Origination of Anal Fisting

There are several theories about when, where, and how fisting began. Some individuals propose fisting is a relatively recent phenomenon—starting as late as the 1960s. Others suppose it began after the Industrial Revolution and the advent of indoor plumbing. Records are scarce, leaving room for speculation.

Requirements and Limiting Factors

There are only five items required for fisting:

Desire | The yearnings for extreme anal stimulation.
Consent | Two or more parties willing to participate in extreme anal stimulation.
Hole | An orifice in need of extreme anal stimulation that can accept the hand or arm.
Fist | An object of flesh and blood that can penetrate a hole needing extreme anal stimulation.
Lube | A substance that will facilitate extreme anal penetration without injury.

Since these items have been available from the dawn of recorded history, even across socioeconomic classes, it is safe to assume that fisting occurred throughout the ages.

Egyptian Hieroglyphs Explaining Fisting — Figure 1.11.2: Fisting in Ancient Egypt

According to the renowned Egyptologist Joseph Smith, Jr., possible interpretations of this hieroglyph indicate fisting in early Egyptian society. Images represent gooning, getting high, applying J-Lube, worshiping the hole, and various fisting techniques such as punch fisting and triple-fisting.

It is noteworthy that the general practice of fisting has always had a limiting factor: shit. Fecal material is so limiting that interfemoral sex was a common homosexual practice prior to the sexual revolution. Without a way to overcome this barrier, anal sex and fisting remained uncommon activities in the realm of human sexuality. They were generally practiced in secrecy or extreme privacy.

VOCABULARY

Interfemoral Sex

Noun fucking between the upper thighs, without any penetration of the anus or vagina

Documented use of enema technology (anal douching) appears as early as ancient Egypt; however, the equipment to perform an effective clean-out didn't become ubiquitous until the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. After the equipment became available and was perfected, fisting increased to the level practiced today.

Figure 1.21.1: Tom of Finland

Artistic representation of fisting blossomed in the last few decades of the age of print.

Historical References and Innuendos

Regardless of the development of the enema, there are references and innuendos peppered throughout cultural documents of the Common Era.

Caligula (40 AD)

The 1979 cult classic Caligula has a fisting sequence during the wedding of the Roman hero Proculus. Rumor is that the original script had Caligula sodomizing Proculus immediately after raping his wife; however, Malcolm McDowell refused to fuck (or simulate fucking) any men in the film.

For the record, there is no indication that Caligula fisted anyone; however, the inclusion of a fisting scene in a pop culture film from 1979 suggests that the practice of fisting was established and known outside of the gay community prior to the release of the film.

Figure 2.1: The Rape of Proculus

Pop cultural depiction of Roman fisting from the 1979 film *Caligula*. The inclusion of the scene in the film indicates that fisting in the 1970s was common enough to be known by the general population as a gay sex practice.

Freyr (1000 AD)

In ancient Norse society, the ithyphallic deity and God of Fuck was named Freyr. Three animals were sacred to him: the stag, the stallion, and the boar.

VOCABULARY

Ithyphallic

Adjective of or pertaining to the erect penis
Adjective lascivious, obscene

Freyr: God of Fuck — Figure 2.2: Freyr — God of Fuck

Freyr, his boar, and his *bore* were signs of strength and power. Effeminate men have been associated with his priesthood.

Some traditions indicate that Freyr's priesthood was composed of gay men—or at least situationally gay men—who practiced homosexuality during sacred rituals. For members of this priesthood, supernatural power originated from being penetrated or fucked by Freyr. Both dildos crafted from horse dicks and fists were used as stand-ins for the phallus of the God of Fuck. It is unclear how often fisting was used in comparison to dildo penetration in these ceremonies.

In handball culture today, the pig is highly symbolic of the carnal nature of fisting. It is likely unrelated to Freyr and his priests who fisted each other in sacred communion. Certainly, they were the very first Nasty Pigs.

Chaucer (1400 AD)

Queer theorists have argued that the Summoner's Tale from the work Canterbury Tales (~1386 - 1400 A.D.) contains a 'scene of eroticized male-male groping, of a male hand entering a male anus'.

