Fisting (also known asfist fucking (FF) andhandballing[1][2]) is asexual activity that involves inserting one or more hands into therectum (anal fisting) or thevagina (vaginal fisting).[1] Fisting may be performed on oneself (self-fisting) or performed on one person by another.[3] People who engage in fisting are often called "fisters".[1][4]
Fisters have developed a distinctsubculture with its own history, norms, and values, including literature and clubs for sexual, social, and spiritual exploration.[5][6][7][8][2][9]
Vaginal self-fisting
History
Fisting's emergence as a sexual practice is commonly attributed togay male culture.[10][7][2] However, its precise origin is disputed. Some claim fisting began in the twentieth century,[11][12][13] whereas others assert the practice dates back to the eighteenth century or earlier.[10][5][14] Sex educatorRobert Morgan Lawrence, for example, claimed the practice dates back thousands of years.[15][16]
A patch for theCatacombs, a gay and lesbian fisting club.
By 1980, associations had formed in major cities around the world for fisters to meet, play, and socialize with like-minded men,[2][7][18][25] including "Fist Fuckers of America" (FFA),[17][26] "Total Ass Involvement League" (TAIL),[27][28] and "Mid America Fists In Action" (MAFIA).[7] Founded in the late 1960s,[7] FFA established chapters inLos Angeles,San Francisco, New York City,Philadelphia,Miami, andWashington, D.C.[29][30] FFA registered as a non-profit under the pseudonym "Fall Festival Association."[29][27] TAIL was founded in the early 1970s and included members in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia.[31][32][7][33] MAFIA was founded in Chicago in 1978 and remains active as of 2025.[34][35]
Fisting parties became a major social activity for "dedicated handballers," some of whom attended as many as three each month.[7] Parties tended to be held at gay bathhouses with carefully controlled guest lists ranging from eight to eighty people.[7] In 1975, approximately 300 men gathered for a two-day fisting convention and contest organized by FFA inOssining, New York.[17] In addition to arranging sex parties, associations organized social events including dinners, games, cook-outs and bar meet-ups.[34][36][37]
The onset of theAIDS epidemic in the 1980s claimed the lives of countless fisters, many of whom were particularly vulnerable due to the common pairing of fisting withunprotected anal sex anddrugs.[2] In response to the AIDS crisis,safe sex advocates launched public health campaigns to promote the use of gloves.[41][2][42][43][44] Meanwhile, cities such as San Francisco[45] and New York[46] forcibly closed gay establishments that—accurately or not—were believed to permit unsafe sex,[47] including fisting.[8][18] Consequently, many popular venues for fisting permanently closed.[48] Although closures were supported by some members of the gay community, many regarded the closures as a product ofanti-gay hysteria as well asanti-sex attitudes and disapproval of gay sexual activity in particular.[47] Thegay press,San Francisco AIDS Foundation, andSan Francisco Human Rights Commission criticized the closures as counterproductive and a violation of civil liberties.[47]
Fisting's visibility and popularity has grown in the twenty-first century,[49][50] likely due in large part to the internet and greaterHIV prevention and treatment options.[51] Fisting pornography is now widely available online and fisters can easily meet via social media platforms, some of which are tailored for fisting (e.g.Recon).[52][53][54] Gay bathhouses have made a comeback, with some once again hosting and advertising fisting parties.[55][8]
Techniques
Trust between partners is generally imperative to ensure physical and psychological safety and enjoyment.[5] A common technique, particularly for beginners, is to extend four fingers straight with thumb tucked beneath. Some refer to this technique as the "silent duck."[2][3] In more vigorous forms of fisting, often referred to as "punching" or "punch fisting", the hand is partly or fully clenched into a fist before, during, and/or after insertion.[56]
"Silent duck" hand position
Oftentimes, hands are inserted up to the wrist.[10] Some experienced fisters enjoy deeper penetration, referred to as "depth play", in which hands may be inserted as far as (or past) the elbow.[6][7][10][4] Taking two hands at once is referred to as "double fisting".[3][4] In the case of double fisting, pleasure may be derived more from the stretching of the anus or vagina than from the in-and-out movement of hands.[2] In rare cases, experienced fisters are capable of taking three hands.[28][57]
Lubricants designed specifically for fisting or with fisting as an intended use are widely available in some countries.[58] Fisters commonly usesex toys to loosen the anus or vagina before or during a fisting session.[6][4][59] Sometimes a penetrative partner may insert their penis or a sex toy at the same time as their hand(s), to masturbate inside the receptive partner's rectum or vagina.
