Published: AUGUST 13, 2021
| Updated: OCTOBER 29, 2021 09:10:42
Anal sex toys are a great way to open up for further back door adventures, or just to enjoy on their own.
Every year, more and more people give anal sex a try. While the idea of anal intercourse was a hush-hush topic within my parent's lifetime, it's now a topic that's reached mainstream - all the way to magazine covers filled with "anal sex tips". While frank, honest discussion about anal pleasure is still harder to find it's still well-known enough that almost everyone has heard of anal sex - even if they've never chosen to partake.
It's no surprise that anal pleasure has become so popular! The anal region is packed full of sensitive nerve endings. It's really an entire erogenous zone to itself - even if you never slip anything inside! On our hunts for better, and more pleasurable, sex, it makes sense that this pleasure-packed zone finds itself a regular participant in the bedroom.
Whether you have a partner, three partners, or you're flying solo, anal sex toys can make anal pleasure WAY more fun. Not only can some of them give you hands-free pleasure, but a lot of anal sex toys are crafted to hit spots that can be difficult to hit with fingers alone. Plus, unless you're really into sitting around with your fingers up your butt, anal toys let you experience anal play for hours on end in a way that fingers and penises can't easily do.
Read: Don't Have Anal Sex If...
Anal Sex Toy Safety
You know the basics of anal sex safety already, right? If not, you've read up on these articles, right?
Because I don't want to spend paragraphs rehashing information you need to know - not when you're probably really, really excited to learn more about the toys to make this all possible!
And just in case, let's go over the very, very basics:
- Go slow with anything anal.
- Make sure to use lots and lots of lube.
- Never do anal on a time limit.
- Sharp pain is always bad. Stop if there's any sharp pain.
- Communicate with your body - and/or your partner - to determine when you want to continue.
Of course, if playing with anal sex toys, there are a few other tips I'd really recommend:
Ensure every single anal body safe sex toy you purchase or play with has a flared base. This base - which is thicker than the toy itself - is what "anchors" the toy outside of the body. While you're at it, ensure that your anal sex toy's flared base is also firmly attached. A "flared base" doesn't do anybody any good if it can easily snap off of the toy - or a string can break.
Don't share anal sex toys with strangers. If you don't know the exact material it's made of and how it was sterilized, it shouldn't go up your butt. Just get one of your own.
Do your very very best to avoid getting anything anal-related anywhere near the vagina. The bacteria of the butt can give the vagina an infection, and it's just not fun when that happens. That means switching gloves, not "dipping" into the vagina for added lubrication when your anal toy needs it, and most importantly: never switch to vaginal fun with the same toy that was in your butt moments ago.
Don't be afraid to use Liberator sex furniture if need be. Reaching your own butt can be hard - especially if you aren't particularly flexible. Suction cup toys can help, too.
Keep track of your used anal toys. If you're someone who uses multiple anal toys a session (high-five!), keep track of where you put your toys after you've used them and before you've gotten up to clean them. Fecal bacteria is a real thing, and you should never place your used anal toys onto a surface you don't plan on cleaning ASAP after you're done. That's why a towel you can toss straight into the wash is a great place to temporarily house your toys before they make it into the sink for their full bath after play.
Butt Plugs
Designed to "set it and forget it", butt plugs are specifically crafted to be slid in the butt - then left alone. Once inside the body, that plug stimulates internal nerve endings that cause "fullness" for pleasurable sensations that still leave your hands free to do other things. While some people enjoy a "wiggling" sensation on their butt plug, most people won't enjoy a constant in-and-out sensation like with flared base dildos or other anal toys.
While most butt plugs are static toys without any special features, manufacturers have begun experimenting with butt plugs, so there are a wide variety of butt plugs with features out there now. Of course, you have the simple standard: vibrations in a butt plug like with the We-Vibe Ditto. Some butt plugs come with a weighted design to ensure you can't "forget" about it - like the best-selling b-Vibe Snug Plugs. The Vibrating Inflatable Plug XL features inflatable functionality to select the perfect size for your body while the XR Thump-It! Thumping Plug is equipped with micro-thrust technology that wiggles the toy inside of your butt - hands-free. Manufacturers are really getting creative with butt plugs!
Because of their discreet, "set it and forget it" design, butt plugs happen to be the anal toy of choice for discreet public wear. It also makes it a great choice if you're looking for pleasurable anal sensations to add to your usual sex acts - instead of doing anything specifically focused on anal.
Some other great articles to help you learn more about butt plugs include:
Anal Dilators
While anal dilators have been around for a long, long time in the medical world, they're just recently making their way over to the sexual world. Designed for stretching and relaxing the muscles for clinical reasons, anal dilators are available in various diameters and are slid into the butt just like a dildo. Unlike dildos, dilators are usually devoid of any texture, realism, or odd designs; they're just designed to slide into the butt to make it easy (and reliably repeatable!) to gently stretch and relax the anal muscles over time.
One of the biggest names to hit the anal dilator scene is the Odile. Instead of being a standard anal dilator, the Odile features an expanding design. Just turn the "key" on the base of the Odile, it slowly expands exactly 1mm. This makes it ideal for anal stretching or anal prep because you can choose the exact diameter of the toy you need - and you can gradually increase the diameter while you actively have the Odile in the butt too. It essentially replaces an entire kit of anal dilators - and offers more customization on top of that.
Anal dilators get a lot of use in the sex toy world for anal training. Anal dilation kits (or the Odile) can be a great way for someone to gradually increase the size of anal toys they can take. This is especially helpful for anyone who is brand new to anal who wants to have anal intercourse with a partner. Most of the stories about anal pain are from people who tried a biological penis for their first attempt at anal sex. Using anal dilators for weeks ahead of the "main event" drastically decreases the chance of injury, makes things more pleasurable, and instantly turns the entire thing into an erotic event to look forward to.
Some other great articles to help you learn more about anal dilators:
Anal Beads
Anal beads are a set of linked beads designed to go into the butt. Anal beads simulate the initial sensation of penetration - where the hole gradually opens up then gradually closes back up. Since you repeat this process for every single bead on the strand, anal beads really lend themselves well to people who love that movement of the anal entrance.
Anal beads of the past were plastic beads strung together on a cotton string. Since we've come pretty far in our knowledge about cleanliness and bacteria, it's pretty hard to locate anal beads like that anymore. Most modern-day anal beads are sets of silicone beads attached together by thinner layers of silicone.
Most anal beads come in graduated sizes. This means that the anal bead you insert first will be the smallest - while the anal beads later in the chain will be larger. This is especially helpful for those new to anal because it lets you choose exactly how far you go. There's no reason that you have to insert every anal bead on any given anal bead chain. You can insert it half-way - or just stick to the first bead if you want.
Anal beads can be used in the same way as butt plugs. You can pop as many in as are comfortable and then ignore them. However, for most people, anal beads are a bit more active. One common way to use them is to pop them all in - one by one - then gently tug the chain to pop them all back out, one-by-one. Some people like to pop the entire anal bead chain into their butt - then gently pull the chain of beads out of their body right at the point of orgasm to add even more sensation to their climax. It just depends on how YOU want to use it!
Some other great articles to help you learn more about anal beads:
