# Is anal sex anti-natural? And only humans do it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 5, 2000, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anal-sex-anti-natural-and-only-humans-do-it/39847 "2000-11-05T21:57:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anal-sex-anti-natural-and-only-humans-do-it/39847/41 "2000-11-06T10:20:05Z")
> [@](#): > > But tell me something… WHY THE \ NOBODY FROM THIS BOARD POINTED ME TO THIS LINK IN THE FIRST PLACE? As a general rule, people who find this place start poking around the archives first. Those who don’t, generally get directed to the archives sooner or later. By the way…you should watch your language in this forum. MY forum is where you can swear. ---
**Author:** ![smartt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@smartt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smartt)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anal-sex-anti-natural-and-only-humans-do-it/39847/42 "2000-11-06T10:30:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lynn Bodoni \* > **As a general rule,** … and rules are generally written, not GUESSED, but let’s move on… > [@](#): > > **people who find this place start poking around the archives first. Those who don’t, generally get directed to the archives sooner or later.** The sooner the better, eh? But your search thingie is TOO broad, it’s IMPOSSIBLE to pinpoint any subject. I tried to search for ‘super hero’ and got back a gazillion entries (NONE with the words ‘super hero’ on the subject, BTW), plus an error message. > [@](#): > > \*\*By the way…you should watch your language in this forum. MY forum is where you can swear. \*\* Oh, I’m terribly sorry. #$@% you! Better? ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anal-sex-anti-natural-and-only-humans-do-it/39847/43 "2000-11-06T13:03:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by smartt \* > > But tell me something… WHY THE [gratuitous Anglo-Saxonism] NOBODY FROM THIS BOARD POINTED ME TO THIS LINK IN THE FIRST PLACE? It could have saved a lot ot time, but noooo, looks like people don’t know HOW to argue in a civilized way. Oh, c’mon **smartt**. _You_ said that you’d “ALREADY searched the side. And I found nothing about animals having anal sex.” If you already did it, why would anyone else search for you _again_? And I don’t think your vitriolic response was warranted, at least not in this forum. You asked a question and got an answer: exactly what you wanted. Granted, you took a little not-so-gentle ribbing along the way, but if _I_ were you, I’d be takin’ the moral high road. Particularly since **Lynn** was the one that directed you to the answer in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anal-sex-anti-natural-and-only-humans-do-it/39847/44 "2000-11-06T13:15:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chronos \* > \*\*More importantly: Although you may consider **smartt** annoying, **Rysdad** and **DrFidelius** , he has not yet done anything worthy of banning. If you have any suspiscions about his identity, then the proper thing to do is to e-mail myself or another moderator about your suspiscions, and wait for us to handle it. \*\* I, for one, wasn’t suggesting that smartt was a sock puppet. I don’t give a whit what his identity is. I was commenting on the content and general air of his posts. Leave him, ban him, whatever, it’s your call. I’m certain he’ll rack up enough violations of the “first rule” on his own soon enough. ---
**Author:** ![Nurlman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Nurlman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nurlman)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anal-sex-anti-natural-and-only-humans-do-it/39847/45 "2000-11-06T15:22:35Z")
_All Posted by **Smartt** _ > [@](#): > > **No no no, you’ll never hear ANY judgemental thing about it from me mouth, nosireebob.** > > > [@](#): > > > > you filthy americans just HAVE do display your natural and hypocritical hate for all things sexual > > > [@](#): > > > > my readers [. . .] aren’t as repressed as the average american moron > > > [@](#): > > > > just another arbitrary rule invented by some powermad admin > > > [@](#): > > > > looks like people don’t know HOW to argue in a civilized way > > > [@](#): > > > > Some guys think that the fact that they can access the Internet put em a level above the other human beings. Yeah, right. Thank you for coming. Our next show is at 3:00 p.m. Please exit to your left. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anal-sex-anti-natural-and-only-humans-do-it/39847/46 "2000-11-06T16:11:46Z")
Cecil actually talked about this; but not in so many words. Birds technically have anal sex when they mate. ---
**Author:** ![peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peace)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anal-sex-anti-natural-and-only-humans-do-it/39847/47 "2000-11-06T16:53:56Z")
Smartt, people are right: watch your language and control your emotions. As I said, I encourage curiosity, but please behave. I’m glad that I could illuminate this dark area for you. I thought that I answered this question, but you keep asking. Plus, the time lag. Plus… Anyway. I’ll answer it agan. If you found the answer already, sorry. No, the anorectun was not created for sex. But it can be used for sex, as many pointed (and as many other body parts can be used for sex). Even the most basic human actions, common to humans and animals, are modified by the intellect (brain activity) in humans. For instance, we eat, like all animals do. But we have banquets where we mainly socialize, eating being a remote secondary. You can compare the anus with the ear (let’s forget for the moment about the innervation). Rubbing you penis against her ear is not nearly as pleasurable, for both of you, as peno-vaginal sex. But it tickles your brain much more than it tickles your skins. It’s the same with anus. I do not know why the animals do anal sex (if they do, indeed). We do not have all the answers. Why salmon strugles currents, spawn and die? What’s the evolutionary advantages of this? There are many animal behaviors we can’t rationally explain. But it’s not necessary for humans to use nebulous animal activities as a justification for their actions: we can do whatever (as long as it is not harmful to animals). **Let’s state that there is REPRODUCTION and there is SEXUAL PLEASURE. Both are independent things.** Not exactly. You defecate, because you have to. There is a reproductive/parental instict, but staying childless is not personally damaging. Since the process of reproduction is pleasurable, we actively seek this pleasure. Being humans, we figured out, how to avoid the reproduction part altogether. **The other one is the nature of the muscular contractions of the rectum.** Anus is a sphincter. There are nany sphincters in the body. You are right, at rest, all striated muscles are relaxed. All the sphincters are contracted, for instance, the ones in your urinary system. The branch of science studying animal behavior is called ethology. It is a very interesting area and very pleasant to be in (unlike humans, animals do not talk back, cf. coprology). A young incvisitive man like yourself, can become an ethologist. You may actually combine your anal sex interests with ethology and study the relevant behavior in animals. Although editing a porn magazine could be financially more rewarding, I’m sure that many gay organizations will provide grants for such endeavor. ---
