Posted February 6, Reviewed by Gary Drevitch. What is with the male fascination with heterosexual anal sex, anyway? Men seem to fantasize obsessively about it, hundreds of porn movies fetishize it, and while women everywhere debate whether they should or shouldn't have it with their boyfriend or husband, men discuss how to convince female partners to give it a try. When women do have anal sex, the overwhelming majority do so at the request of their male partner.
Heterosexual anal sex has been around for millennia. Paintings and etchings from Japan, China, and Europe all depict men performing anal sex on women, as do ancient erotic drawings, sculptures, and pottery from the Mediterranean and South America. In some Polynesian cultures, anal sex was practiced explicitly as a means of birth control. Today, some adolescents regard anal sex as a means to prevent conception, regardless of the increased risk for transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.
Over the past decades, heterosexual anal sex rates have climbed. In the s, anal sex experience was reported by fewer than 15 percent of the population. But current rates suggest that around a third of men have performed anal sex on a woman, and slightly fewer women report having received anal sex.
The rates are even higher in sexually active adults in their twenties. But for married and committed couples, for whom disease and pregnancy may not be a significant concern, how can we explain the prevalence of the male fascination with anal sex?
Men are sexually interested by variety, but aside from this, there is no relevant evolutionary argument, as anal sex of course produces no heirs. Anal sex, and a desire for it, serve different purposes for men.
