Event Classifications
In this section: General Categories | Detailed Taxonomies | Chem Acceptance and Sobriety
General Categories
Fisting events are catogorized by their purpose, size, venue, and duration.
- Purpose | In order to be considered a fisting event instead of a kink party or orgy, fisting must be the primary focus of the event.
- Duration | Event length distinguishes a fête from a function. Fêtes last two or more days and functions last less than a day.
- Venue | Location can differentiate one event type from another. Public venues are typical of large festivals, conventions, and workshops. Private homes are associated with ffundays and retreats.
- Attendees | Number of participants is another major classification tool. Retreats and private ffundays typically host less than a dozen fisters. Workshops, group-sponsored ffunday parties, and festivals/conventions attract dozens to hundreds of fisters.
Figure 1-1: Categorization by Duration
When duration is the primary identifier, events can be grouped as Fêtes or Functions. Fêtes represent events that last multiple days while functions last multiple hours.
Detailed Taxonomies
Figure 1-1 lists the five major types of fisting events: festivals/conventions, retreats, auxillary play parties, FFunday play parties, and workshops.
The figure has these events subdivided into two categories based on duration and size: fêtes and functions.
VOCABULARY
Fête
- noun A celebration or festival that typically lasts several days with a large number of attendees.
Function
- noun A social gathering which may be large or small, but limited in duration.
Festival/Convention
Category
Fête
Purpose
Exposure to like-minded individuals seeking multiple play partners and new experiences over several days
Duration
Multiple days, typically an extended weekend
Venue
Public (yet access restricted) hotel, warehouse, or camp that allows fisting at various locations on campus
Attendees
Dozens to hundreds
Retreat
Category
Fête
Purpose
Intimate connections in a small to medium size group over several days without disruptions from outside world
Duration
Multiple days, typically an extended weekend
Venue
Private residence that provides sleeping, dining, and clean-out facilities—as well as multiple slings or play areas
Attendees
Fewer than two dozen
Auxillary Party
Category
Function
Purpose
Organized but unofficial fist-focused play event that occurs during a non-fisting convention or circuit party weekend
Duration
Several hours usually during the evening
Venue
Private play space located away from the venue of the actual convention, typically accessed by shuttle or private transport
Attendees
Typically less than 100
FFunday Party
Category
Function
Purpose
Casual play with regular or local playmates ranging from small (five guys) to large size group over a period of several hours
Duration
Several hours, typically on a weekend or evening
Venue
Private home or public venue such as a bathhouse or hotel room that typically has limited clean out facilities for touch-ups only
Attendees
Single to double digits
Workshop
Category
Function
Purpose
Educational instruction or seminar related to fisting that may be coupled with a post-seminar, FFunday after party
Duration
Varies based on organizers needs and demands
Venue
Access restricted venue that provides a demo platform and play area (if a FFunday party occurs after the event)
Attendees
Typically between 25-75
Chem Acceptance and Sobriety
In relation chems or recreational drug use, there are three types of events you may encounter:
- Sober Only | Prohibits most psychotropic substances in both public and private spaces. Poppers, ethyl-choloride, and alcohol are tolerated. You may be asked to leave if you violate the event's rules or appear to be under the influence of other drugs.
- Mixed Use | Allows some psychotropic substances, typically limited to pot, poppers, and alcohol. If private use affects your behavior in public areas, you may be asked to leave.
- Unrestricted | Maintains no usage policies but typically expect consumption to occur discretely. If consumption affects the health of yourself or others detrimentally, you may be asked to leave.
VOCABULARY
Psychotropic Substances
- noun Any chemical substance that acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it alters brain function, resulting in temporary changes in perception, mood, consciousness and behavior.
- noun — colloquial Any party drug except alcohol, poppers, and marijuana.
Figure 1-2: Addiction Recovery Meetings
Festivals and Fistcons typically host recovery meetings.
Know your event rules prior to attendance. Even with published sobriety standards, you may encounter individuals that are under the influence of psychotropic substances at an event—especially if the event literature does not ban use.
Major events typically host meetings for those in recovery.
Protocols
In this section: Etiquette | Standard Practices
Protocols include standard practices and etiquette followed by the majority of the fisting community. Typically, these are things that new fisters pick up over time.
Etiquette
Etiquette refers to how you treat others in a specific fisting scenario. There are three etiquette guidelines related to gloves.
Etiquette Explained
Who: Top and Bottom
When: After Session Ends
What: cleanup
After your session ends, it is your responsibility to clean and tidy up your play area. This includes disposal of trash, removal of dirty linens, and elimination of lube spills related to your play. If your host has provided disinfectants at your sling or play space, you should do a wipe down of the affected area. It is usually the top that take responsibility for cleaning up but both are ultimately responsible.
