Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria
There are almost 100 lubes included in the index in this course; however, there are probably just as many lubes that were excluded. Fist Theory uses the following criteria for inclusion and exclusion:
- Product Name and Label | In most cases, if the manufacturer has included fist or fisting or depicted it on the label, it is included except when the container indicates it exclusively for vaginal play.
- Container and Packaging | If the packaging or container is not a tub or canister then it was excluded from the list. If the lube is in a tub, but the maximum size is 150 mL or less, it is excluded. As a general exception, powdered lubes are always included regardless of their containers.
- Country of Origin | If the lube comes from China or other Asian countries, except Japan, then the lube is excluded. Quality control and safety issues with ingredients prevent inclusion and promotion.
- Manufacturer's Other Product Lines | If the manufacturer focuses on toys, gear, or other items, and lube is an insignificant product line, then research and development and quality control are suspect, and their lubes are excluded. There are some exceptions, but these are documented with notes.
- Manufacturer's History | If the manufacturer has been called out by other lube bloggers/researchers, and issues were ignored or not addressed, the lube will be excluded. Exceptions are noted.
- Ingredient Listing Issues | If there is no list of ingredients, or it is known to be intentionally incorrect labeling, the lubrication is excluded.
- Health Concerns | Lubes are not excluded because of health concerns except in rare circumstances. The reason for this is that anal fisting is an off-label use for almost all the ingredients used in lubes. In small quantities, these ingredients are generally recognized as safe, but in volumes used for fisting, they are no longer considered safe.
- Negative Reviews | There are many other lube researchers and bloggers who parrot a quip from misunderstood scientific data or from sex bloggers that know very little about anal fisting. Additionally, many lubes are reported as unhealthy because they are harmful to the vaginal microbiome. Microbiome considerations for anal fisting are less concerning. Lubes are not excluded based on alerts and warnings about ingredients. As noted previously, lubes may be excluded because of shady business practices.
Figure 1.1: Quality Concerns with Chinese Lubes
Asian lubes may lack quality assurance processes. Lube from AliExpress, AliBaba, and DHGate are usually knock-offs with high risk of contaminated ingredients.
Figure 1.2: Out-of-Lane and Packaging Issues
Doc Johnson's TitanMen Triple Duty fisting lube demonstrates two exclusion characteristics: unreasonable packaging (pump bottle) and product line development (lube is not a typical product focus).
