Butt plugs have been around for a long, long, long time. The truth is, when it comes to human beings and sex, there really isn’t a lot we haven’t tried. For instance: anal play has been providing sexy fun for centuries!
Now that adult sex toys are mainstream, we can finally move away from weird, twisted relics such as Dr. Young’s Ideal Rectal Dilator. Yes, these were real medical toys for your rectum, made from either metal (metal toys ftw) or hard rubber. Their creators claimed that using them led to myriad benefits, including “promoting refreshing sleep and improving acne, urticaria and anemia.” The instructions also clearly stated, “you need have no fear of using them too much.”
For real though — while we cannot ethically state that anal sex or plugging up your bum will help with acne (wtf?), we can say that sensual anal pleasure does have a lot of potential when it comes to increasing the excitement and connectedness levels for all participants involved. There are lots of butt plug benefits, but perhaps one of the biggest ones is that it can bring you closer to yourself (getting to know all parts of you, knowwhatimsayin), as well as to a partner, if that’s where you’re at.
And listen, whether you’re just starting out in the world of bootay play or you’re an established expert, you’re not alone. Interest in anal play (including with butt plugs) has jumped considerably lately — according to PornHub, porn searches for anal sex have increased a whopping 120% from 2009 to 2015.. Plus, according to one study, an incredible 94 percent of women who engaged in anal sex during their last encounter said they had an orgasm.
Why use a butt plug?
First off, it’s important to note that not everyone needs to engage in anal play of any sort. If you’re not interested in putting things in your butt (or your partner’s butt), don’t! It’s good to remember that no one else’s opinion on this really matters; you’re in charge when it comes to your booty, full stop. #boundaries
Now, if you or maybe a partner happens to be fascinated, intrigued, or curious about the concept of playing with butt plugs, then you’re in a good spot. However, if your partner is demanding anal as a way of maintaining sexual excitement, this is a red flag. Ultimatums have no place in sex and consensual erotic play, and that boo should become a past boo real quick.
OK! Now onto the fun stuff. First up: butt plugs are an all-inclusive pleasure activity. Regardless of what sexual equipment you show up with, you’re going to have a booty, and that booty can provide you with booty-shaking pleasure quakes. And again, not just because of the physical feel-good feelings. When it comes to sex, anal play can create more intimacy in a partnership. Why? Because it requires vulnerability, trust, and patience. If you’ve already checked off all the crazy things of your kinky sex to-do list and have yet to do the butt things, they’re worth another look.
Plus, in both vulva-owners and penis-owners alike, the anus offers thousands of nerve endings ripe for the pleasuring, provided you take some care in generating an environment where relaxation and connection are possible. You want to really trust your special friend to know just the right ways to press your booty buttons.
Finally, according to sexual health experts like certified sex therapist Janet Brito, PhD, founder of the Hawaii Center for Sexual and Relationship Health, if you have yet to try any kind of butt play yet, you're probably going to want to do something called “anal training.”
According to Brito, this is “a series of exercises meant to prepare the anus for those interested in anal play.” This involves putting things like fingers or body-safe sex toys like butt plugs into the anus slowly (and with plenty of lube), and then letting them stay for short periods of time. This gradually expands your anus and preps it to be able to play with larger toys or a cock.
Benefits for vulva owners
Stimulation from all sorts of places!
One of the benefits of anal toys like butt plugs is that they create an alternate and enticing full sensation for vulva-owners. There’s a feeling of satiation — like you’re being filled up. Plus, anal toys can potentially stimulate a vulva owner’s clitoris all the way up in there. The clitoris is much larger than most people think, extending back with two legs that run along the vaginal interior. Because of the proximity to the anal canal, toys like butt plugs can stimulate other parts of the clitoris from new delicious angles.
And as already mentioned, when it comes to butt plug benefits, there are oodles of super-sensitive nerve endings in the anus. According to sex and relationship expert Cory Honickman, much like massaging a vulva owners G-spot and c-spot, stimulating your anus can generate lots of sexual pleasure. Whether you’re flying solo or all partnered up, the booty is full of feel-good possibilities. Plus, Honickman adds that, depending on how a butt plug is used, you can actually stimulate the skene gland, which some refer to as the “female prostate.” Thus, according to Honickman, “Women who have experienced anal orgasms say it’s a very deep and powerful sensation.” Yowza.
More of that leisurely, attentive, Go Slow energy.
As stated, butt play (done right) isn’t a quick in and out activity. It requires prep, relaxation, and pampering. If a vulva-owner wants a bit more of that unhurried activity to show up in the bedroom, gettin’ down with the booty can potentially bring some of that sensual lovin’.
Now, when it comes to healthy prostate stimulation with things like butt plugs, one rule of thumb is to go slow. According to sexual health & wellness company VelvetBox, “Most of the time, women’s first experiences with anal sex are not great. This may be due to feeling pressured, lack of lubrication, intoxication, moving too fast or they started with full penile penetration (which you should never do). When done correctly, anal sex should NOT be painful! … If it hurts, you’re doing it wrong and you should stop or slow down. All of this comes from a lack of conversation and education.”
