Pegging is a sexual act in which one partner wears a strap-on dildo or vibrator to anally penetrate another person for intercourse. The term is believed to have been coined by Dan Savage in 2001, when he called on the audience of his "Savage Love" sex advice column to name the act and they voted for "peg" or "pegging."
Since it was coined, the term pegging has predominantly been used to describe a cis woman using the strap-on on a cis man; however, over time the definition has come to broadly describe the act itself, regardless of the genders of the participants.
Pegging is a sexual culture phenomenon that gained greater prominence with the release of the porn film "Bend Over Boyfriend" in 1998 and, subsequently, when Dan Savage asked his readers to choose a term for this particular activity in 2001. Since then, pegging has been represented in television and film, notably, "Broad City," "The Bold Type" and "Deadpool." While it has now reached the sexual zeitgeist, as a practice, pegging has likely been around for thousands of years. In 2022, interest in pegging surged in response to an (unverified) rumor that Prince William, the second heir to the British throne, was a pegging fan.
Pegging offers different sensations to different people. If the person being pegged has a prostate, then one of the significant pleasures of anal sex is prostrate stimulation. As the dildo is thrust in and out of the anus, it will rub against this highly sensitive gland. Some people are able to experience orgasm from this alone. Even for those without prostates, the anus is full of nerve endings that can make anal play very pleasurable.
There are also pleasure possibilities for the person wearing the strap-on. Vibrators can be added to harnesses and some can accommodate a second dildo that is reversed for the strap-on wearer's pleasure.