View source for Fisting

{{short description|Sex act}}
{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2018}}

'''Fisting'''—also known as '''fist fucking''' ('''FF''') and '''handballing'''<ref name=":11" /><ref name="Herrman">{{cite book |last=Herrman |first=Bert |title=Trust—the Hand Book: A Guide to the Sensual and Spiritual Art of Handballing |publisher=Alamo Square Press |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-9624751-5-3 |location=San Francisco |pages=10–13, 46–47, 57–58, 127 }}</ref>—is a [[Human sexual activity|sexual activity]] that involves inserting one or more hands into the [[rectum]] (anal fisting) or the [[Human vagina|vagina]] (vaginal fisting).<ref name=":11" /> Fisting may be performed on oneself (self-fisting) or performed on one person by another.<ref name=":32" /> People who engage in fisting are often called "fisters".<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":18">{{Cite web |last=Cheves |first=Alexander |date=2016-02-12 |title=30 Kinky Terms Every Gay Man Needs to Know |url=https://www.advocate.com/love-and-sex/2016/2/12/30-kinky-terms-every-gay-man-needs-know |access-date=2024-01-24 |website=[[The Advocate (magazine)|The Advocate]] |language=en}}</ref>

Fisters have developed a distinct [[subculture]] with its own history, norms, and values, including literature and clubs for sexual, social, and spiritual exploration.<ref name=":30" /><ref name=":31">{{cite journal |last1=Martin |first1=Jarred H. |date=28 September 2024 |title=Preparing to play: a thematic analysis of bottom training in gay men's fist-play |journal=[[Culture, Health & Sexuality]] |volume=27 |issue=9 |pages=1114–1128 |doi=10.1080/13691058.2024.2408358 |pmid=39340350 |doi-access=free|hdl=2263/100137 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":15" /><ref name="Herrman" /><ref name=":3" />

[[File:Wiki-fisting.png|thumb|Vaginal self-fisting|alt=An illustration of a woman fisting her own vagina]]

== History ==
<!-- Please don't remove images without first seeking consensus on the talk page - your edit will be reverted -->Fisting's emergence as a sexual practice is commonly attributed to [[LGBTQ culture#Gay men's culture|gay male culture]].<ref name=":16" /><ref name=":2">{{cite journal |last1=Navin |first1=Helen |date=March 1981 |title=Medical and Surgical Risks in Handballing:: Implications of an Inadequate Socialization Process |journal=[[Journal of Homosexuality]] |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=67–76 |doi=10.1300/J082v06n03_06 |pmid=7341668}}</ref><ref name="Herrman" /> However, its precise origin is disputed. Some claim fisting began in the twentieth century,<ref name="Damousi">{{cite book |last1=Damousi |first1=Joy |last2=Reynolds |first2=Robert |title=History on the Couch: Essays in History and Psychoanalysis |date=2003 |publisher=Melbourne Univ. Publishing |isbn=978-0-522-85057-4 |page=57 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f9NIWYP7MmkC&pg=PA57 }}</ref><ref name="Bergman">{{cite book |last1=Bergman |first1=David |title=The Violet Hour: The Violet Quill and the Making of Gay Culture |date=2004 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-50383-9 |pages=206–207 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yam1zo4yUlsC&pg=PA206 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Piontek|first=Thomas|title=Queering Gay and Lesbian Studies|url=https://archive.org/details/queeringgaylesbi0000pion|url-access=registration|access-date=October 9, 2014|date=January 2006|publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]]|isbn=978-0-252-03031-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/queeringgaylesbi0000pion/page/90 90]}}</ref> whereas others assert the practice dates back to the eighteenth century or earlier.<ref name=":16">{{cite journal |last1=Martin |first1=Jarred H |title=Fisting intimacy: The sexual scripting of intimacy in gay men's anal fisting |journal=Psychology & Sexuality |date=3 April 2023 |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=416–431 |doi=10.1080/19419899.2022.2148119 |hdl-access=free |hdl=2263/88857 }}</ref><ref name=":30" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Jonathan |date=2011-08-15 |title=A Hand in the Bush - An Interview with Deborah Addington |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/a-hand-in-the-bush-an-interview-with-deborah-addington/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] |language=en}}</ref> Sex educator [[Center for Sex & Culture#Robert Lawrence|Robert Morgan Lawrence]], for example, claimed the practice dates back thousands of years.<ref>{{cite book |last=Taormino |first=Tristan |author-link=Tristan Taormino |date=1998 |title=The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women |publisher=Cleis Press |url=https://archive.org/details/ultimateguidetoa00taorrich |url-access=registration |page=103 |isbn=9781573440288}}</ref><ref name="1occupytampa.org">[[Gayle Rubin]], "The Catacombs: A Triumph of the Butthole", in ''Leatherfolk: Radical Sex, People, Politics, and Practice'', Alyson Press, 1992, {{ISBN|1555831877}}, pp. 119-141; reprinted in ''Deviations: A Gayle Rubin Reader'', [[Duke University Press]], 2011, {{ISBN|0822349868}}, {{cite web |title=Archived copy |url=http://occupytampa.org/files/tristan/introfem/final/introfem%20final%20final/Gayle_S._Rubin_Deviations_A_Gayle_Rubin_Reader_a_John_Hope_Franklin_Center_Book__2011.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006082917/http://occupytampa.org/files/tristan/introfem/final/introfem%20final%20final/Gayle_S._Rubin_Deviations_A_Gayle_Rubin_Reader_a_John_Hope_Franklin_Center_Book__2011.pdf |archive-date=October 6, 2014 |access-date=September 30, 2014}}, retrieved September 30, 2014.</ref>

Fisting gained visibility and popularity around the time of the [[gay liberation movement]].<ref name=":27">{{Cite book |last=Heidenry |first=John |title=[[What Wild Ecstasy|What Wild Ecstasy: The Rise and Fall of the Sexual Revolution]] |date=1997 |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |isbn=978-0-7432-4184-7 |location=New York |pages=67, 162–163}}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":25">{{cite journal |last1=Martin |first1=Jarred H. |date=24 March 2025 |title=Fisting Subjectivity: Narratives of Sexual Subjectivity Among Gay Fist-Fuckers |journal=[[The Journal of Sex Research]] |volume=62 |issue=3 |pages=398–410 |doi=10.1080/00224499.2024.2339521 |pmid=38629693 |doi-access=free|hdl=2263/100181 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Whereas until the 1960s fisting was generally confined to the bedroom,<ref name=":2" /> by 1969 men openly engaged in fisting at [[gay bathhouse]]s such as [[St. Mark's Baths]] in [[New York City|New York]].<ref name=":27" /> The [[Handkerchief code|hanky code]] and [[personal advertisement]]s allowed fisters to safely and discreetly signal their interest to potential partners around the world.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gremore |first=Graham |date=2016-05-19 |title=Levi's Is Bringing Back The Hanky Code Just In Time For Pride |url=https://www.queerty.com/levis-bringing-back-hanky-code-just-time-pride-20160519 |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=[[Queerty]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=1979 |title=Happy Holidays Issue |journal=[[Drummer (magazine)|Drummer]] |volume=4 |issue=33 |pages=34–40}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=February 1983 |title=Bondage Issue |journal=[[Drummer (magazine)|Drummer]] |volume=7 |issue=61 |pages=58–59}}</ref> By 1973, [[Gay bar|gay bars]], bathhouses and clubs such as the Red Star Saloon in [[South of Market, San Francisco]] were publicly advertising fisting.<ref name=":27" /><ref name=":22" /> [[Sex club]]s dedicated to fisting quickly emerged, including the [[Catacombs (sex club)|Catacombs]],<ref name="1occupytampa.org" /> Handball Express,<ref>{{cite book |last=Rofes |first=Eric |author-link=Eric Rofes |url=http://www.ericrofes.com/pdf/70s_Walking_Tour.pdf |title=A Walking Tour of South of Market in the 1970s |date=2005 |location=San Francisco |pages=16–17 |chapter=The Handball Express, 975 Harrison Street |access-date=November 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031170033/http://www.ericrofes.com/pdf/70s_Walking_Tour.pdf |archive-date=October 31, 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and Red Hanky Express.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Avatar Club Los Angeles records |url=https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8t15b61/dsc/ |access-date=2025-02-13 |website=[[California Digital Library#Online Archive of California (OAC)|Online Archive of California]]}}</ref>