**Author:** ![smartt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@smartt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smartt)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anal-sex-anti-natural-and-only-humans-do-it/39847/48 "2000-11-06T17:10:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by peace \* > \*\* > Anus is a sphincter. There are nany sphincters in the body. You are right, at rest, all striated muscles are relaxed. All the sphincters are contracted, for instance, the ones in your urinary system. \*\* Hey, I didn’t knew that too! So the sphincter is a TYPE of muscle? I always though that the sphincter was just the scientific name of the rectum. Thanks again for the info. ---
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anal-sex-anti-natural-and-only-humans-do-it/39847/49 "2000-11-06T17:35:52Z")
smartt … anus … sphincter … redundant? ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anal-sex-anti-natural-and-only-humans-do-it/39847/50 "2000-11-06T23:30:20Z")
Cecil wrote at [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/001006.html:](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/001006.html:) “Dinosaur copulation was most likely accomplished by means of “kissing cloacae.” The cloaca is the all-purpose body cavity that reptiles and birds use for copulation, urination, and defecation.” So, there you have it folks, yes, anal sex was indeed for sexual reproduction. I suppose we might have evolved from that? ---
**Author:** ![smartt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@smartt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smartt)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anal-sex-anti-natural-and-only-humans-do-it/39847/51 "2000-11-06T23:39:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\*So, there you have it folks, yes, anal sex was indeed for sexual reproduction. I suppose we might have evolved from that? \*\* Well, I’m getting pretty sure that some guys from this MB were farted or shat by their mothers. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anal-sex-anti-natural-and-only-humans-do-it/39847/52 "2000-11-07T00:38:15Z")
Just for the record, here’s the link to [Cecil’s column about gay animals](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_198.html), wherein is mentioned anal sex amongst monkeys. Between that and yojimbo’s post above, I’d say we’ve pretty much answered all of the GQ aspects of this question. Anything else would probably be venturing into Great Debates territory. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anal-sex-anti-natural-and-only-humans-do-it/39847/53 "2000-11-07T16:37:35Z")
Sure ME. Anyway, maybe we could visit Koko the signing gorilla & ask Koko this question & find out if they enjoy it? ---
**Author:** ![MadHatter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@MadHatter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadHatter)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anal-sex-anti-natural-and-only-humans-do-it/39847/54 "2000-11-07T16:54:08Z")
When smartt first posted the question, it was greeted with criticism, smugness, cheap jabs and overall unwelcomeness. Then, a moderator arrived at the board and said lines to the effect of “Guys, smartt is in the right here. He has asked a valid General Question.” Then, to my “sheer amazement”, dozens of people jumped on board to provide him the information he was after. … And people tell me that moderators have no effect on people’s opinions on this board… ---
**Author:** ![jb\_farley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9d8465/32.png) [@jb\_farley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_farley)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anal-sex-anti-natural-and-only-humans-do-it/39847/55 "2000-11-07T18:51:10Z")
Amen to that, Madhatyter. I almost brought it up last night, but didn’t want to add to the negative karma of the thread. Worse, everyone got all smarmy and started dropping ‘subtle’ hints, even going so far as to make smartt speak portugese? What the fuck, people? I wish I were a mod so I could yell at you all to knock it off. really, fucks to you all if you can’t be civil. jb ---
**Author:** ![Tymp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Tymp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tymp)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anal-sex-anti-natural-and-only-humans-do-it/39847/56 "2000-11-07T19:37:04Z")
[quote] . . . moderators have no effect on people’s opinions . . . [quote] Do ya think it might be possible that the Dopers in the mood to give a serious answer, by an amazing coincidence, didn’t come along until after others had posted disparaging comments? Nah. That can’t be it. Must be the effect of the mind control lederhosen that each of the mods are issued along with their “edit post” buttons. ---
**Author:** ![smartt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@smartt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smartt)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anal-sex-anti-natural-and-only-humans-do-it/39847/57 "2000-11-07T22:50:14Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by Tymp \* \*\* > [@](#): > > Do ya think it might be possible that the Dopers in the mood to give a serious answer, by an amazing coincidence, didn’t come along until after others had posted disparaging comments?\*\* So you mean that people cannot get an straight answer until they troll a lot before? So that’s how things work here? Good to hear that. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anal-sex-anti-natural-and-only-humans-do-it/39847/58 "2000-11-07T23:16:49Z")
I’m closing this thread. **Madhatter** : The place to complain or comment on the moderation of this forum is the BBQ Pit. You will do it no where else, ever again. This is an instruction, not a request. You posting pivileges are in danger right now. Do not push this issue. More specifically, do not bring it up at all in GQ. **smartt** , your behavior in this thread was atrocious. Here’s some of your greatest hits: > [@](#): > > So, fuck you and your pointless flaming. > > WHY THE FUCK NOBODY FROM THIS BOARD POINTED ME TO THIS LINK IN THE FIRST PLACE? > > Oh, I’m terribly sorry. #$@% you! Better? > > Well, I’m getting pretty sure that some guys from this MB were farted or shat by their mothers. Straighten up or get out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anal-sex-anti-natural-and-only-humans-do-it/39847.md?page=2)