who engage in oral, vaginal, and anal sex: ‘Doing it all’ as a significant marker for risk of sexually transmitted infection. AIDS and Behavior, 13, 85–93. doi:10.1007/s10461-008-9381-5.

55.

Satterwhite, C. L., Kamb, M. L., Metcalf, C., Douglas, J. M., Malotte, K. C., Paul, A., & Peterman T. A. (2007). Changes in sexual behavior and STD prevalence among heterosexual STD clinic attendees: 1993–1995 versus 1999–2000. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 34, 815–819. doi:10.1097/OLQ.0b013e31805c751d.

56.

Sedgwick

E. K.

(2010) Anality: News from the front. Studies in Gender and Sexuality 11: 151–162. doi:10.1080/15240657.2010.491004.

57.

Stadler

J. J.

Delany

Mntambo

(2007) Sexual coercion and sexual desire: Ambivalent meanings of heterosexual anal sex in Soweto, South Africa. AIDS Care 19: 1189–1193. doi:10.1080/09540120701408134.

58.

Štulhofer

Ajdukovićb

(2011) Should we take anodyspareunia seriously? A descriptive analysis of pain during receptive anal intercourse in young heterosexual women. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy 37: 346–358. doi:10.1080/0092623X.2011.607039.

59.

Štulhofer, A., & Baćak, V. (2011). Is anal sex a marker for sexual risk-taking? Results from a population-based study of young Croatian adults. Sexual Health, 8(3), 384–389.

60.

Toirmino

(2006) The ultimate guide to anal sex for women, second edition, New York, NY: Cleis Press.

61.

Tolman

D. L.

Spencer

Rosen-Reynoso

Porche

M. V.

(2003) Sowing the seeds of violence in heterosexual relationships: Early adolescents narrate compulsory heterosexuality. Journal of Social Issues 59: 159–178. doi:10.1111/1540-4560.t01-1-00010.

62.

Weinberg

M. S.

Williams

C. J.

Kleiner

Irizarry

(2010) Pornography, normalization, and empowerment. Archives of Sexual Behavior 39: 1389–1401. doi:10.1007/s10508-009-9592-5.

63.

Wiebe

E. R.

(2012) Who uses anal sex for birth control? International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics 117: 185–186. doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2012.06.012.

64.

Wolitzky-Taylor, K. B., Resnick, H. S., McCauley, J. L., Amstadter, A. B., Kilpatrick, D. G., & Ruggiero, K. J. (2011). Is reporting of rape on the rise? A comparison of women with reported versus unreported rape experiences in the national women’s study-replication. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26, 807–832. doi:10.1177/0886260510365869.