[[File:San Francisco Catacombs.jpg|thumb|A patch for the [[Catacombs (sex club)|Catacombs]], 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,<ref name="Herrman" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":25" /><ref name=":24">{{Cite journal |date=1992 |title=Red Hankie Socials |url=https://leatherarchives.org/ca/index.php/Detail/occurrences/1083 |journal=Trust: Handballing Newsletter |location=San Francisco, California |publisher=Alamo Square Press |issue=17 |quote=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. |via=[[Leather Archives & Museum]]}}</ref> including "Fist Fuckers of America" (FFA),<ref name=":27" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=M.A.F.I.A. News [Mid-America Fists in Action], 1997 |url=https://archives.lib.ku.edu/repositories/3/archival_objects/88265 |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=[[University of Kansas|University of Kansas - Kenneth Spencer Research Library Archival Collections]] |series=Steve Wheeler papers - File — Box: 8, Folder: 10}}</ref> "Total Ass Involvement League" (TAIL),<ref name=":29" /><ref name=":28">{{Cite book |last=Holland |first=Erik |title=The Nature of Homosexuality: Vindication for Homosexual Activists and the Religious Right |date=2004 |publisher=[[iUniverse]] |isbn=978-0-595-30508-7 |location=New York |page=33}}</ref> and "[[Mid America Fists In Action]]" (MAFIA).<ref name=":2" /> Founded in the late 1960s,<ref name=":2" /> FFA established chapters in [[Los Angeles]], [[San Francisco]], New York City, [[Philadelphia]], [[Miami]], and [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name=":26">{{Cite web |title=Fist Fuckers of America |url=https://leatherarchives.org/ca/index.php/Detail/entities/2822 |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=[[Leather Archives & Museum]] |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cheshes |first=Jay |date=1999-05-27 |title=Sexual Roulette |url=https://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/sexual-roulette-6331044 |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=[[New Times Broward-Palm Beach]] |language=en}}</ref> FFA registered as a non-profit under the pseudonym "Fall Festival Association."<ref name=":26" /><ref name=":29">{{Cite web |title=Guide to the Mariposa Education and Research Foundation records, ca. 1951-1987. |url=https://rmc.library.cornell.edu/EAD/htmldocs/RMM07300.html |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=[[Cornell University]] |series=Collection Number: 7300}}</ref> TAIL was founded in the early 1970s and included members in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019 |title=GLBT Historical Society Archives - Periodicals |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b53b13285ede173115cb784/t/5c5a2322b208fc626186868c/1549411112694/GLBTHS+Complete+Periodicals+List.pdf |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=[[GLBT Historical Society]] }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=TAIL Newsletter |url=https://arquivescollections.andornot.net/link/catalogue15857 |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=[[The ArQuives]]}}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite journal |date=July–August 1978 |title=League Happenings |journal=T.A.I.L. Newsletter |location=San Francisco |volume=VI |issue=4 |page=94}}</ref> MAFIA was founded in Chicago in 1978 and remains active as of 2025.<ref name=":23">{{Cite journal |last=Ash |first=Donovan F. |date=1983 |title=M.A.F.I.A. Celebrates 5th Anniversary |url=https://www.houstonlgbthistory.org/Houston80s/Assorted%20Pubs/Club%20Scene-Los%20Angeles%20794-Niebur/ClubScene12-83.compressed.pdf |journal=Club Scene |location=Houston, Texas |publisher=Alan Lipkin & Dan McIver |issue=12 |pages=9–10 |via=Houston LGBT History}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rhodes |first=Dave |date=1988-09-30 |title=1988 |url=https://www.theleatherjournal.com/news/1988 |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=The Leather Journal |language=en-gb}}</ref>

Fisting parties became a major social activity for "dedicated handballers," some of whom attended as many as three each month.<ref name=":2" /> Parties tended to be held at gay bathhouses with carefully controlled guest lists ranging from eight to eighty people.<ref name=":2" /> In 1975, approximately 300 men gathered for a two-day fisting convention and contest organized by FFA in [[Ossining, New York]].<ref name=":27" /> In addition to arranging sex parties, associations organized social events including dinners, games, cook-outs and bar meet-ups.<ref name=":23" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Reed |first=Rick |date=2003-06-11 |title=Tales from the Sexual Underground |url=https://windycitytimes.com/2003/06/11/tales-from-the-sexual-underground-8/ |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=[[Windy City Times]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Fist Fuckers of America Miami |url=https://leatherarchives.org/ca/index.php/Detail/entities/10776 |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=[[Leather Archives & Museum]]}}</ref>

[[Crisco]] was commonly used as a fisting [[Personal lubricant|lubricant]] since it was inexpensive and widely available,<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":15" /> as depicted in [[pornographic film]]s such as ''[[Bijou Theater (Chicago)#Bijou Video|Erotic Hands]]'' (1974).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Erotic Hands |url=https://bijougayporn.com/tour/dvds.php?id=24 |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=[[Bijou Theater (Chicago)#Bijou Video|Bijou Video]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=People v. Arno (1979) |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/california/court-of-appeal/3d/90/505.html |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=[[Justia|Justia Law]] |language=en}}</ref> As a result, Crisco became a euphemism for fisting in [[gay slang]].<ref name=":27" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Walker |first=Harron |date=2020-01-30 |title=The Fisting Emoji Has Arrived |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/new-fisting-pinched-fingers-emoji-2020/ |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