If you used toys or equipment, wash and return it to the appropriate area. Wipe down spills and messes around the sink or shower if you used them.
Anecdotal Narrative
Figure 2-1: Post Play Mess
Fisting can result in several dirty play pads, a pile of paper towels, and spills that make the floor slippery.
The local fist club always has a dozen slings set up for play and a stack of pads and rolls of paper towels at each play area. Trash cans are plentiful, so you would assume nobody would take a spill....
We averted a crisis because I wasn't planning on cleaning out that day to allow him to be the designated bottom.
— FF Chronicles: 22.08.0400
Etiquette Explained
Who: Bottom
When: Throughout Event
What: Lizarding
At group events, slings and play spaces are often in high demand. Be courteous to other attendees and share the spaces.
Anecdotal Narrative
Figure 3-2: XS to XL
To ensure correct fit, the supply cabinet or bag should contain XS to XL size gloves.
Peter was a horse-hung-silver-fox-pocket-otter-gym-rat with no hang ups regarding masculinity. I had watched him top eager bottoms in his signature pink gloves for three days at Fist Fest. I knew his small hands would work wonders inside my hole. I approached him at breakfast on the final day of the event.
"Hey! You got any room on your dance card for me today?" I asked.
"Absolutely. I've been eyeing your hole for days" he responded and followed up with "I want to sink my elbow into you!"
"Great! Let's do this. But first, you gotta tell me what's the deal with the pink gloves?"
"I'm married to a non-fister. Obviously, we play separate; however, our agreement is that we wear protection when playing with others. Since most guys don't have XXL condoms or XS gloves, I provide my own." He continued, "I accidentally bought pink gloves several years ago, and it garnered so many comments that I've never bought any other color since."
"So, your condoms are pink, too?" I asked since I hadn't seen him topping with his cock.
"One could only hope that pink condoms would come in King size, but alas, you'll have to settle for transparent."
"So, I get both your hands and dick?"
"Both hands and dick? I'm not sure that's possible, but we can do jack-in-the-box. I've seen your hole, and I'm gonna jack-hammer the fuck out of you!"
We chatted a little more and sat up a play date for the afternoon. It was a great way to finish off the festival: pummeled in pink. The next time I ran out of gloves, I ordered pink replacements in honor of that epic event.
— FF Chronicles: 18.04.0275
Etiquette Explained
Who: Observer
When: Throughout Scene
What: Connection
At group events, slings and play spaces are often in high demand. Be courteous to other attendees and share the spaces.
Anecdotal Narrative
Figure 3-2: XS to XL
To ensure correct fit, the supply cabinet or bag should contain XS to XL size gloves.
Peter was a horse-hung-silver-fox-pocket-otter-gym-rat with no hang ups regarding masculinity. I had watched him top eager bottoms in his signature pink gloves for three days at Fist Fest. I knew his small hands would work wonders inside my hole. I approached him at breakfast on the final day of the event.
"Hey! You got any room on your dance card for me today?" I asked.
"Absolutely. I've been eyeing your hole for days" he responded and followed up with "I want to sink my elbow into you!"
"Great! Let's do this. But first, you gotta tell me what's the deal with the pink gloves?"
"I'm married to a non-fister. Obviously, we play separate; however, our agreement is that we wear protection when playing with others. Since most guys don't have XXL condoms or XS gloves, I provide my own." He continued, "I accidentally bought pink gloves several years ago, and it garnered so many comments that I've never bought any other color since."
"So, your condoms are pink, too?" I asked since I hadn't seen him topping with his cock.
"One could only hope that pink condoms would come in King size, but alas, you'll have to settle for transparent."
"So, I get both your hands and dick?"
"Both hands and dick? I'm not sure that's possible, but we can do jack-in-the-box. I've seen your hole, and I'm gonna jack-hammer the fuck out of you!"
We chatted a little more and sat up a play date for the afternoon. It was a great way to finish off the festival: pummeled in pink. The next time I ran out of gloves, I ordered pink replacements in honor of that epic event.
— FF Chronicles: 18.04.0275
Etiquette Explained
Who: Top and Bottom
When: Throughout Event
What: Hand Hygiene
Etiquette and standard practices include thorough handwashing, handwashing inspection, and hygenic glove practices (when used).
QUICK REFERENCE
Etiquette Explained
Who: Top and Bottom
When: Throughout Session
What: Lubrication
Etiquette and standard practices include BYOL, avoiding cross contamination, and notifying partners regarding additives.
