Fisting—also known as fist fucking (FF),[1] handballing, and brachioproctic or brachiovaginal insertion[2]—is a sexual activity that involves inserting one or more hands into the rectum (anal fisting) or the vagina (vaginal fisting).[1] Fisting may be performed on oneself (self-fisting)[3] or performed on one person by another. People who engage in fisting are often called "fisters".[1][4]
Fisting's emergence as a sexual practice is commonly attributed to gay male culture.[5][6] However, its precise origin is disputed. Some claim fisting began in the twentieth century,[7][8][9] whereas others assert the practice dates back to the eighteenth century or earlier.[5][10]Sex educatorRobert Morgan Lawrence, for example, claimed the practice dates back thousands of years.[11]
Fisting's visibility and popularity has grown in the twenty-first century,[20][21] likely due in large part to the internet[22] and greater HIV prevention and treatment options. Fisting pornography is now widely available online[23] and fisters can easily meet via social media platforms, some of which are tailored for fisting (e.g. Recon).[24][25] Gay bathhouses have made a comeback, with some even advertising fisting parties and live demonstrations.[26][15]
Techniques
Hands
A common technique, particularly for beginners, is to extend four fingers straight with thumb tucked beneath. Some refer to this technique as the "silent duck" or "duck-billing", because the hand position resembles a duckbeak.[2][3]
In more vigorous forms of fisting, often referred to as "punching" or "punchfisting", the hand is partly or fully clenched into a fist before, during, and/or after insertion.[27]
Taking two hands at once is referred to as "double fisting".[4][6] In the case of double fisting, pleasure may be derived more from the stretching of the anus or vagina than from the in-and-out movement of hands.[2]
Oftentimes, hands are inserted up to the wrist.[5] Some experienced fisters enjoy deeper penetration, sometimes referred to as "depth play",[28] in which hands may be inserted as far as the elbow.[5][4]
Sometimes a penetrative partner may insert their penis or a sex toy at the same time as their hand(s), to masturbate inside the receptive partner's rectum or vagina.
While rare, some experienced fisters are capable of taking three hands.[29]
Lubricants designed specifically for fisting or with fisting as an intended use are widely available in some countries.[30] Fisting lubes sold in the United States include X Lube,[31] K Lube,[30] FFäusten,[32] Fistpowder,[33] and Slam Dunk.[34]
Sex toys
Fisters commonly use dildos to loosen the vagina or anus before or during a fisting session.[4][35] Some companies sell dildos that replicate the appearance and sensation of hands. Examples of fist-shaped toy manufacturers include Hankey's Toys,[36][37] SquarePegToys,[38][39] and John Thomas Toys.[40]
Terminology
Common fisting-related terms include:
Fist; fist fuck: "the practice of inserting the hand (and part of the arm) into a partner's anus (or vagina) for the sexual pleasure of all involved."[1]
Fister; fist-fucker: a practitioner of fisting; or, depending on context, a penetrative partner in a fisting session involving two or more people.[1][4]
Fistee: a receptive partner in a session involving two or more people.[4]Picture of a red roseA blooming rose is a common symbol and metaphor for fisting
Punch fisting: fisting in which the hand is partly or fully clenched into a fist before, during, and/or after insertion.[27]
Double fisting: fisting in which two hands are inserted into the anus or vagina.[4][6]
Rosebud or rectal prolapse: when walls of the rectum have prolapsed to such a degree that they protrude out of the anus. Can be induced by fisting or other ass play (named due to the prolapse's resemblance to a rose flower).[41][42][43]
Bloom: "bloom" is used as a verb (e.g. "blooming") to describe the act of inducing a rosebud or prolapse, or the moment when a rosebud or prolapse becomes visible.[41]
According to The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English, "fisting" and "fist fuck" entered the American slang lexicon no later than 1969.[1]
A 2021 study found that men who practiced anal fisting were more likely to experience fecal incontinence than men who engaged in other forms of anal sex. 18.1% of men who engaged in fisting experienced some form of fecal incontinence in the last month, compared to 7.2% of men who did not engage in fisting.[51][52][53] However, more research is required to establish a causal link.[53]
A 2022 report published in peer-reviewed academic journal Sex Education found that "clinical and forensic research has over-inflated the ‘dangers’ of fisting without an understanding of contexts in which fisting takes place."[15] It also found that anal and vaginal fisting present "low to no risk" of sexually transmitted infections.[15]
Gloves, lubricant, and fingernail trimming can help reduce risk.[54][30][35]
In popular culture
Fisting has been depicted or referenced in art, music, cinema and other forms of popular culture. Examples include:
In Solar Anus (1999), Ron Athey challenged the feminization and sexual roles associated with male penetration by both giving and receiving penetration through self-fisting.[63]
The album cover for "Slide... Easy In" by Rod McKuen (1977) depicts gay porn star Bruno's fist clenching "Disco" shortening.[68][69] The inscription states "this was a project everyone had to get into; not just on the surface, but deeply—and together. If you don't feel "easy in" then perhaps your threshold of pain or pleasure needs looking into."[69] (The European edition of the album featured a different cover because the original was considered "too outrageous.")[70]
In Family Guy season 7 episode 8 ("Family Gay," March 2009),[80] a character exclaims to a group of gay men off-screen: "use your fists... No, no, no, not like that!"[81]
In 2011, adult performers Jiz Lee and Courtney Trouble proclaimed October 21 as "International Fisting Day," which Lee described as "a day of international celebration and education" intended in part to combat censorship.[23][15]
In the United Kingdom, performing fisting[96] and fisting pornography are both legal.[97] However, until 2019, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) considered publication of fisting material to be grounds for prosecution under the Obscene Publications Act 1959[98] and Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, the latter of which prohibits so-called "extreme pornography."[99] Such prosecutions were not always successful. For instance, in R v Peacock (2012), the jury found Michael Peacock not guilty of breaching the Obscene Publications Act for selling DVDs containing anal fisting.[100] That same year, a jury took less than 90 minutes[101]to acquit Simon Walsh for possession of images of anal fisting that CPS alleged constituted illegal, extreme pornography.[96] In 2019, CPS declared it would no longer prosecute pornography produced by consenting adults engaging in legal acts,[102] including fisting.[97]
United States
Fisting is on the Cambria List, a list of sex acts that carry risk of prosecution under U.S. obscenity law, created by Paul Cambria in 2001 to help producers avoid obscenity lawsuits.[23] However, as of 2019, the Cambria List is generally regarded as obsolete within the American pornography industry.[103]
↑Gayle S. Rubin, "Elegy for the Valley of Kings: AIDS and the Leather Community in San Francisco, 1981-1996", in In Changing Times: Gay Men and Lesbians Encounter HIV/AIDS, ed. John H. Gagnon, Peter M. Nardi, and Martin P. Levine, University of Chicago Press, 1997, Шаблон:ISBN, pp. 101-144.
↑ 69,069,11977 cover art for Slide Easy In by Rod McKuen, digitized and published on Blogspot.com on January 29, 2015. Inscription on cover reads, in part: "If this album sounds different, it tried to be. The performers, producers, the players (whether part of the enormous rhythm section or the full symphony complement of strings) knew this was a project everyone had to get into; not just on the surface, but deeply—and together. If you don't feel "easy in" then perhaps your threshold of pain or pleasure needs looking into. [...] Photos of Bruno courtesy of Target Studios. Bruno Courtesy of The Bull Pen. Special thanks to Target."
Donovan B; Tindall B; Cooper D. Brachioproctic eroticism and transmission of retrovirus associated with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Genitourin Med. 1986 Dec;62(6):390-2.