The onset of the [[AIDS epidemic]] in the 1980s claimed the lives of countless fisters, many of whom were particularly vulnerable due to the common pairing of fisting with [[Unprotected sex|unprotected anal sex]] and [[Party and play|drugs]].<ref name="Herrman" /> In response to the AIDS crisis, [[safe sex]] advocates launched public health campaigns to promote the use of gloves.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Slagstad |first1=Ketil |date=8 July 2023 |title=Visualizing BDSM and AIDS Activism: Archiving Pleasures, Sanitizing History |journal=[[Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences]] |volume=78 |issue=3 |pages=270–303 |doi=10.1093/jhmas/jrad012 |pmc=10329774 |pmid=37011106}}</ref><ref name="Herrman" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=There's more to safer sex than condoms: always love with a glove |url=https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-101451336-img |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=[[United States National Library of Medicine]] |series=NLM 101451336}}{{dead link|date=July 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=There's more to safer sex than condoms: always love with a glove |url=https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-101451330-img |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=[[United States National Library of Medicine]] |series=NLM 101451330}}{{dead link|date=July 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Auf geht's |url=https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-101451317-img |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250412163306/https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-101451317-img |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 12, 2025 |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=[[United States National Library of Medicine]] |series=NLM 101451317}}</ref> Meanwhile, cities such as San Francisco<ref>{{Cite news |last= |date=1984-10-10 |title=14 San Francisco Sex Clubs Told to Close to Curb AIDS |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/10/us/14-san-francisco-sex-clubs-told-to-close-to-curb-aids.html |access-date=2024-01-20 |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=8 }}</ref> and New York<ref>{{Cite news |last=Carroll |first=Maurice |date=1985-10-26 |title=State Permits Closing of Bathhouses to Cut AIDS |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/26/nyregion/state-permits-closing-of-bathhouses-to-cut-aids.html |access-date=2024-01-20 |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=1 }}</ref> forcibly closed gay establishments that—accurately or not—were believed to permit unsafe sex,<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=Hank |first=Trout |date=2021-12-22 |title=The bathhouse battle of 1984 |url=https://www.sfaf.org/collections/beta/the-bathhouse-battle-of-1984/ |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=[[San Francisco AIDS Foundation]] |language=en-US}}</ref> including fisting.<ref name=":15">{{cite journal |last1=Barcelos |first1=Chris A. |date=4 May 2023 |title=Adventures in fisting |journal=[[Sex Education (journal)|Sex Education]] |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=279–286 |doi=10.1080/14681811.2022.2061441}}</ref><ref name=":25" /> Consequently, many popular venues for fisting permanently closed.<ref>[[Gayle Rubin|Gayle S. Rubin]], "Elegy for the Valley of Kings: AIDS and the Leather Community in San Francisco, 1981-1996", in ''In 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, {{ISBN|0226278573}}, pp. 101-144.</ref> Although closures were supported by some members of the gay community, many regarded the closures as a product of [[Homophobia|anti-gay]] hysteria as well as [[Antisexualism|anti-sex]] attitudes and disapproval of gay sexual activity in particular.<ref name=":12" /> The [[gay press]], [[San Francisco AIDS Foundation]], and [[San Francisco Human Rights Commission]] criticized the closures as counterproductive and a violation of civil liberties.<ref name=":12" />

Fisting's visibility and popularity has grown in the twenty-first century,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-24 |title=Exploring The Pleasures Of Fisting: A Guide To Safe And Enjoyable Fisting Sexual Experiences |url=https://www.allohealth.care/healthfeed/sex-education/fisting-sexual |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=Allo Health |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Hayes |first1=Kaitlyn |last2=Beresford |first2=Meka |date=2016-06-23 |title=UK sex trends: "Fisting is the new black" |url=https://www.thepinknews.com/2016/06/23/uk-sex-trends-fisting-is-the-new-black/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=[[PinkNews]] |language=en-US}}</ref> likely due in large part to the internet and greater [[Prevention of HIV/AIDS|HIV prevention and treatment options]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cheves |first=Alexander |date=2019-07-10 |title=4 Perspectives On How The Internet Has Changed Kink |url=https://www.them.us/story/how-the-internet-has-changed-kink-bdsm-leather |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=[[Them (website)|Them]] |language=en-US}}</ref> 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 (app)|Recon]]).<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Dickson |first=E. J. |date=2014-10-21 |title=Is fisting the Internet's last taboo sex act? |url=https://cashmeremag.com/fisting-taboo-law-75692/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=Cashmere Magazine |language=en-US |archive-date=January 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240115172530/https://cashmeremag.com/fisting-taboo-law-75692/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cox |first=Joseph |date=2016-05-10 |title=Another Day, Another Hack: Is Your Fisting Site Updating Its Forum Software? |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/rosebuttboard-ip-board/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cheves |first=Alexander |date=2016-12-13 |title=Don't Make Vanilla Guys Bark |url=https://www.advocate.com/love-and-sex/2016/12/13/dont-make-vanilla-guys-bark |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=[[The Advocate (magazine)|The Advocate]] |language=en}}</ref> Gay bathhouses have made a comeback, with some once again hosting and advertising fisting parties.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-05-24 |title=IML 2017: International Mr. Leather in Chicago |url=https://www.windycitytimes.com/lgbt/IML-2017-International-Mr-Leather-in-Chicago/59220.html |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=[[Windy City Times]]}}</ref><ref name=":15" />

== Techniques ==
Trust between partners is generally imperative to ensure physical and psychological safety and enjoyment.<ref name=":30" /> 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."<ref name="Herrman" /><ref name=":32" /> 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.<ref name=":17">{{Cite web |last=Wallace |first=Megan |date=2023-04-27 |title=The ultimate guide to fisting |url=https://mashable.com/article/fisting-vaginal-anal-how-to |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=[[Mashable]] |language=en}}</ref> [[File:Silentduck.jpg|thumb|"Silent duck" hand position|180x180px]]Oftentimes, hands are inserted up to the wrist.<ref name=":16" /> Some experienced fisters enjoy deeper penetration, referred to as "depth play", in which hands may be inserted as far as (or past) the elbow.<ref name=":31" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":16" /><ref name=":18" /> Taking two hands at once is referred to as "double fisting".<ref name=":32" /><ref name=":18" /> 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.<ref name="Herrman" /> In rare cases, experienced fisters are capable of taking three hands.<ref name=":28" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=2020-09-22 |title=How Far Can You Go |url=https://www.fistrik.com/fistrik/all-about-fisting/how-far-can-you-go/ |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=Fistrik |language=en-US}}</ref>

Lubricants designed specifically for fisting or with fisting as an intended use are widely available in some countries.<ref name=":19">{{Cite web |last=Cheves |first=Alexander |date=2018-05-09 |title=25 Tips for Your First Fist |url=https://www.advocate.com/sexy-beast/2018/5/09/25-tips-your-first-fist |access-date=2024-01-24 |website=[[The Advocate (magazine)|The Advocate]] |language=en}}</ref> Fisters commonly use [[Dildo|sex toys]] to loosen the anus or vagina before or during a fisting session.<ref name=":31" /><ref name=":18" /><ref name=":20">{{Cite web |last=Wolf |first=Dolan |date=2018-07-19 |title=Expert advice: 8 steps for first-time fisters |url=https://www.sfaf.org/collections/beta/expert-advice-8-steps-for-first-time-fisters/ |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=[[San Francisco AIDS Foundation]] |language=en-US}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":2" />[[File:Self Fisting.jpg|thumb|Anal self-fisting|180x180px|alt=Anal fisting performed by a man on himself]]