Chaucer's Canterbury Tale - Summoner — Figure 2.3: Chaucer — Summoner's Tale

Chaucer depicts the friar from the Summoner's Tale as a shallow and vile conman. According to many scholars, the bedridden Sir Thomas (a former victim) pranks the friar by encouraging him to search for coins hidden near his hole. The intent is to fart into the friar's hand. At least one queer theorist postulates that the fingering was actually a little deeper—a subtle fisting reference.

Middle English

"Now wel," quod he, "and somwhat shall I yive
Unto youre hooly covent while I lyve;
And in thyn hand thou shalt have it anon,
On this condicion, and oother noon,
That thou departe it so, my deere brother,
That every frere have also muche as oother.
This shaltou swere on thy professioun,
Withouten fraude or cavillacioun."

"I swere it," quod this frere, "by my feith"
And therewithal his hand in his he leith,
"lo, heer my feith; in me shal be no lak."

"Now thane, put in thyn hand doun by my bak,"
Seyde this man, "and grope wel bihynde.
Bynethe my buttok there shaltow fynde
A thyng that I have hyd in pryvetee."

"A!" thoghte this frere, "That shal go with me!"
And doun his hand he launcheth to the clifte
In hope for to fynde there a yifte.
And whan this sike man felt this frere
Aboute his tuwel grope there and here,
Amydde his hand he leet the frere a fart.

Modern English

"Very well," he said, "This reward shall I give
to your holy monastery while I still live;
In your hand, you will have it,
but upon this condition and no other,
That you share it, dear brother,
equally amongst your fellow friars.
Swear to me this upon your profession,
being truthful and without objection."

"I swear to God to share it!" replied the friar,
And made this oath with his hand upraised,
"I swear without deception, God be praised."

"Good, now slide your hand down my back,"
said the man, "and feel me from behind.
Just below my butt you will find
the reward that I have hidden."

"Ah ha!" thought the friar, "It will be mine!"
And he slid his hand down through the crack
in hope to find the reward.
And when the man felt the friar's hand
feeling around his asshole,
He let one go and farted into the friar's hand.

Michelangelo (1540 AD)

The lower right-hand quadrant of Michelangelo's The Last Judgement inside the Sistine Chapel supposedly portrays a sodomite being fisted. At least that is how some individuals have interpreted it anachronistically.

Modern Fisting

Fisting and the Sexual Revolution

Rictor Norton proclaimed in his essay, History of Homoerotica , the following:

Some marked changes in gay sexuality have occurred especially since the 1950s and 1960s. Fisting, for example, has no historical precedent—although impalement features in some early gay fantasies. ... Surveys of diaries, news reports, and the gay media have established that fisting was invented in the summer of 1971, in the 'backroom' of a gay bar in New York City. The practice quickly spread to the backroom bars of San Francisco, and was exported thence to Japan and Europe.

Many reviewers of his essay rebut this claim. They note that even though documentation doesn't appear until the sexual revolution, the idea that fisting didn't happen until the sexual revolution makes little sense. Suggesting otherwise is similar to saying:

...that everyone in the world was too stupid to make nachos until 1943.

Amateur fisting historian and diarist Finn Vortex notes that his first post-elbow experience in 2015 was with a top who had been fisting for almost fifty years, since 1967. That top recounts that he was introduced to the practice by individuals who had been fisting for decades. A significant amount of history and experience was lost during the AIDS crisis.

Academic/Non-pornographic Fisting Literature

Several members of academia have attempted to dissect and define fisting from a psychological or anthropological viewpoint.

Gayle Rubin, Cultural Anthropologist | The claim that fisting was invented in the 20th century is often attributed to her. Other than that incorrect assumption, which probably occurred early in her career, her material is thoughtful and positive.
Michel Foucault, Philosopher and Historian | Michel focused heavily on power relationships and BDSM. He participated extensively in the emergent BDSM culture, and his perception of fisting reflects that experience.

Pop Culture

Television and Film

With the advent of smartphones and the internet, fisting has become more commonplace as a general sex activity. Amateur pornography has increased the acceptance of fisting within the gay community. Outside of the gay community, fisting can be—and is often—openly discussed.