Douching is common before anal fisting both for aesthetic purposes and to reduce risk of fecal contamination.[7]
Anal self-fisting
Terminology
According toTheRoutledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English, "fisting" and "fist fuck" entered the American slang lexicon no later than 1969.[1] Common fisting-related terms include:
Fist; fist fuck (verb): "the practice of inserting the hand (and part of the arm) into a partner's anus (or vagina) for the sexual pleasure of all involved,"[1] commonly abbreviated as "FF" or "FFun."[5]
Fister; fist-fucker: a practitioner of fisting; or, depending on context, a penetrative partner ("top") in a fisting session involving two or more people.[1][4]
Fistee: a receptive partner ("bottom") in a session involving two or more people.[4]
Punch; punch fist (verb): fisting in which the hand is partly or fully clenched into a fist before, during, and/or after insertion.[2][56]
Double; double fist (verb): fisting in which two hands are inserted simultaneously.[4]
Rosebud;prolapse: when rectal walls prolapse to such degree that they protrude out of the anus. Can be induced by fisting or other anal play (named due to resemblance to arose).[60][61][62]
Bloom (verb): the act of inducing a rosebud or prolapse.[60]
In medical contexts, fisting is sometimes referred to brachioproctic eroticism[63] or brachioproctic/brachiovaginal insertion.[64]
^A"Fisting" and"handballing" are often used interchangeably, but some consider the former term to be crude or violent and perceive the latter as more closely associated with "intimate love-making and spiritual communion."[2][18]
Risks
Safe enjoyment of fisting requires an understanding of potential risks and techniques for mitigating them.[6][7] Fisting carries a risk of transmittingsexually transmitted infections. When practiced improperly, fisting can cause serious injuries, includingperforation of the vagina,perineum, rectum, orcolon, that in rare cases can result in death.[6][65][66][67][68][69] Sexual activities that force air into the vagina can lead to a fatalair embolism, predominantly during pregnancy.[70]
A 2021 study found that men who practiced anal fisting were more likely to experiencefecal incontinence than men who engaged in other forms of anal sex, but more research is required to establish a causal link and determine whether this is temporary or long-term.[71][72][73][74]
According to Barcelos, "clinical and forensic research has over-inflated the 'dangers' of fisting without an understanding of contexts in which fisting takes place", and that anal and vaginal fisting present "low to no risk" of sexually transmitted infections.[8] Gloves, lubricant, and fingernail trimming can help reduce risk.[75][58][59]
In popular culture
References to fisting can be found in art, music, cinema and other forms of popular culture. Examples include:
InSolar Anus (1999),Ron Athey challenged thefeminization andsexual roles associated with male penetration by both giving and receiving penetration through self-fisting.[90]
Thealbum cover forSlide... Easy In byRod McKuen (1977) depicts gay porn starBruno's fist clenching "Disco"shortening.[95][96] The inscription states "this was a project everyone had to get into; not just on the surface, but deeply—and together. If you don't feel "easy in" then perhaps your threshold of pain or pleasure needs looking into."[96] (The European edition of the album featured a different cover because the original was considered "too outrageous.")[97]
In 2011, adult performersJiz Lee and Courtney Trouble designatedOctober 21 as "International Fisting Day" to promote visibility and to protest pornography companies' refusal to distribute films depicting fisting.[121][8]
In 2025, Fist Club Europee.V. designatedMay 5 as a second date of observance for the holiday.[122] Whereas the October observance addresses censorship and representation in pornography in the United States, the May observance "focuses on the lived practices of the global gay community." As the fifth day of the fifth month, May 5 (5/5) symbolizes the five fingers of each hand.[122]
In theUnited Kingdom, performing fisting[126] and fisting pornography are both legal.[127] However, until 2019, theCrown Prosecution Service (CPS) considered publication of fisting material to be grounds for prosecution under theObscene Publications Act 1959[128] andSection 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, the latter of which prohibits so-called "extreme pornography."[129] In 1998, theUniversity of Central England was involved in a controversy when a library book byRobert Mapplethorpe was confiscated from a student by the police, who informed the university that two photographs in the book (including one involving fisting) would have to be removed. If the university agreed to the removal (which it did not) the book would be returned. The two photographs, which were deemed possibly prosecutable as obscenity, included "Helmut and Brooks, NYC, 1978", which shows anal fisting.[81][82][130] However, after a delay of about six months, the affair came to an end when Peter Knight, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, was informed that no legal action would be taken.[82][130] The book was returned to the university library without removal of the photos.[131] InR v Peacock (2012), the jury found Michael Peacock not guilty of breaching the Obscene Publications Act for sellingDVDs containing anal fisting.[132] That same year, a jury took less than 90 minutes[133]to acquit Simon Walsh for possession of images of anal fisting that theCrown Prosecution Service (CPS) alleged constituted illegal, extreme pornography.[126] In 2019, the CPS declared it would no longer prosecute pornography produced by consenting adults engaging in legal acts,[134] including fisting.[127]
United States
Fisting was historically subject to censorship in the United States. For example, in the 1970s, the Los Angeles Police Department forced directorWakefield Poole to remove depictions of fisting from his films as a precondition for airing them in the city.[125][135] Fisting was included on the Cambria List, meant to be a list of sex acts that carry risk of prosecution underU.S. obscenity law, created byPaul Cambria in 2001 to help producers avoid obscenity lawsuits.[52] However, as of 2019, the Cambria List is generally regarded as obsolete within the Americanpornography industry.[136]
^abcdefgDalzell, Tom, ed. (2018).The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English (2nd ed.). New York:Routledge.ISBN9781351765206.