== Terminology ==
According to ''The [[Routledge]] Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English,'' "fisting" and "fist fuck" entered the American slang lexicon no later than 1969.<ref name=":11" /> 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,"<ref name=":11">{{Cite book |title=The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2018 |isbn=9781351765206 |editor-last=Dalzell |editor-first=Tom |edition=2nd |location=New York}}</ref> commonly abbreviated as "FF" or "FFun."<ref name=":30">{{cite journal |last1=Martin |first1=Jarred H. |date=9 November 2024 |title=No Cock Needed: Exploring the Hapto-Erotic Assemblage of Fist-Play in Gay Men's Anal Fisting |journal=[[Journal of Homosexuality]] |volume=71 |issue=13 |pages=2974–2996 |doi=10.1080/00918369.2023.2275299 |pmid=37921700 |hdl-access=free |hdl=2263/95060}}</ref>
* ''Handball:'' synonym for fisting{{Ref|handball|A}}
* ''Fister; fist-fucker:'' a practitioner of fisting; or, depending on context, a penetrative partner ("top") in a fisting session involving two or more people.<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":18" />
* ''Fistee:'' a receptive partner ("bottom") in a session involving two or more people.<ref name=":18" />
* ''Punch; punch fist'' (verb): fisting in which the hand is partly or fully clenched into a fist before, during, and/or after insertion.<ref name="Herrman" /><ref name=":17" />
* ''Double; double fist'' (verb): fisting in which two hands are inserted simultaneously.<ref name=":18" />
* ''Rosebud; [[rectal prolapse|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 a [[rose]]).<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last= |date=2022-01-19 |title=Rectal Prolapse: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment |url=https://bespokesurgical.com/2022/01/19/rectal-prolapse/ |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=Bespoke Surgical |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tolley |first=Michael Jess |date=2020 |title=Absurd Vessel |url=https://core.ac.uk/reader/322920500 |journal=[[Georgia State University]] |pages=35 |via=[[ScholarWorks]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-08-20 |title=Anal Prolapse? Such A Thing Exists And Gay Fisting Causes It |url=https://redixx.com/anal-prolapse-such-a-thing-exists-and-gay-fisting-causes-it/ |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=Redixx |language=en-US}}</ref>
* ''Bloom'' (verb): the act of inducing a rosebud or prolapse.<ref name=":4" />
In medical contexts, fisting is sometimes referred to brachioproctic eroticism<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lowry |first1=Thomas P. |last2=Williams |first2=Gregory R. |date=June 1983 |title=Brachioproctic Eroticism |journal=[[Journal of Sex Education and Therapy]] |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=50–52 |doi=10.1080/01614576.1983.11074765}}</ref> or brachioproctic/brachiovaginal insertion.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cappelletti |first1=Simone |last2=Aromatario |first2=Mariarosaria |last3=Bottoni |first3=Edoardo |last4=Fiore |first4=Paola Antonella |last5=Fineschi |first5=Vittorio |last6=di Luca |first6=Natale Mario |last7=Ciallella |first7=Costantino |date=November 2016 |title=Variability in findings of anogenital injury in consensual and non-consensual fisting intercourse: A systematic review |journal=[[Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine]] |volume=44 |pages=58–62 |doi=10.1016/j.jflm.2016.08.013 |pmid=27614327}}</ref>

{{Note|handball|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."<ref name="Herrman" /><ref name=":25" />

==Risks==
Safe enjoyment of fisting requires an understanding of potential risks and techniques for mitigating them.<ref name=":31" /><ref name=":2" /> Fisting carries a risk of transmitting [[sexually transmitted infection]]s. When practiced improperly, fisting can cause serious injuries, including [[organ perforation|perforation]] of the vagina, [[perineum]], rectum, or [[Colon (anatomy)|colon]], that in rare cases can result in death.<ref name=":31" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cohen |first1=C. E. |last2=Giles |first2=A. |last3=Nelson |first3=M. |date=2004 |title=Sexual trauma associated with fisting and recreational drugs |journal=[[Sexually Transmitted Infections (journal)|Sexually Transmitted Infections]] |volume=80 |issue=6 |pages=469–470 |doi=10.1136/sti.2004.011171 |pmc=1744939 |pmid=15572616}}<!--|access-date=March 6, 2014--></ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Preuß |first1=Johanna |last2=Strehler |first2=Marco |last3=Dettmeyer |first3=Reinhard |last4=Madea |first4=Burkhard |title=Tod nach analem 'fisting' |trans-title=Death after anal 'fisting' |language=de |journal=Archiv für Kriminologie |date=January 2008 |volume=221 |issue=1–2 |pages=28–35 |pmid=18389861 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Torre |first1=Carlo |title=Delayed Death from 'Fisting' |journal=The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology |date=March 1987 |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=91 |doi=10.1097/00000433-198703000-00026 |pmid=3578218 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fain |first1=Dawn B. |last2=McCormick |first2=George M. |date=March 1989 |title=Vaginal 'Fisting' as a Cause of Death |journal=[[The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology]] |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=73–75 |doi=10.1097/00000433-198903000-00019 |pmid=2929548}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Reay |first1=Donald T. |last2=Eisele |first2=John W. |date=December 1983 |title=Sexual abuse and death of an elderly lady by 'fisting' |journal=[[The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology]] |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=347–350 |doi=10.1097/00000433-198312000-00013 |pmid=6666762}}</ref> Sexual activities that force air into the vagina can lead to a fatal [[air embolism]], predominantly during pregnancy.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kaiser |first1=Rachel T. |date=November 1994 |title=Air Embolism Death of a Pregnant Woman Secondary to Orogenital Sex |journal=[[Academic Emergency Medicine]] |volume=1 |issue=6 |pages=555–558 |doi=10.1111/j.1553-2712.1994.tb02552.x |pmid=7600403 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

A 2021 study found that men who practiced anal fisting were more likely to experience [[fecal 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.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Baxter |first=Rachel |date=2022 |title=Factors Associated With Fecal Incontinence After Receptive Anal Intercourse in Men Who Have Sex With Men |url=https://www.smsna.org/patients/blog/factors-associated-with-fecal-incontinence-after-receptive-anal-intercourse-in-men-who-have-sex-with-men |access-date=2023-09-25 |website=SMSNA |language=en-us}}</ref><ref name=":21">{{cite journal |last1=Garros |first1=Aurélien |last2=Bourrely |first2=Michel |last3=Sagaon-Teyssier |first3=Luis |last4=Sow |first4=Abdourahmane |last5=Lydie |first5=Nathalie |last6=Duchesne |first6=Lucie |last7=Higuero |first7=Thierry |last8=Damon |first8=Henri |last9=Velter |first9=Annie |last10=Abramowitz |first10=Laurent |date=1 November 2021 |title=Risk of Fecal Incontinence Following Receptive Anal Intercourse: Survey of 21,762 Men Who Have Sex with Men |journal=[[The Journal of Sexual Medicine]] |volume=18 |issue=11 |pages=1880–1890 |doi=10.1016/j.jsxm.2021.07.014 |pmid=34645594}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chen |first1=Avital Bar |last2=Kalichman |first2=Leonid |date=November 2024 |title=Pelvic Floor Disorders Due to Anal Sexual Activity in Men and Women: A Narrative Review |journal=[[Archives of Sexual Behavior]] |volume=53 |issue=10 |pages=4089–4098 |doi=10.1007/s10508-024-02995-2 |pmc=11588838 |pmid=39287780 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Gupta |first=Sarah |date=2022 |title=Is It Safe to Have Anal Sex? |url=https://www.goodrx.com/health-topic/sexual-health/anal-sex-safe |access-date=2023-09-25 |website=[[GoodRx]] |language=en}}</ref>

