Episode 2: B is for Butt Stuff

Why do straight women engage in anal intercourse? Angel and Rob discuss. 

CORRECTION: At the end of the video, Rob and Angel (1:31:30) answer a listener question about anal fluids and risk. Rob says that anal sex is 400x riskier than vaginal sex for HIV transmission, but said he thought he was misremembering that statistic. So, we looked it up. He was misremembering. According to a Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE) review of several HIV meta-analyses, risk of HIV transmission is up to 18x higher from receptive anal sex than from receptive vaginal sex. 

Where did that first, high number come from? Studies have shown that viral loads are up to 500% higher in rectal secretions (the mucous membrane fluid near the rectum) than in blood and up to 2500% higher than in semen!

Read more here: 

1. Should I be worried about HIV rectal secretions?
2. Zuckerman, R. A., Whittington, W. L., Celum, C. L., Collis, T. K., Lucchetti, A. J., Sanchez, J. L., ... & Coombs, R. W. (2004). Higher concentration of HIV RNA in rectal mucosa secretions than in blood and seminal plasma, among men who have sex with men, independent of antiretroviral therapy. The Journal of infectious diseases, 190(1), 156-161.
3. i-base Viral Load Guide
4. Getting to the Bottom of It: Anal sex, rectal fluid, and HIV transmission

Links to Listen

YouTube
iTunes
Spotify
Podbean
GooglePlay
Stitcher
... and (almost anywhere else you listen to podcasts). Can't find us? Let us know!

Links and Resources from the episode:

1. The Article: Reynolds, G. L., Fisher, D. G., & Rogala, B. (2015). Why women engage in anal intercourse: results from a qualitative study. Archives of sexual behavior, 44(4), 983–995. doi:10.1007/s10508-014-0367-2  (This link has the images of the graphs we discussed in it as well.)
2. Dr. Sadie's book, Tickle my Tush
3. Twitter thread from @dmalebranche re: language around anal sex sexual encounters and HIV risk 
4. Booty Basics and Backdoor BDSM  (This link has the anal anatomy photos I talked about on the show.)
5. The Great Lube Episode
6. Satisyfer anal plug set I talked about during the Kink Crate promo  

Supplemental Reading: 

1. Bottom’s Up: Exploring Anal Play Beyond Penetration 
2. Teen Vogue: A guide to anal sex
3. Scarleteen: Anal sex lowdown
4. Scarleteen: Meet your prostate
5. The B-Vibe guide to Anal Play