# Can vaginal or anal penetration by large objects cause permanent damage?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vaginal-or-anal-penetration-by-large-objects-cause-permanent-damage/612287
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [February 9, 2012, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vaginal-or-anal-penetration-by-large-objects-cause-permanent-damage/612287 "2012-02-09T06:13:43Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2012, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vaginal-or-anal-penetration-by-large-objects-cause-permanent-damage/612287/1 "2012-02-09T06:13:43Z")
If you take a look at some more extreme porn you will see vaginal and anal insertion of non-penile objects as small as baseball bats and arms and wine bottles and as large as tree trunks. You’ll even see dildos as broad as a muscled thigh, often the orifice looks strange compared to most.
Hell for a famous example look at “goat sex man” which unlike the name would suggest was not bestiality but instead a picture of a man using his hands to hold open his anal sphincter so wide you could see his rectum. :eek:
What is the deal with this? Can this stuff lead to real and lasting damage?
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### Author:  [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2012, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vaginal-or-anal-penetration-by-large-objects-cause-permanent-damage/612287/2 "2012-02-09T06:16:19Z")
well i think it kind of goes without much thought that YES of course.
my brother is a CSI and told me about a kid who used a thick wooden handled mop to…you know. in his…you know.
he ended up slipping, tearing, then bleeding out. to death.
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2012, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vaginal-or-anal-penetration-by-large-objects-cause-permanent-damage/612287/3 "2012-02-09T06:20:59Z")
> [@grude](#):
>
> … vaginal and anal insertion of non-penile objects as small as baseball bats and arms and wine bottles and as large as tree trunks.
>
> Can this stuff lead to real and lasting damage?
I’d hazard a guess that it could. :dubious:
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### Author:  [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2012, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vaginal-or-anal-penetration-by-large-objects-cause-permanent-damage/612287/4 "2012-02-09T06:25:01Z")
> [@Dr.Colossus](#):
>
> well i think it kind of goes without much thought that YES of course.
>
> my brother is a CSI and told me about a kid who used a thick wooden handled mop to…you know. in his…you know.
>
> he ended up slipping, tearing, then bleeding out. to death.
Well thats a puncture wound or a tear, which is a risk I know, but when it happens in porn they are using blunt(er) objects and LOTS of lube plus it is obvious they have worked up to such a large object. Does the stretching itself lead to problems?
I see references saying no but being able to hold your anal sphincter open is obviously not normal anatomy.
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2012, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vaginal-or-anal-penetration-by-large-objects-cause-permanent-damage/612287/5 "2012-02-09T06:47:34Z")
Well, a baby’s head and shoulders passes through the Vagina. Anything bigger than that will probably cause injury. 😉 I think its safe to assume a bowling ball won’t fit. 😉
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### Author:  [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2012, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vaginal-or-anal-penetration-by-large-objects-cause-permanent-damage/612287/6 "2012-02-09T06:54:11Z")
> [@aceplace57](#):
>
> Well, a baby’s head and shoulders passes through the Vagina. Anything bigger than that will probably cause injury. 😉 I think its safe to assume a bowling ball won’t fit. 😉
A lot of women have died in childbirth. That doesn’t answer the OP but I think it does figure in.
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### Author:  [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2012, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vaginal-or-anal-penetration-by-large-objects-cause-permanent-damage/612287/7 "2012-02-09T07:02:14Z")
Yes, I would presume the answer could be yes.
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### Author:  [@dba\_Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dba_Fred)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2012, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vaginal-or-anal-penetration-by-large-objects-cause-permanent-damage/612287/8 "2012-02-09T07:07:04Z")
:eek: Is this a “Need answer fast” question?
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2012, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vaginal-or-anal-penetration-by-large-objects-cause-permanent-damage/612287/9 "2012-02-09T07:19:06Z")
The perineum will tear if the vagina doesn’t stretch wide enough for a baby. I’d assume if would also tear for any foreign object that is too big.
They even have classifications for the amount of tearing. Makes me wince just reading about it. Ouch!
> **[Perineal tear](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perineal_tear_classification)**
>
> A perineal tear is a laceration of the skin and other soft tissue structures which, in women, separate the vagina from the anus. Perineal tears mainly occur in women as a result of vaginal childbirth, which strains the perineum. It is the most common form of obstetric injury. Tears vary widely in severity. The majority are superficial and may require no treatment, but severe tears can cause significant bleeding, long-term pain or dysfunction. A perineal tear is distinct from an episiotomy, in In...
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### Author:  [@Macarooney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macarooney)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2012, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vaginal-or-anal-penetration-by-large-objects-cause-permanent-damage/612287/10 "2012-02-09T07:20:37Z")
I wouldn’t be surprised if the people who sodomize themselves with ridiculously large objects end up losing control of their bowel movements.
But I think the real question here is: why does it concern you so much? :eek:
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### Author:  [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2012, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vaginal-or-anal-penetration-by-large-objects-cause-permanent-damage/612287/11 "2012-02-09T07:23:33Z")
> **[Rectal Prolapse: Symptoms, Causes, Surgery, Treatment & Recovery](https://www.emedicinehealth.com/rectal_prolapse/article_em.htm)**
>
> Rectal prolapse occurs when the connection between the rectum and pelvis weakens, causing the rectum to slip or fall out of place. Learn about symptoms, surgery, treatment, and recovery.