QUICK REFERENCE
Standard Practices
Standard Practices refers to common sense behaviors related to fisting activities. There are at least four standard practices related to events.
Practices Explained
Who: Bottom
When: Prior to Arrival
What: Clean-out
Heavy douching should be done in the privacy of your home or hotel room for both hygenic and courtesy reasons. Most event venues have limited clean-out facilities and event producers typically specify those are for "touch-up only."
There are exceptions to this guideline. For example, some spas and bathhouses sell douche tubing and provide clean-out stalls—which indicates they do not have issues with longer clean-outs.
Anecdotal Narrative
Figure 2-4: Early Contamination
Helping a bottom into the stirrups after donning gloves is counterproductive. Gloves become contaminated prior to entering the hole.
Larry Shockey, the originator of FISTFEST, shares this piece of advice in his book, the Sacred Art of Fisting:
"I’ve seen lots of tops glove up, put the bottom’s feet into the stirrups, adjust the chains, arrange the papers on the floor, and then reach for the lube. NO! NO! NO! I’ve even had tops drop a glove on the floor and bend down to retrieve it to put it on. NO! Gloves are cheap. It’s easy to forget. Just throw away the contaminated glove and get a clean one."
— Sacred Art of Fisting, 2012
Practices Explained
Who: Attendees
When: Throughout Event
What: Intimacy
Most event venues have limited floor space, so slings and play spaces are rather close to one another. Boistrous and unrelated conversation nearby can negatively affect the head space of those playing nearby.
Keep conversations on topic and muted.
Anecdotal Narrative
Figure 3-5: Limited Facilities
Glove use decreases cleanup time and cross contamination of bottoms in venues with limited washing facilities.
I coordinated my first trip to Amsterdam to coincide with the Dirty Dicks monthly fisting party at the Amsterdam Eagle. I packed a small gear bag with lube, poppers, and gloves and headed to the venue to play.
The event did not disappoint. I bottomed for four different guys and topped six. Unfortunately, I only brought four pair of gloves. This led to a little predicament with Rene, my last bottom.
"I'd love to feel your guts when we are done with him" I told Rene as we alternated our hands in and out of Jon's gaping hole.
"Great, I'll go get ready" he replied and promptly disappeared to prep himself and lay claim to a sling.
Meanwhile, Jon had enough pummeling and called for a break-break. I cleaned him up and thanked him for the pleasure of playing inside him, S2S. Then I headed to the bathroom to clean up.
Although I hadn't noticed before (since I had worn gloves), the sink was incredibly shallow and the water only stayed on for a few seconds at a time. Jon was into width-play, so my arms were lube free, but it took ten minutes to completely wash just my hands. After finishing, I hustled out to the sling to delve into Rene's fagpit.
"I was beginning to think you had stood me up" Rene said as I approached.
"Yeah, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that cleaning up after Jon would take so much work. The sinks here are shallow and leave much to be desired."
"Well, my desire is for your hand and arm. And my hole, it is anything but shallow! Push it in."
The rest is history.
— FF Chronicles: 18.12.0323
Practices Explained
Who: Bottom
When: Throughout Event
What: Endurance
Events offer tons of opportunities but a greedy hole exhausts quickly. Make sure to pace yourself.
At fêtes (conventions and retreats) some versatile guys prefer topping more frequently on the first day thus saving their holes for the following days.
Anecdotal Narrative
Figure 3-6: Full Arm Cleanse
While you may not need to scrub up to the shoulder, basic fisting typically exposes the lower forearm (above the glove line) to lube.
Erik and I had just wrapped up an intense fisting session where his small arms had slipped in past the elbow—a first for him. He had used both the right and left arms with depth play, but per my request, primarily played with the left arm.
After I said "OK, I'm done!", I asked him to hand me the paper towel roll.
"Oh, I'll clean you up good!" He said.
"I know you will, but it's not me that I'm worried about" I interupted. "Here, give me your arm."
I ripped three full squares of paper towels from the roll and laid them across my chest. Eric placed his arm on the squares, and I wrapped the edges around, covering his arm completely. I then carefully slid the towels down his arm until we passed the fingers.
"What's this for?" he asked.
"I find that if we don't squeegee the lube off now, your sink time will be 5-10 minutes clearing lube off your arm. And while it doesn't matter here with just the two of us and my deep sink, at events, you may not have the luxury of good washing facilities to clean up between bottoms. So when you wrap up with a deep bottom, always clean your arm first before starting on the bottom." I responded.
