How The Pandemic Made Us Kinkier
Did the creative ways kinksters connected, learned, and played during isolation help us grow and find pleasure in ways we couldn’t have anticipated?
By Luna Matatas
Recently, pegging made its way into the news with rumors of Prince William’s affairs that involved pegging. In one respect, it’s great to see pegging go mainstream. However, the internet quickly lit up with shame-driven hot takes. The trending Twitter hashtag #PrinceOfPegging is full of stereotyped assumptions about why people peg along with skewed ideas of what it says about their identities and desires.
Pegging is most widely known as a type of strap-on sex where one person wears a dildo to penetrate their partner anally. The term pegging was originally coined by sex columnist Dan Savage in the early 2000s to give a label to the strap-on anal sex cisgender men receive from cisgender women. The intent was to help de-stigmatize the homophobia around anal sex for cisgender heterosexual men. Over the last 20 years, that definition has evolved to include other identities. Pegging in 2022 can be whatever you want. People with all types of bodies, sexual orientations, and genders strap it on for anal play, including people who were assigned male at birth.
Being into pegging is nothing to ashamed of. In fact, it’s quite common. One of the many reasons pegging sex is so enjoyable is it gives us opportunities to tap into both physical and mental erotic hotspots to create many layers of pleasure.
Curious about pegging? To get started, there are three key things you need to know – how to talk to your partner about your sexual fantasies, which sex toys and harnesses work best for pegging, and tips for warming up the body for strap-on sex.
Start with prompts like these when talking with your partner about your pegging fantasies:
Think about what you masturbate to or get turned on by when you’re thinking about pegging. Gathering these details helps you bring more depth to the conversation with your partner and can help them understand the flavor or mood of your fantasy.
Besides the pleasure from anal sex and/or prostate stimulation, the receiver (or ‘peggee’) may also get turned on by subverting gender roles, playing with erotic power exchange, exploring topping/bottoming/switching, the visual of their partner wearing a strap-on, intense sensations, and/or receiving instead of giving penetration.
It might seem like the receiver/’peggee’ gets all the pleasure from pegging, but the ‘pegger’ gets pleasure too. Some ways the strap-on wearer can experience pleasure:
@peggingparadise Reply to @shaunsmi #intimacy #pegging #rubyryder ♬ original sound - Ruby Ryder
You can be excited about pegging but also still feel nervous or worried about it. There’s so much stigma that blocks people from asking for anal pleasure, like:
Navigating shame can be tricky, but communicating with your partner is a great place to start. Name your shame and deconstruct the ideas that reinforce it. Explore ways to counterbalance and diffuse those negative feelings with the benefits and joys you get from pegging.
What’s considered kinky varies from person to person. Some think pegging is kinky in itself. Others add elements of BDSM into their pegging practice. Here are a few ideas for incorporating kink in your pegging scenes:
MYTH: Being pegged is always a submissive act.
Topping & bottoming aren’t necessarily the same as dominating & submitting. Top/bottom means giver/receiver; they’re about action. Dominance/submission are about our expression of power. In other words, top/bottom = what we’re doing. Dom/sub = the attitude we’re doing it with.
What does bottoming in a dominant way look like? A masc dom consensually demanding their sub peg them as an act of service, worship, humiliation, or reward is one of many examples.
Remember, definitions & social norms are constantly changing + they can vary by region & micro-community. Some use top/dom & sub/bottom interchangeably. Not sure what definition a prospective play partner is working with? Ask!
To get started with pegging, you’ll need a strap-on harness, a dildo, and lube. Generally, the harness wearer should choose a harness they’re comfortable with and the receiver chooses the dildo. Consider the following when selecting pegging equipment:
@formerteenheartthrob brought the fellas for a late night walk and talk #bisexual #thenewmoneyuglies ♬ original sound - Max Zavidow
Pegging requires some technique and skill-building for both givers and receivers.
Pegging Positions. We see a lot of doggy-style pegging in porn. While it’s sexy to look at, for the receiver, holding that position may create more tension in the body. Doggy-style can also be a challenge with height differences. Try these beginner positions instead:
Pegging sex is a skill. You’re learning to connect to the equipment, your partner’s experience, and your sexual confidence. This takes time, practice, and empathy for yourself as you learn. Having the tools, communication, and know-how to cultivate the kind of pleasure you want is empowering!
"Pegging can turn gender norms upside down making room to explore feelings, movements, sex, and aesthetics that are outside of your typical gender experience."
Sharing is caring
Luna Matatas is a Sex and Pleasure Educator with over 15 years of experience teaching sex and empowerment workshops. She celebrates body confidence, self-adoration, and building shame-free pleasure in and out of the bedroom. She teaches over 30+ webinars. Read all her Butt Stuff Blogs and classes on Pegging Skills, Strap-on Skills, Seducing the Butt, and Kink. Luna hosts The Plug Podcast by b-Vibe, an anal sex podcast. She created Peg the Patriarchy® and Meditate Medicate Masturbate® brands as part of her sex-positive and feminist merchandise.
READ NEXT
Did the creative ways kinksters connected, learned, and played during isolation help us grow and find pleasure in ways we couldn’t have anticipated?
Our picks for the best BDSM YouTube channels featuring kink education, rope bondage tutorials, BDSM contracts & negotiation, fetish terminology, BDSM how-to’s, pet play, medical play, D/s tips and more.
What happens in a goon cave? Do people really goon for days? What are goonettes? Goddess Rosie Reed takes us into the fascinating world of gooning, the latest sex trend taking the world by storm.
Evie Lupine dives into a comprehensive look at both the psychological aspects of SPH and its practical application, including beginner and advanced play suggestions. Whether you’re curious about integrating SPH into your dynamic or just seeking to understand more about this aspect of kink, this video offers valuable insights and advice.