There’s a kind of Murphy’s Law about kink: the stuff people tend to think is easy is actually dangerous, and the stuff people tend to think is way out there is actually pretty risk-free. Then there are those activities which live on the edge of those two misconceptions — activities that can be dangerous without a thorough understanding of what you’re doing, but are about as safe as walking your dog when done with knowledge. Fisting is definitely one of those.
I suspect a lot of misconceptions about fisting can be cleared up by addressing the image it invokes. We usually hear the word “fist” in relationship to fighting in bars, or in courtroom testimony about domestic violence. Without further context, you might think the sexual act of fisting would involve someone’s dry, bare-knuckled, closed hand ramming its way into the body of someone else, and yes, that would be dangerous!
Fortunately, that's not how most fisting is done. You'll find most practitioners fond of a glove, a lot of lube (stop thinking about Crisco-consistency stuff — that's for anal), and a lot of preparation. Think of proper fisting as just going further down the path of prepping your partner with your fingers. Yes, it can get hot and heavy and rough, but so can just about any other type of sex.
With all that out of the way, let's talk about the benefits. There are many, and they are strangely uncommon discussion topics.
I suspect a lot of misconceptions about fisting can be cleared up by addressing the image it invokes. We usually hear the word “fist” in relationship to fighting in bars, or in courtroom testimony about domestic violence. Without further context, you might think the sexual act of fisting would involve someone’s dry, bare-knuckled, closed hand ramming its way into the body of someone else, and yes, that would be dangerous!
Fortunately, that's not how most fisting is done. You'll find most practitioners fond of a glove, a lot of lube (stop thinking about Crisco-consistency stuff — that's for anal), and a lot of preparation. Think of proper fisting as just going further down the path of prepping your partner with your fingers. Yes, it can get hot and heavy and rough, but so can just about any other type of sex.
With all that out of the way, let's talk about the benefits. There are many, and they are strangely uncommon discussion topics.
Muscle Control
I’ve been a yoga practitioner for years and a kegel-exercise fan for almost as long, but when I was confronted with my first fist, I found that I really had no idea how to control my pelvic floor muscles. Learning the crucial “open up” muscle movement was completely different from anything I’d tried before. Newbies are often advised to “bear down,” which seems to cause the “open up” movement to happen almost as a side effect. Further practice taught me how to isolate the process, with no small sense of achievement.
I can hear the peanut gallery wondering what actual benefit this might have (outside of better future fisting adventures, of course). Learning better control over any pelvic musculature definitely improves things in the sack, no matter what you’re up to. I don’t know whether this works for everybody, but my experience has certainly been that the intensity of orgasm ratcheted up exponentially once I gained some muscle control. Besides, muscle tone is muscle tone, and the benefits are the same no matter where those muscles are in the body.
Although I can’t speak to this personally at all, I would love to one day see a study on whether previous fisting experience improved the process of labor and delivery for first-time mothers. It seems like it must!
Featured Product
I will say that this gem rocked my world and had me screaming out in pure bliss! – Vnessa
I can hear the peanut gallery wondering what actual benefit this might have (outside of better future fisting adventures, of course). Learning better control over any pelvic musculature definitely improves things in the sack, no matter what you’re up to. I don’t know whether this works for everybody, but my experience has certainly been that the intensity of orgasm ratcheted up exponentially once I gained some muscle control. Besides, muscle tone is muscle tone, and the benefits are the same no matter where those muscles are in the body.
Although I can’t speak to this personally at all, I would love to one day see a study on whether previous fisting experience improved the process of labor and delivery for first-time mothers. It seems like it must!
preparing for the birth of my 2 children we did alot of perineal stretching and worked up to fisting occasionally, and it did most definitely help with a MUCH easier childbirth! my kids were huge, 8 and 9lb and with the prep work we had done they were born easily without tears or vaginal trauma. since my muscles were used to stretching and contracting it was back to prepregnancy feel very quickly and we were back at gentle intercourse within just a few days! biggest benefit was forcing me to get to know my body and learn to control it. learning to "open up" for a hand is really the exact same mechanism that helps a baby be born efficiently and quickly. if trying this at anytime, ESPECIALLY during pregnancy though, make sure your partner has scrubbed their hands well with soap before you begin, dont want to introduce anything funky to your holiest of holes lol..
I'm super intrigued by fisting now, and because of @hypomania's comments I want to tell all my friends who want to have babies to practice fisting. I actually just wrote a blog post about watching a fisting porn. Thanks for the inspiration!
This is a fantastic article, and thanks for your insightful comments too, hypomania!
There is a really great book written by Debrah Addington ( I think that sthe author) The Title "A hand in the bush: the fine art of vaginal fisting" really expands on this topic. It is a great book well worth the read if interested in trying this.
Great article