"Okay, I guess. I still don't understand why" he said, as he began wiping lube from my ass.
"You'll see in a few minutes."
Fast forward eight minutes. Eric is at the sink, scrubbing desparately on his right arm. Since the lube had already dried on this arm, we didn't squeegee it immediately after the session ended.
"I get your point! I've never had to spend this much time cleaning up because I've never had lube this high. The left arm was easy, but this right arm is taking forever."
"Can you imagine if you were playing with a group! Elbow-depth cleanup takes a while, so do what you can to minimize your efforts, but always - always - always respect your bottom and clean up your entire arm so he isn't exposed to contaminants from the last guy."
— FF Chronicles: 21.09.0524
Practices Explained
Who: Top
When: Throughout Event
What: Hygiene
Disposable gloves are cheap and plentiful. Never put your partner at risk for contamination by wearing the same gloves between bottoms.
Anecdotal Narrative
Figure 3-7: Changing Gloves
Disposable gloves should be removed and discarded after each partner.
Ethan told the group that he had cut his hand yesterday and needed to wear gloves during the play party today. All of the bottoms in attendance agreed, even though S2S was the standard for the regular play parties.
"Do I need to change gloves between bottoms?" he asked.
"I'd prefer you did. Even though I'm not a fan of gloves, if we have to use them, we might as well get full benefit from them" said Zeke, another bottom at the party.
"I agree. Gloves tend to agitate holes and cause more inflamation. While I don't think this necessarily increases transmission of microorganisms, it certainly will eliminate any concern. Besides, when you go to big parties, the standard is don't reuse gloves between holes." I replied.
By the end of the party, the trash can was half full of gloves. Ethan looked at the stack with a sense of pride and accomplishment.
"Damn boy, that's a ton of gloves. You must be a content soul right now!" a group member exclaimed.
Ethan smiled.
"My hand is very, very happy."
— FF Chronicles: 21.10.0533
Personal Interactions at Events
In this section: Courtesy | Diversity | Content Creation | Policies
Event producers and organizers may identify specific governing principles and practices for their events. Examples may include orientation, initiation rites, rituals (copulatory and non-copulatory), and sobriety standards. At a fisting event, everybody is there for the same thing: to fist. The normal banter, double-entendre, and investigation into a potential partner's proclivities is usually unnecessary. It is typical that most attendees are likely to socialize with anybody at the event; however, this does not necessarily mean they want to fist with you. Be direct and ask for a play session. If declined, avoid making a scene. If declining, don't be a douche. Forming cliques is so Mean Girls, but it happens. Blow them off. Make an effort not to replicate similar behavior. And last, but not least, some behaviors are always wrong: harassment, stalking, shunning, and rape. Mean Girls[1] Although group fisting etiquette and standard practices apply to any event, there are a few additional things to consider: Cleaning staff are exposed to a lot of uncommon behavior during an event. Tip generously. Even if permitted, always ask participants for permission to film at events. Most events have a specific policy regarding cinematography. For example, there may be designated camera areas or designated parties where filming is allowed. When filming is allowed, ask for permission from everyone being recorded. If you plan to post your scenes online, acquire release forms from participants. Not all cultures act the same. These differences can span continents, countries, regions, and even local fisting enclaves. Observe and respect these differences. When in doubt, follow the lead of your sponsor or host. For example, several cultures have societal rules on personal space. Violating the spatial boundaries may result in unnecessary tension. For larger events, clarify in advance the venue's touch-up facilities. Full clean-outs are not appropriate in public facilities at the actual venue. For smaller, more intimate events, verify with the host what facilities are available prior to arriving. Decrease the spread of viral, protozoan, fungal, and bacterial infections. Between every play partner, wash hands, arms, elbows, shoulders, and toys. Disinfect your play area prior to and after your session. This includes wiping down sex furniture with provided cleansers. It also includes utilizing pads and newspaper to minimize the impact of lube outside the bottom's hole. Dispose of all waste products generated during your session. Taking up near-permanent residence in a sling at a fisting party or event can result in permanent labelling and a lack of invites to future parties. Respecting others gains respect in return: Always seek consent before and throughout a session. For example, if you are going to push past the second ring, make sure the bottom is aware that is what you are doing. An event is no place for injury. Coming SoonPersonal Interactions
Courtesy
Figure 3-X: Generous Tips
Content Creation
Figure 2-X: Shooting Deep
Diversity
Cultural Differences
Cleanliness, Courtesy, & Consent
Cleanliness
Courtesy
Sling Slang: Variants
Consent
Expectations for Fisting Events
Sample Release Form