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### Author:  [@florez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/florez)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2012, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vaginal-or-anal-penetration-by-large-objects-cause-permanent-damage/612287/12 "2012-02-09T07:34:51Z")
It would depend on how large or sharp these objects might be, but an anal sphincter could be lacerated, and I imagine perineal tearing could occur.
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### Author:  [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2012, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vaginal-or-anal-penetration-by-large-objects-cause-permanent-damage/612287/13 "2012-02-09T09:01:01Z")
Well, there once was a guy in a multi-car traffic accident who was found in the hospital to have had an entire v-6 engine jammed far, far up his anus–amazingly, doctors discovered that he actually had a little more room in there for an even bigger engine. His groggy response?
“Wow, I could have had a v-8!”
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### Author:  [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2012, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vaginal-or-anal-penetration-by-large-objects-cause-permanent-damage/612287/14 "2012-02-09T12:34:28Z")
this is the worst conversation. just. ugh.
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### Author:  [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2012, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vaginal-or-anal-penetration-by-large-objects-cause-permanent-damage/612287/15 "2012-02-09T13:11:54Z")
> [@grude](#):
>
> Hell for a famous example look at “goat sex man” which unlike the name would suggest was not bestiality but instead a picture of a man using his hands to hold open his anal sphincter so wide you could see his **rectum**. :eek:
rectum…
huh, damn near killed him 😃
Actually, I would not be surprised if in many cases little to no damage was done. The human body can do surprising things - take a contortionist for example. I would injure myself trying to fit into an 18" glass cube, but with training and practice (and some biological luck) it can be done. If you take time and work up to a major insertion (as a womans body does in preparation for birth, which is going the other way), there is no reason it could not be done.
Done incautiously and without such prep, and a damaging or fatal injury could easily result.
Si
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### Author:  [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vaginal-or-anal-penetration-by-large-objects-cause-permanent-damage/612287/16 "2012-02-09T13:59:04Z")
As some have pointed out, most women stretch their vagina large enough to fit a 7-lb object. However, they have hormones that assist in this and it happens somewhat slowly. I would imagine any of the damage comes from tensing up so that stretching could pull and tear not just skin but the underlying muscles. Or, as one old timer told me about child-birth, “by the fifth or sixth they get so loose it just pops out easily…”
There was a case I read about in Canada many years ago where two women got into a drunken fight, one grabbed the broom and stuck it up the other’s rectum, then made her sweep the floor. She later died from internal infections and damage.
The problem is not diameter, but that the colon (and intestines) are not designed to be as hardy as a vagina; they make thier own “foreign object” that is usually pretty soft and mushy. SO tearing is a real danger with excessively large, excessively hard objects. Of course, there’s a big difference between found household object with the risk of splinters, purpose made plastic object with less risk of damage, or human appendages as long as there are no fingernails to tear the wall.
Plus, with the amount of unusual bacteria in the colon, giving that stuff a direct path to the bloodstream via a cut is a really bad idea. It’s why people shot in the gut risk a slow, painful death without serious medical intervention.
It’s said that the reason why women are more likely to catch AIDS than men is that vigorous sex, even done right, can leave tiny tears on the soft tissue of the vagina. It’s also one reason why uncircumcised men are more likely to get AIDS from sex - the foreskin will also experience the microtears inside, and inside dries slowwer so the virus has more time to get in. The colon is even less hardy, which is why (as well as promiscuity) AIDS was originally found most commonly in gay men.
But done carefully and not vigorously, with the proper “tools”, my guess is the only permanent damage is loosening of the muscles, and some santorum stains on the bedding.
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### Author:  [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vaginal-or-anal-penetration-by-large-objects-cause-permanent-damage/612287/17 "2012-02-09T14:55:12Z")
> [@md2000](#):
>
> \But done carefully and not vigorously, with the proper “tools”, my guess is the only permanent damage is loosening of the muscles, and some **santorum** stains on the bedding.
Can we _please_ leave politics out of this?!?!
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vaginal-or-anal-penetration-by-large-objects-cause-permanent-damage/612287/18 "2012-02-09T16:25:30Z")
\*\*\*Tree trunks?!?!? \*\*\*Are you seriously asking whether penetration by a tree trunk can cause permanent damage?
And I think we need a new word beyond “santorum” for this. If it includes things like bark and moss, let’s call it “gingrich.”
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vaginal-or-anal-penetration-by-large-objects-cause-permanent-damage/612287/19 "2012-02-09T16:41:32Z")
This would be a great Mythbusters episode. And a porn movie called Miss Busters.
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### Author:  [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vaginal-or-anal-penetration-by-large-objects-cause-permanent-damage/612287/20 "2012-02-09T16:42:02Z")
> [@panache45](#):
>
> \*\*\*Tree trunks?!?!? \*\*\*Are you seriously asking whether penetration by a tree trunk can cause permanent damage?
>
> And I think we need a new word beyond “santorum” for this. If it includes things like bark and moss, let’s call it “gingrich.”
Well I didn’t say an actual tree trunk, but objects the size of. 🙂 Ok not a redwood but a small tree trunk yea.
These look tame to some of the things I have seen:
brutaldildos dot com
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