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.<ref name=":15" /> Gloves, lubricant, and fingernail trimming can help reduce risk.<ref>{{cite book|last=van Dyk|first=Alta C.|title=HIVAIDS Care & Counselling|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BZQ9LqUHDWYC&pg=PA156|access-date=March 4, 2014|edition=4|year=2008|publisher=Pearson South Africa|isbn=978-1-77025-171-7|page=156}}</ref><ref name=":19" /><ref name=":20" />

== In popular culture ==
References to fisting can be found in art, music, cinema and other forms of popular culture. Examples include:

=== Art ===
* The [[San Francisco South of Market Leather History Alley]], opened in 2017, honors Steve McEachern (owner of the [[Catacombs (sex club)|Catacombs]])<ref name="1occupytampa.org" /> and Bert Herrman (a fisting community leader, author, and publisher), among other members of the [[leather subculture|leather community]].<ref name="A&A">{{cite web |author=Cindy |date=July 17, 2017 |title=Reginold Alley's Leather Memoir |url=https://www.artandarchitecture-sf.com/ringold-alleys-leather-memoir.html |access-date=July 7, 2018 |website=Public Art and Architecture from Around the World |publisher=Art and Architecture}}</ref><ref name="Jewish">{{cite news |last=Paull |first=Laura |date=June 21, 2018 |title=Honoring gay leather culture with art installation in SoMa alleyway |url=https://www.jweekly.com/2018/06/21/honoring-gay-leather-culture-with-art-installation-in-soma-alleyway/ |access-date=June 23, 2018 |newspaper=[[J. The Jewish News of Northern California]] |publisher=}}</ref>
* [[Erotic photography]] by [[Robert Mapplethorpe]], including "Double Fist Fuck" (1977),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Double Fist Fuck (2016.57.137) |url=https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/109GDQ |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=[[J. Paul Getty Museum]] |language=en}}</ref> "Fist Fuck / Full Body" (1978),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fist Fuck / Full Body (M.2016.152.139) |url=https://collections.lacma.org/node/2233389 |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=[[Los Angeles County Museum of Art|LACMA Collections]]}}</ref> "Helmut Fist Fuck" (1978),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Helmut Fist Fuck (2016.57.140) |url=https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/109GDT |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=[[J. Paul Getty Museum]] |language=en}}</ref> and "Helmut and Brooks, N.Y.C." (1978).<ref name="auto">{{cite web |date= |title=Helmut and Brooks, N.Y.C. (2011.9.41.10) |url=https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/254559/robert-mapplethorpe-helmut-and-brooks-nyc-american-1978/ |accessdate=2020-01-03 |publisher=[[J. Paul Getty Trust|Getty]]}}</ref><ref name="independent1998">{{cite news |author=Jason Bennetto |date=1998-10-01 |title=Mapplethorpe images cleared |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/mapplethorpe-images-cleared-1175348.html |accessdate=2020-01-03 |work=[[The Independent]] |publisher=}}</ref>
* [[Erotica]] by [[Tom of Finland]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Street |first=Mikelle |date=2021-01-04 |title=Your Favorite (Explicit) Tom of Finland Art Is Now a Set of Magnets |url=https://www.out.com/art/2021/1/04/your-favorite-explicit-tom-finland-art-now-set-magnets#toggle-gdpr |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=[[Out (magazine)|Out]] |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Dom Orejudos]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tom of Finland Foundation Galleries, Galleries of Artists: Etienne/Stephen |url=https://www.tomoffinland.org/toff-gallery/ |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=[[Tom of Finland Foundation]] |date=February 8, 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref> [[The Hun (cartoonist)|Bill Schmeling]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Poster of Leatherman/Biker in Chaps fisting a bound nude man with can of Crisco at feet #1/10 by The Hun [Bill Schmeling] - 1981 |url=https://biblio.com.au/book/poster-leatherman-biker-chaps-fisting-bound/d/1397088558 |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=[[Biblio.com|Biblio]] |language=en |archive-date=January 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102014047/https://biblio.com.au/book/poster-leatherman-biker-chaps-fisting-bound/d/1397088558 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Chuck Arnett]],<ref name=":22">{{cite book |doi=10.25549/one-c4-46786 |doi-access=free |date=2021 |title=Posters and graphic materials |chapter=Red Star Saloon S.F. |series=[[ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives]] |publisher=University of Southern California Digital Library (USC.DL) }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Chuck Arnett collection |url=https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c82z1cb6/entire_text/ |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=[[Online Archive of California]] |series=Collection Number: 1997-42}}</ref> [[Gengoroh Tagame]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bayly |first=Zac |date=2024-08-22 |title=Gengoroh Tagame: Japanese Author of Brutal Sadomasochistic Comics Is Actually a Big Softy |url=https://buttmagazine.com/interviews/gengoroh-tagame/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=[[Butt (magazine)|Butt Magazine]] |series=Issue 33 |language=en}}</ref> [[Sean (cartoonist)|John Klamik]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Syndicate Sex by Sean 1970 John Klamik Rare 1st Ed 32pgs Gay Comic Pictorial, Hudson Bookstore NYC M28288 |url=https://oxxbridgegalleries.com/products/syndicate-sex-by-sean-1970-john-klamik-rare-1st-ed-32pgs-gay-comic-pictorial-hudson-bookstore-nyc-m28288?variant=46874114457842 |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=Oxxbridge Galleries |language=en}}</ref> and [[Drubskin]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-17 |title=Artworks |url=https://www.drubskin.com/2023/,%20https://www.drubskin.com/2023/ |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=[[Drubskin]] |language=en-US }}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* ''[[Hanky Panky (painting)|Hanky Panky]]'' (2020) by [[Kent Monkman]]
[[File:Ringold Alley, San Francisco.jpg|thumb|[[San Francisco South of Market Leather History Alley]]]]

