Fisting

Fisting's emergence as a popular sexual practice is commonly attributed to gay male culture and it may not have existed until the twentieth century.[3][4][5] Robert Morgan Lawrence, a sex educator, however, believes the practice dates back thousands of years.[6] The most famous fisting club in the world was the Catacombs, located in San Francisco, which operated during the 1970s and 1980s.[7] The Handball Express was another such club.[8] Crisco was commonly used as a lubricant, before more specialized personal lubricants became available.

Anal fisting performed by a man on himself

In the 1980s, it was assumed that unprotected fisting—which often produces small injuries to the anus, permitting microorganisms access to the blood—was an easy route for transmission of HIV. This, combined with sexual squeamishness towards the public fisting culture in gay establishments of San Francisco, led gay writer Randy Shilts to successfully campaign for the closure of venues, such as gay bathhouses and sex clubs, that openly permitted it.[9]

The San Francisco South of Market Leather History Alley consists of four works of art along Ringold Alley honoring leather culture; it opened in 2017.[10][11] One of the works of art is metal bootprints along the curb which honor 28 people who were an important part of the leather communities of San Francisco; those honored include Steve McEachern, owner of the fisting club the Catacombs, and Bert Herman, leader of the fisting community, author, and publisher.[10][11] Modern performance art (especially extreme performance art) can adopt fisting activities such as Ron Athey's Solar Anus (1999) which challenges the feminization and sexual roles associated with male penetration by both giving and receiving penetration through self-fisting.[12]

The beak-like "silent duck" used in the initial stages of fisting

The "silent duck", also called "duck-billing", is the technique often used in which the person engaging in hand insertion shapes the hand to resemble a duck's beak. Typically, fisting does not involve forcing the clenched fist into the vagina or rectum; this is a practice called "punching". Instead, all five fingers are kept straight and held as close together as possible (forming the beak-like "duck"), then slowly inserted into a well lubricated vagina or rectum.[1]

Four fingers inside of the vagina

In more vigorous forms of fisting, such as "punching" or "punchfisting", a fully clenched fist may be inserted and withdrawn slowly.

Fistees who are more experienced may take two fists (double-fisting). In the case of double-fisting, pleasure is derived more from the stretching of the anus or vagina than from the in-and-out movement of hands.[1]

Fisting can cause laceration or perforation of the vagina, perineum, rectum, or colon, resulting in serious injury[13] and even death.[14][15][16][17] In addition, sexual activities that forces air into the vagina can lead to a fatal air embolism, predominantly during pregnancy.[18] Participants are advised to use latex gloves, lubricant and keep their nails trimmed.[19]

A 2021 study[20] found that men who received anal fisting were more likely to experience fecal incontinence,[21][22] compared to men who had anal sex once a week (without drugs or fisting) who did not have an increased risk of incontinence.[21][22] 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.[21]

As anal fisting may cause damage to the rectal mucosa, it may increase the likelihood of transmission of sexually transmitted infections.[23]

In the United Kingdom fisting is legal to perform;[24] however, the Crown Prosecution Service considers publication of fisting material to be grounds for prosecution under the Obscene Publications Act 1959.[25] Despite the CPS's guidance, in the case of R v Peacock in 2012, Michael Peacock was found not guilty of breaching the Obscene Publications Act for selling DVDs containing anal fisting.[26] There was also an unsuccessful extreme pornography prosecution in 2012 where it was argued by the prosecution that images of anal fisting constitute extreme pornography and thus are illegal to possess because the act is "likely to result in serious injury to a person's anus, breasts or genitals".[24]

In the United States, according to attorney Allan Gelbard there is nothing "per se illegal" about any pornography so long as it is not child pornography; however, it can be found to be obscene. Fisting is on the Cambria List, a list of sex acts which may be prosecutable under U.S. obscenity law, created by lawyer Paul Cambria in 2001. The list is intended to act as guidelines to help producers avoid obscenity lawsuits.[27]

• Anal sex
• Sex toy
• Sexual intercourse
• Sexual penetration