^abcdefghijkHerrman, Bert (1991).Trust—the Hand Book: A Guide to the Sensual and Spiritual Art of Handballing. San Francisco: Alamo Square Press. pp. 10–13,46–47,57–58, 127.ISBN978-0-9624751-5-3.
^abcdMartin, Jarred H (September 2020). "Exploring gender subversion and recuperation in anal fisting among gay men".South African Journal of Psychology.50 (3):336–346.doi:10.1177/0081246319888975.hdl:2263/73713.
^abcdMartin, Jarred H (April 3, 2023). "Fisting intimacy: The sexual scripting of intimacy in gay men's anal fisting".Psychology & Sexuality.14 (2):416–431.doi:10.1080/19419899.2022.2148119.hdl:2263/88857.
^abcGayle Rubin, "The Catacombs: A Triumph of the Butthole", inLeatherfolk: Radical Sex, People, Politics, and Practice, Alyson Press, 1992,ISBN1555831877, pp. 119-141; reprinted inDeviations: A Gayle Rubin Reader,Duke University Press, 2011,ISBN0822349868,"Archived copy"(PDF). Archived fromthe original(PDF) on October 6, 2014. RetrievedSeptember 30, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), retrieved September 30, 2014.
^"Red Hankie Socials".Trust: Handballing Newsletter (17). San Francisco, California: Alamo Square Press. 1992 – viaLeather Archives & Museum.Red Hankie Socials were fisting community bar nights advertised by the publishers of Trust. As of 1992, Trust listed Red Hankie Socials in Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, New York, Provincetown, San Diego, San Francisco and Vancouver, BC. Red Hankie Socials were organized by FFA in Fort Lauderdale and Washington DC, and by MAFIA in Chicago.
^abHolland, Erik (2004).The Nature of Homosexuality: Vindication for Homosexual Activists and the Religious Right. New York:iUniverse. p. 33.ISBN978-0-595-30508-7.
^Gayle S. Rubin, "Elegy for the Valley of Kings: AIDS and the Leather Community in San Francisco, 1981-1996", inIn Changing Times: Gay Men and Lesbians Encounter HIV/AIDS, ed. John H. Gagnon, Peter M. Nardi, and Martin P. Levine,University of Chicago Press, 1997,ISBN0226278573, pp. 101-144.
^Cappelletti, Simone; Aromatario, Mariarosaria; Bottoni, Edoardo; Fiore, Paola Antonella; Fineschi, Vittorio; di Luca, Natale Mario; Ciallella, Costantino (November 2016). "Variability in findings of anogenital injury in consensual and non-consensual fisting intercourse: A systematic review".Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine.44:58–62.doi:10.1016/j.jflm.2016.08.013.PMID27614327.
^Garros, Aurélien; Bourrely, Michel; Sagaon-Teyssier, Luis; Sow, Abdourahmane; Lydie, Nathalie; Duchesne, Lucie; Higuero, Thierry; Damon, Henri; Velter, Annie; Abramowitz, Laurent (November 1, 2021). "Risk of Fecal Incontinence Following Receptive Anal Intercourse: Survey of 21,762 Men Who Have Sex with Men".The Journal of Sexual Medicine.18 (11):1880–1890.doi:10.1016/j.jsxm.2021.07.014.PMID34645594.
^Cindy (July 17, 2017)."Reginold Alley's Leather Memoir".Public Art and Architecture from Around the World. Art and Architecture. RetrievedJuly 7, 2018.
^Gallego, Julia R. (2014). "The Dissector's Cut, the Wound and the Orifice: Seeing Ron Athey's performances through a cultural anatomy of the vagina".Performance Research.19 (4):74–84.doi:10.1080/13528165.2014.947124.
^ab1977 cover art forSlide Easy In by Rod McKuen, digitized and published onBlogspot.com on January 29, 2015. Inscription on cover reads, in part: "If this album sounds different, it tried to be. The performers, producers, the players (whether part of the enormous rhythm section or the full symphony complement of strings) knew this was a project everyone had to get into; not just on the surface, but deeply—and together. If you don't feel "easy in" then perhaps your threshold of pain or pleasure needs looking into. [...] Photos of Bruno courtesy of Target Studios. Bruno Courtesy of The Bull Pen. Special thanks to Target."
^Reilly, Andrew; Saethre, Eirik J. (October 2013). "The hankie code revisited: From function to fashion".Critical Studies in Men's Fashion.1 (1):69–78.doi:10.1386/csmf.1.1.69_1.
^"REDOUBT".Drummer.5 (38). San Francisco: Alternate Publishing: 51. 1980.
^abVan Meter, Eric (1978). "37 & Hot: Richard Locke Unlocked".Drummer (24): 74 – via Drummermen.com.
Addington, Deborah; Rothrock, Megan; McCutcheon, Jill (1997).A Hand in the Bush: The Fine Art of Vaginal Fisting. Greenery Press.ISBN978-1-890159-02-3.
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