Good thing you’re getting educated, amrite?
Benefits for penis-owners
Only penis-owners have a prostate!
Penis owners have their own special magic pleasure button, and it’s most easily accessed and directly activated via anal stimulation. Pleasure is gender nonspecific. Cisgendered heterosexual men shouldn’t let cultural norms shame them from taking pleasure in buttstuff. Anal play is for everyone, even the straights. ;)
Now, that said, prostate stimulation for penis-owners who aren’t accustomed to it can be an extremely vulnerable experience. If you’re planning on venturing forth into prostate paradise with some vibrating butt plugs, prostate massagers, or other adventurous anal plugs, be sure to allow time for some love and care along the way.
Benefits for anus-owners
So many options!
There are tons of varieties of anal toys, from the vibrating anal toy, dilator, to anal beads, plugs that are bulbous and go in little ways, different types of dildo sizes, and anal wands that go deep. So much human ingenuity has gone into making booty-insertable, or just toys that make stimulating the outside of the rectum a little more fun.
Sharing the power
All sexes and genders can receive sexual pleasure through anal penetration, and all sexes and genders can penetrate a booty (oh hi, strap-ons and harnesses). If anal pleasure lights up a bit of your kinky, raunchy side, you can rest assured that both parties will be able to do some booty penetrating.
In addition to getting at some erogenous zones you didn't even know were there, toys like butt plugs can also help you safely enter into the world of kink. According to Honickman and other sexperts, people use butt plugs in domination and submission play (aka BDSM).
While that can sound sort of intimidating or complicated if you’ve yet to go there, the truth is that kink can just mean exploring your own sense of power or desire to give up control. And using butt plugs can be an entry point for a person who thinks they may be into trying out some submission to test out feeling a li’l bit humiliated (not too much too fast, remember), or just vulnerable. Giving up control can actually be deeply fulfilling and relaxing … and pleasurable.
Exercising the booty leads to lasting bodily health
Strengthening your anal sphincter muscles has health benefits! Bet you didn’t know that playing with anal toys can actually help stave off fecal incontinence. Butt plugs can give you something to focus on when it comes to exercising your anal muscles and pelvic floor muscles, turning a relatively mundane squeeze and release into a full-fledged wowza exercise. Talk about taking joy in personal health!
Here’s a quick overview of how to do anal kegels:
- Lie down.
- Relax your stomach and glutes; you don’t want to engage those.
- Spread your legs a little bit apart.
- Squeeze both your pelvic floor and your anus at the same time (like when you’re trying to stop peeing midstream)
- Hold that squeeze and count to 10
- Ease off the muscle tension slowly
Repeat this in sets of five, with or without a plug, during your day. It’s all internal musculature, so nobody will even know!
Great for solo play as well as partnered play
Anal sex can be all sorts of fun to do with someone else, but there’s an equally exciting amount of joy to be had just doing buttstuff all by yourself. If you’ve got reservations about knowing whether or not you want to participate in partnered anal play, solo play is a good place to start.
Getting a trusty butt plug as a yummy addition to your own solo pleasure sex life is both a great avenue to make solo pleasure a little (or a lot) more exciting, as well as a way to acclimate yourself to the feelings of a fun, full booty. Try out #pluglife and see for yourself all the juicy hedonistic gifts butt play can provide.
Achievement
There’s something oh-so-satisfying about stating a goal, and resoundingly achieving it. Maybe you’re an action-oriented individual, and the steady, measured growth and success of tackling a goal really lights you up. Imagine the feeling you’ll get when your hard work pays off, finally going from the small butt plug to the last boss: the biggest, baddest butt toy in your anal training set!
Secret pleasure
If you want to go out and about in the wide world with a plug in, nobody’s gonna know! Grab a small comfy plug, apply some lube, gently pop that plug in and hit Trader Joe’s … with a little bit more swagger in your step.
Other tidbits
Butts are great. You can stick things in ‘em, you can offer your own up for another exciting round of Hide the (anal) Sex Toy — just always always always be sure that during butt play, you use copious amounts of lube. A quick way to hate anal sex is to try and engage in it without proper preparation. Proper preparation precedes peak performance, people.
If you’re doing snug plug booty play with a trusty silicone plug, remember that a silicone toy shouldn’t be paired with silicone lube. If you’d like to use a silicone butt plug, water-based lubricant is a happy alternative. Oil-based is also appropriate, but beware that oil-based lubes degrade barriers like condoms.
Finally, an important safety tip: If an item is going into an anal sphincter, make sure it’s got a flared base! You really don’t want an emergency visit to the ER because someone’s bottom decided to play Anal Houdini. Yes, this type of thing actually happens, and yes it is exactly as uncomfortable and embarrassing as it sounds. Safe, consensual, pleasure-focused anal action is the name of the game, folks.
Now go put a plug in it. ;)