==== Performance art ====
* In ''Solar Anus'' (1999), [[Ron Athey]] challenged the [[Feminization (activity)|feminization]] and [[Gay sex roles|sexual roles]] associated with male penetration by both giving and receiving penetration through self-fisting.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gallego |first1=Julia R. |date=2014 |title=The Dissector's Cut, the Wound and the Orifice: Seeing Ron Athey's performances through a cultural anatomy of the vagina |journal=[[Performance Research]] |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=74–84 |doi=10.1080/13528165.2014.947124 }}</ref>
* In ''Being Green'' (2009), [[Jess Dobkin]] was fisted while dressed as the [[hand puppet]] [[Kermit the Frog]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Being Green |url=https://www.jessdobkin.com/jd_work/being-green/ |access-date=2024-01-14 |website=[[Jess Dobkin]] |language=en-US |archive-date=January 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240114222122/https://www.jessdobkin.com/jd_work/being-green/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dupuis |first=Chris |date=2021-09-16 |title=Jess Dobkin, a Performance Artist With a Unique Sense of Humor |url=http://hyperallergic.com/677439/jess-dobkin-a-performance-artist-with-a-unique-sense-of-humor/ |access-date=2024-01-14 |website=[[Hyperallergic]] |language=en-US}}</ref>
* In 2013, [[Detroit]]-based artist Jerry Vile placed a 4-ft. tall can of Crisco in front of the fist-shaped ''[[Monument to Joe Louis]]'' for "helping to ease the pain of [[Detroit bankruptcy|Detroit's bankruptcy]]."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-08-08 |title=Detroit's massive jar of Crisco up for sale on eBay |url=https://www.michiganradio.org/offbeat/2013-08-08/detroits-massive-jar-of-crisco-up-for-sale-on-ebay |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=[[Michigan Radio|Michigan Public Media]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Olshansky |first=Clara |date=2013-07-31 |title=Artist Gives Detroit Crisco, "To Ease the Pain" |url=http://artfcity.com/2013/07/31/artist-gives-detroit-crisco-to-ease-the-pain/ |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=Art F City |language=en-US |archive-date=January 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102014046/http://artfcity.com/2013/07/31/artist-gives-detroit-crisco-to-ease-the-pain/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Music ===
* The [[album cover]] for ''[[Rod McKuen#LGBT activism|Slide... Easy In]]'' by [[Rod McKuen]] (1977) depicts gay porn star [[Bruno (adult performer)|Bruno]]'s fist clenching "Disco" [[shortening]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Frank |first=Gillian |date=2015-02-19 |title=Straight After Death: Misremembering the Queer Life and Times of Rod McKuen |url=https://notchesblog.com/2015/02/19/not-by-my-definition-remembering-rod-mckuens-queer-life-and-times/ |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=NOTCHES |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":13">1977 cover art for ''Slide Easy In'' by Rod McKuen, digitized and published on [https://glamjacknyc.blogspot.com/2015/01/ Blogspot.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."</ref> 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."<ref name=":13" /> (The European edition of the album featured a different cover because the original was considered "too outrageous.")<ref>{{Cite web |last=Doyle |first=JD |title=Rod McKuen "Slide...Easy In" LP |url=https://www.queermusicheritage.com/oct2012mckuen.html |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=Queer Music Heritage}}</ref>
* "[[Welcome to the Pleasuredome|Krisco Kisses]]" (1984) by [[Frankie Goes to Hollywood]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hilton |first=Danny |date=2014-03-28 |title=The 10 best songs about gay sex |url=https://www.queerty.com/the-10-best-songs-about-gay-sex-20140328 |access-date=2024-01-14 |website=[[Queerty]]}}</ref>
* "[[Stinkfist]]" (1996) by [[Tool (band)|Tool]]
* Music video for "[[House of Air (song)|House of Air]]" (2017) by [[Brendan Maclean]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Michelson |first=Noah |date=2017-02-10 |title=This Singer's 'Shocking' XXX Music Video Is A 'Royal F**K You' To The Trump Era |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/brendan-maclean-house-of-air_n_589dc5d9e4b03df370d5811c |access-date=2024-01-13 |website=[[Huffington Post]] |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Monument to Joe Louis--.jpg|thumb|The ''[[Monument to Joe Louis]]'', which made headlines in 2013 for what was widely considered a fisting joke]]

=== Film ===
* ''[[Caligula (film)|Caligula]]'' (1979)<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bray |first=Catherine |date=2023-05-19 |title='An irresistible mix of art and genitals': Caligula finally comes to Cannes |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/may/19/an-irresistible-mix-of-art-and-genitals-caligula-finally-comes-to-cannes |access-date=2024-01-14 |work=[[The Guardian]] }}</ref>
* ''[[Cruising (film)|Cruising]]'' (1980)<ref>{{Cite web |last=White |first=Rachel Rabbit |date=2019-04-18 |title=Sex Scenes: 'Cruising' Through 1970s Gay NYC |url=https://garage.vice.com/en_us/article/gy4bd4/sex-scenes-cruising-through-1970s-gay-nyc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419035703/https://garage.vice.com/en_us/article/gy4bd4/sex-scenes-cruising-through-1970s-gay-nyc |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 19, 2019 |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=[[Garage (magazine)|Garage]] |language=en}}</ref>
* ''[[South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut]]'' (1999)<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Hochman |first=David |date=1999-07-09 |title=Putting the 'R' in ''South Park'' |url=https://ew.com/article/1999/07/09/putting-r-south-park/ |access-date=2024-01-20 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |language=en |archive-date=February 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204075638/http://www.ew.com/article/1999/07/09/putting-r-south-park |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":11" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Usher |first=Shaun |date=2009-09-30 |title=P.S. This is my favorite memo ever |url=https://news.lettersofnote.com/p/ps-this-is-my-favorite-memo-ever |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=Letters of Note |language=en}}</ref>
* ''[[Fifty Shades of Grey (film)|Fifty Shades of Grey]]'' (2015)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wang |first=Joy Y. |date=2015-02-16 |title=Least sexy scene in 'Fifty Shades' is also the most progressive |url=https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/least-sexy-scene-fifty-shades-also-the-most-progressive-msna530936 |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=[[MSNBC]] |language=en}}</ref>

==== Pornographic films ====
* ''[[Hand in Hand Films|Drive]]'' (1974)
* ''[[Candy Stripers (film)|Candy Strippers]]'' (1978)
* ''[[The Other Side of Aspen]]'' (1978)
* ''[[Bijou Theater (Chicago)#Bijou Video|Erotic Hands]]'' (1980)<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |title=Erotic Hands |url=https://gay.aebn.com/gay/movies/125210/erotic-hands |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=[[AEBN]]}}</ref>
* ''[[Tampa Tushy Fest, Part 1]]'' (1999)

=== Television ===
* In 1993, [[Julian Clary]] joked "I've just been fisting [[Norman Lamont]] 'round the corner" during a live broadcast of the [[National Comedy Awards|British Comedy Awards]] viewed by 13 million people.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kelly |first=Emma |date=2019-09-23 |title=Julian Clary doesn't regret that infamous Norman Lamont joke |url=https://metro.co.uk/2019/09/23/julian-clary-doesnt-regret-infamous-norman-lamont-gag-good-joke-10793365/ |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=[[Metro (British newspaper)|Metro]] |language=en}}</ref>
* In ''[[South Park]]'' season 5 episode 14 ("[[Butters' Very Own Episode]]," December 2001), [[Butters Stotch|Butters]]' father watches the film "Fisting Firemen 9" at a gay [[Adult movie theater|adult theater]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vivona |first=Veronica |date=2017-06-24 |title=South Park: 15 Times Butters Didn't Know What Was Going On |url=https://screenrant.com/south-park-times-butters-had-no-idea-oblivious/ |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=[[Screen Rant]] |language=en}}</ref>
* Judges and contestants on ''[[RuPaul's Drag Race]]'' and its [[RuPaul's Drag Race#Spin-offs|spin-offs]] are known to sometimes make fisting-related jokes.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Henderson |first=Eric |date=2018-03-23 |title=RuPaul's Drag Race Recap: Season 10, Episode 1, "10s Across the Board" |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/tv/rupauls-drag-race-recap-season-10-episode-1-10s-across-the-board/ |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=[[Slant Magazine]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Frank |first=Jason P. |date=2023-06-16 |title=RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Recap: Yes, And? |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/rupauls-drag-race-all-stars-recap-season-8-episode-7-forensic-queens.html |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=[[Vulture (website)|Vulture]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Nolfi |first=Joey |date=2017-06-01 |title=Watch 'Drag Race' Queens Crack RuPaul up During Shady Puppet Challenge |url=https://ew.com/tv/2017/06/01/rupaul-drag-race-shady-puppet-challenge/ |access-date=2024-01-02 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |language=en}}</ref>

