What Men Should Know

Above the rim

“I’m just like you.  I enjoy the forbidden fruits in life, too.” –  Mike Tyson

I could ease you into this topic gently and “lubricate” this tantalising topic with humour and innuendo, but unlike sex (which may require a warm-up for some people), I think it’s best to plunge right in and get to the point.  This is an informative article about “rimming”, also known as “analingus”.  Rimming is the erotic practise of stimulating the anus of another person using your mouth (which includes the tongue, lips and teeth.)  When I was first tasked with writing this article, I found myself doing a rather convincing beetroot impression.  Something had punctured my desensitized armour and actually caused me to blush!   I had stumbled upon one of societies last “taboos”, yet one that seems to be gaining in popularity (or at least in awareness in social media and popular culture) .    Google and the internet will provide you with a diaspora of information chunks about the pastime of “eating ass”.  It is a provocative topic because the anus has had some bad press in the past.  For decades society has told us that the anus is a filthy and shameful aspect of our being that we must do our best to conceal from others. Animals think nothing of sniffing around one another’s “backdoors”, but we have been taught that it is a “no-go-zone” unless absolutely necessary and purely for the purposes of purging the body of abhorrent waste matter and we should only venture there during hygiene maintenance.   The anus is associated with faeces, germs, foul odours and perhaps we connect it to that “dirty”, secret part of us that we try to hide in the shadows.  Yet the anus is a hotbed of highly sensitive nerve-ending and many testify to it being a gateway to indescribable pleasures.  In this way, the anus may be considered “the last frontier”. 

To some, rimming is not even a fetish; rather it is a regular part of their sexual practise.  But if this occurs as commonly as social media and popular porn-sites would have us believe, then what are the risks of being a “rimmer” or a “rim-ee”?

Rimming can expose you to harmful bacteria such as Escherichia coli (“E. coli”) if you are not careful.  The presence of human faeces in and around the anus (even in small amounts) can cause these bacteria to make you very ill and can result in dysentery and other gastrointestinal infections and parasites.  It can also result in urinary tract infection for women, especially if the vagina is orally stimulated after the mouth of the “rimmer” has been in contact with “rim-ee’s” anus.  There is no danger of this if the vagina is first on the menu, however.

There is very little chance of contracting HIV through rimming but it can expose you to other infections that your partner may have such as:  hepatitis A, B and C; herpes simplex virus, conjunctivitis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia, human papillomavirus (warts) and other sexually transmitted infections.  So how do you kiss someone’s ass safely then?

 Good personal hygiene and cleanliness can do a lot to help the cause (showering, bathing and/or douching before rimming) but it is no guarantee that you will not be at risk.  Promiscuity is potentially dangerous when coupled with rimming and unsafe sex.  Being selective of who you “rim” is a good start but there are other ways to diminish your risks.  Using a latex dental dam as a barrier between the mouth and the anus can prevent infection.  Condoms that have been cut down the side can be used in a similar fashion as can latex and non-latex gloves cut to provide a protective surface between the mouth and the anus.  New barriers should be created for each new interaction and should not be reused.  Love it or hate it rimming is trending and no one can really be sure when it started, but when it comes to sexual expression and safety, ignorance may not result in bliss.  Being informed helps if you decide one day to boldly go where you have never dared go before.

Perhaps there is a world of newfound pleasures waiting for you, where “the sun doesn’t shine”? If this is the case, then it need not impact your health.

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