=== Literature ===
* ''All'' trilogy (1969–1971) by [[Dirk Vanden]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gunn |first=Drewey Wayne |date=2014-11-06 |title=Remembering Dirk Vanden |url=https://lambdaliterary.org/2014/11/remembering-dirk-vanden/ |access-date=2024-01-04 |website=[[Lambda Literary]] |language=en}}</ref>
* ''The Fist Fucker's Manual'' (circa 1970) by Art Hamilton<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VSgvGwAACAAJ |title=The Fist Fucker's Manual |date= |publisher=Art Hamilton |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Fisting Pedagogy |url=https://ouci.dntb.gov.ua/en/works/4NweEk6l/ |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=OUCI |language=en}}</ref>
* ''[[Faggots (novel)|Faggots]]'' (1978) by [[Larry Kramer]]<ref name=":2" />
* ''Maitreya'' (1978) by [[Severo Sarduy]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Riobó |first1=Carlos |date=2013 |title=Raiding the 'Anales' of the Empire: Sarduy's Subversions of the Latin American Boom |journal=[[Hispanic Review]] |volume=81 |issue=3 |pages=331–352 |doi=10.1353/hir.2013.0029 |jstor=43279288}}</ref>
* ''[[The Divine Androgyne According To Purusha]]'' (1981) by [[Purusha Larkin]]<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Saylor |first=Steven |date=1982-04-29 |orig-date= |title=A Search for Ecstasy |url=https://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/sfbagals/Sentinal/1982_SFS_Vol09_No12_Apr_29.pdf |access-date=2024-01-14 |work=[[San Francisco Sentinel|The Sentinel]] |location=San Francisco |pages=11 |via=[[University of California, Berkeley]] |volume=9 |issue=12}}</ref>
* ''The Intelligent Man's Guide to Handball'' ''(The Sexual Sport)'' (1983) by R.A. Fournier<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fournier |first=R. A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pOdRywAACAAJ |title=The Intelligent Man's Guide to Handball (the Sexual Sport) |date=1983 |publisher=R.A. Fournier |location=New York |language=en}}</ref>
* ''Trust: The Handbook: A Guide to the Sensual and Spiritual Art of Handballing'' (1991) by Bert Herrman<ref name="Herrman" />
* ''[[A Hand in the Bush|A Hand in the Bush: The Fine Art of Vaginal Fisting]]'' (1997) by Deborah Addington<ref name=":7" />

=== Clubs ===
* [[Crisco Disco]], discotheque in New York City (1970s-1980s)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sawyer |first=Drew |date=2007 |editor-last= |editor-first= |others=Instructed by Sev Fowles |title=Crisco Or How To Do Queer Theory With Things |url=https://www.columbia.edu/~sf2220/TT2007/web-content/Pages/drew2.html |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=Thing Theory (2007) |series=Anthropology Department G6085 |publisher=[[Columbia University]]}}</ref>
* [[Catacombs (sex club)|Catacombs]], sex club in San Francisco (1975 to 1981, reopened at another location from 1982 to 1984)<ref name=":15" />
* [[Mineshaft (gay club)|Mineshaft]], bar and sex club in New York City (1976–1985)
* [[Caldron (sex club)|Caldron]], sex club in San Francisco (1980–1984)
* Crisco Club, gay bar and sex club in [[Florence|Florence, Italy]] (est. 1981)<ref>{{Cite web |title=LGBTQ Florence |url=https://www.feelflorence.it/en/dalle-redazioni/lgbtq-florence |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=Feel Florence - [[Florence|Municipality of Florence]] Official Tourism Website}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Una Bella Storia |url=http://www.criscoclub.com/ |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=Crisco Club - American Crisco Club Firenze}}</ref>
* [[La Fistinière]], fisting guesthouse in [[Assigny, Cher|Assigny, France]] (2007–2018)
* Le One Way, gay bar and sex club in Paris, France<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.25549/one-c4-46937 |doi-access=free |date=2021 |title=Posters and graphic materials |chapter=One Way |series=[[ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives]] |publisher=University of Southern California Digital Library (USC.DL) }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=One Way |url=https://www.parislgbt.com/en/listing/one-way/ |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=Paris LGBT+ Guide |language=Fr}}</ref>
[[File:La Fistinière.jpg|thumb|[[La Fistinière]], a fisting club in France]]

=== International Fisting Day ===
In 2011, adult performers [[Jiz Lee]] and Courtney Trouble designated [[October 21]] as "International Fisting Day" to promote visibility and to protest pornography companies' refusal to distribute films depicting fisting.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2011-10-21 |title=International Fisting Day: Courtney Trouble Says Put Your Dukes Up (and In) Against Censorship |url=https://www.sfweekly.com/archives/international-fisting-day-courtney-trouble-says-put-your-dukes-up-and-in-against-censorship/article_461a43e1-30cf-5d4c-9bbb-7a20a5c3e4ab.html |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=[[SF Weekly]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":15" />

In 2025, Fist Club Europe [[Registered association (Germany)|e.V.]] designated [[May 5]] as a second date of observance for the holiday.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2025-05-04 |title=Hands up for International Fisting Day |url=https://qnews.com.au/hands-up-for-international-fisting-day/ |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=[[QNews]] |language=en-AU}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":8" />

=== Other ===
* In the [[handkerchief code]], the color red signifies interest in fisting.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Reilly |first1=Andrew |last2=Saethre |first2=Eirik J. |date=October 2013 |title=The hankie code revisited: From function to fashion |journal=Critical Studies in Men's Fashion |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=69–78 |doi=10.1386/csmf.1.1.69_1}}</ref>
* In 1980, ''[[Drummer (magazine)|Drummer]]'' reported plans for an annual "Mr. Fist Contest" organized by the Rodeo Riders, a Chicago-based [[Leather subculture|leather club]].<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1980 |title=REDOUBT |journal=[[Drummer (magazine)|Drummer]] |location=San Francisco |publisher=Alternate Publishing |volume=5 |issue=38 |pages=51}}</ref>
[[File:Red-Hanky-Handkerchief-Code.jpg|thumb|In the [[handkerchief code]], the color red signifies interest in fisting.]]

== Legal status ==
In some nations, fisting—particularly anal fisting—has historically been [[Censorship|censored]] and [[Criminalization of homosexuality|criminalized due to its association with gay sex]] and characterization by critics as an obscene and deviant act.<ref name=":32">{{cite journal |last1=Martin |first1=Jarred H |title=Exploring gender subversion and recuperation in anal fisting among gay men |journal=South African Journal of Psychology |date=September 2020 |volume=50 |issue=3 |pages=336–346 |doi=10.1177/0081246319888975 |hdl-access=free |hdl=2263/73713}}</ref><ref name=":33">{{Cite journal |last=Van Meter |first=Eric |date=1978 |title=37 & Hot: Richard Locke Unlocked |journal=[[Drummer (magazine)|Drummer]] |issue=24 |pages=74 |via=Drummermen.com}}</ref><ref name=":15" />

=== United Kingdom ===
In the [[United Kingdom]], performing fisting<ref name="extreme-porn-trial">{{cite news|author=[[Myles Jackman]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2012/aug/08/extreme-porn-trial-simon-walsh |title=Extreme porn trial: consensual sex and the state |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=August 8, 2012 |access-date=January 4, 2013 |location=London}}</ref> and fisting pornography are both legal.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web |last=Long |first=Matilda |date=2019-01-31 |title=Ban on fetish porn including BDSM overturned in England in landmark ruling |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/violent-porn-including-bdsm-no-longer-illegal-uk-long-performers-consenting-155930303.html |access-date=2024-01-18 |website=[[Yahoo News]] |language=en-GB}}</ref> However, until 2019, the [[Crown Prosecution Service]] (CPS) considered publication of fisting material to be grounds for prosecution under the [[Obscene Publications Act 1959]]<ref name=":9">{{cite web |title=Obscene publications: Legal Guidance |url=http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/l_to_o/obscene_publications/#a05 |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215064811/http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/l_to_o/obscene_publications/#a05 |archive-date=2016-12-15 |access-date=April 20, 2023 |website=[[Crown Prosecution Service]]}}{{void|comment|Fabrickator|Evidently, fisting had been removed from the website by about 2019, claim may need to be reviewed and updated}}</ref> and [[Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008]], the latter of which prohibits so-called "extreme pornography."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Extreme Pornography |url=https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/extreme-pornography |access-date=2024-01-17 |website=[[Crown Prosecution Service]] |archive-date=January 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118000008/https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/extreme-pornography |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1998, the [[Birmingham City University|University of Central England]] was involved in a controversy when a library book by [[Robert 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.<ref name="auto"/><ref name="independent1998"/><ref name="autogenerated1999">{{cite web |title=UCE pages on the Mapplethorpe controversy |url=http://www.uce.ac.uk/mapplethorpe/ |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19990209055420/http://www.uce.ac.uk/mapplethorpe/ |archivedate=February 9, 1999 |accessdate=12 November 2002}}</ref> 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.<ref name="independent1998"/><ref name="autogenerated1999"/> The book was returned to the university library without removal of the photos.<ref name="Smartt2011">{{cite book |author=Ursula Smartt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qCLR5fyc7N0C&pg=PA277 |title=Media and Entertainment Law |date=19 April 2011 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |isbn=978-1-136-73641-4 |pages=277–}}</ref> In ''[[R v Peacock]]'' (2012), the jury found Michael Peacock not guilty of breaching the Obscene Publications Act for selling [[DVD]]s containing anal fisting.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Beaumont |first1=Peter |last2=Hodgson |first2=Nichi |date=2012-01-07 |title=Obscenity law in doubt after jury acquits distributor of gay pornography |url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2012/jan/07/obscene-publications-act-future-doubt |access-date=2012-01-07 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> That same year, a jury took less than 90 minutes<ref>{{Cite news |last=Davies |first=Caroline |date=2012-08-08 |title=Former Boris Johnson aide cleared of possession of 'extreme pornography' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/aug/08/boris-johnson-aide-extreme-pornography-cleared |access-date=2024-01-17 |work=[[The Guardian]] }}</ref> [[Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008#2012 test case|to acquit Simon Walsh]] for possession of images of anal fisting that the [[Crown Prosecution Service]] (CPS) alleged constituted illegal, extreme pornography.<ref name="extreme-porn-trial" /> In 2019, the CPS declared it would no longer prosecute pornography produced by consenting adults engaging in legal acts,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Waterson |first=Jim |date=2019-01-31 |title=Pornography of adult consensual sex no longer taboo, says CPS |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/jan/31/pornography-of-adult-consensual-sex-no-longer-taboo-says-cps |access-date=2024-01-18 |work=[[The Guardian]] }}</ref> including fisting.<ref name=":10" />

=== United States ===
Fisting was historically subject to censorship in the United States. For example, in the 1970s, the Los Angeles Police Department forced director [[Wakefield Poole]] to remove depictions of fisting from his films as a precondition for airing them in the city.<ref name=":33" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fritscher |first=Jack |date=1978 |title=Dirty Poole |journal=[[Drummer (magazine)|Drummer]] |issue=27 |pages=15 |via=Drummermen.com}}</ref> Fisting was included on the Cambria List, meant to be a list of sex acts that carry risk of prosecution under [[United States obscenity law|U.S. obscenity law]], created by [[Paul Cambria]] in 2001 to help producers avoid obscenity lawsuits.<ref name=":6" /> However, as of 2019, the Cambria List is generally regarded as obsolete within the American [[pornography industry]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zorkin |first=Gene |date=2019-06-12 |title=Are Obscenity Prosecution Concerns Obsolete? |url=https://www.ynot.com/obscenity-prosecution-obsolete/ |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=YNOT |language=en-US}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Human sexuality}}
* [[Anal sex]]
* [[Sex toy]]
* [[Sexual intercourse]]
* [[Sexual penetration]]
* [[Fetish (disambiguation)|Fetish]]

== References ==
<references />
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last1=Addington |first1=Deborah |last2=Rothrock |first2=Megan |last3=McCutcheon |first3=Jill |title=A Hand in the Bush: The Fine Art of Vaginal Fisting |date=1997 |publisher=Greenery Press |isbn=978-1-890159-02-3 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Donovan |first1=B |last2=Tindall |first2=B |last3=Cooper |first3=D |title=Brachioproctic eroticism and transmission of retrovirus associated with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) |journal=Sexually Transmitted Infections |date=1 December 1986 |volume=62 |issue=6 |pages=390–392 |doi=10.1136/sti.62.6.390 |pmid=3643880 |pmc=1012005 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Herrman |first1=Bert |title=Trust--the Hand Book: A Guide to the Sensual and Spiritual Art of Handballing |date=1991 |publisher=Alamo Square Press |isbn=978-0-9624751-5-3 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Inciardi |first1=James |last2=Surratt |first2=Hilary |last3=Telles |first3=Paulo R. |title=Sex, Drugs, And Hiv/aids In Brazil |date=2000 |publisher=Avalon Publishing |isbn=978-0-8133-3424-0 }}
* Medical terminology and some information on risks were taken from [https://www.winternet.com/~redright/aimgth.htm#anchorTOP The Intelligent Man's Guide To Handball], a guide to man-on-man fisting.
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
*{{commons category-inline}}

{{Human sexuality}}
{{Sexpositions}}

[[Category:Anal eroticism]]
[[Category:Sexual acts]]
[[Category:Vagina]]
[[Category:Anus]]
[[Category:Fetish subculture]]
[[Category:BDSM activities]]
[[Category:Fisting subculture]]