Anal sex is fun and all, but it’s not the only cool thing you can do with a willing arse. There are a huge range of toys designed specifically for anal use. Here’s a complete list of them, along with some guidelines for safe, enjoyable anal play.
PS: if you like this, you might also enjoy this comprehensive guide to butt-fucking.
Contents
Why do people enjoy anal toys?
Tips for a good time with anal toys
Why do people enjoy anal toys?
Butt-gasms/anal orgasms
Some people find stimulation of the arse every bit as pleasurable as stimulation of their other genitals. Some people can even have orgasms solely from anal stimulation, or “butt-gasms” where an orgasm is felt primarily in the arse. For some people toys allow them to more easily achieve an anal orgasm than fucking or fingering.
Men have prostates. For most men stimulating the prostate can intensify orgasms, or lead to a totally different-feeling kind of orgasm. Fun.
New and different sensations
Anal toys provide a greater range of new and interesting sensations than just anal sex or fingering. Toys can vibrate, inflate, and probe parts of the arse that fingers just can’t reach. Toys can also be combined with other toys (or with regular old anal sex) to achieve new levels of pleasurable fullness, or other interesting sensations.
Butt-based masochism
Some people like anal pain. And toys open up a great many possibilities for experimenting with pain. You can buy excessively large toys, textured toys, and toys that inflate while they’re inside you, allowing all sorts of inventive and unusual butt torture.
Anal training
Even if you’re more interested in anal sex with a partner than you are in playing with toys, experimenting with toys can help you prepare for anal sex, increase your ability to take a butt-fucking, and generally train your body to get used to (and enjoy) anal play.
How to use anal toys safely
Keep things clean
The arse is a germy area – anything that goes in it should not subsequently be inserted into the vagina (not until it’s been thoroughly sanitised, anyway). Doing so can cause issues for your vagina and urinary tract.
A cheap and cheerful way of remembering this: don’t double dip.
Get toys with wide bases
So… the arse is a powerful muscle, and it’s perfectly capable – particularly when clenching during orgasm – of sucking in a small toy or other object. To avoid this embarrassing and unnecessary trip to the emergency room, only use toys with flared bases.
Some toys come with a finger-ring instead of a flared base. That’s fine, but bear in mind that someone needs to keep hold of that ring the whole time the toy is inserted.
Oh, and toys with finger-rings also have another disadvantage: if they get messy, there’s no way you can put them down on your bedside table without transferring some of that mess to your furniture. A flared base allows you to stand a used toy upright, minimising mess.
Use the right lube
Lube is important when playing with anal toys. Not enough lube and anal play will be super uncomfortable. And, more to the point, you’ll abrade your sensitive little arse with a whole bunch of microscopic tears… tears which can then get infected. Best to lube up and avoid the problem.
Specially-formulated anal lube is often recommended for anal play. And with good reason: it’s thicker and longer-lasting, meaning it won’t dry up during your play session (unlike regular lube). However, most people don’t own anal lube. If that’s you, regular lube works fine – you just might have to reapply it a few times during the session.
Of course, you’ll also need to make sure that any lube you use is compatible with any toy you use. There’s more about that here… but in general,
- water-based lube works with everything
- silicone-based lube is bad for some toys
- oil-based lube is bad for almost all toys
Tips for a good time with anal toys
Experiment with different materials
Most anal toys are made from silicone, which is a perfectly good (tactile, slightly springy, bendy) material. But it’s not the only material out there. You might find that you enjoy the sensations provided by other materials better.
Stainless steel toys, for example, are cold and heavy. Really heavy. This weight increases the awareness of something in your arse that you’ll feel while using stainless steel toys. It also helps that they don’t bend or give at all, making them much less forgiving.
Glass has similar properties to stainless steel – it’s hard and unyielding, smooth and heavy. It also takes on temperature very well, though, and some people really like the way it looks.
Experiment alone
You’ll find it easier to accommodate a new toy in your arse when you’re relaxed. If you’re not relaxed, you’ll tense up, and so will your anal sphincter. A tense anal sphincter = painful anal penetration… which is only likely to make you more tense.
Experimenting with new toys while alone is a great way to get used to them in your own time and without any subconscious pressure to “perform”. Take your time getting accustomed to new toys, and then share them with your partner when you’re sure you like them.
Prep yourself (if you want)
Something that often interferes with a good time (as far as anal play goes) is anxiety about making a mess. If this is something which worries you, you might find that doing a little prep beforehand helps to set your mind at ease.
To get right into the gross nitty-gritty: it’s unlikely that you’ll shit yourself during anal play… so long as you stick to the relatively-simple dictum of not engaging in anal play when you feel like you need to take a shit.
If you’re worried about even a little residual mess, you can give yourself a douche (aka an enema) an hour or two before you play.
A complete list of anal toys
Beads
[ Anal beads | Vibrating anal beads ]
Anal beads are a string of insertable spheres. Sometimes they’re all the same size, and sometimes they’re graduated, starting small and getting bigger. You can use them however you like, but most of the time people insert them one by one to achieve a feeling of enjoyable fullness, and then pull out the whole strong slightly more rapidly – providing a sensation a bit like being ass-fucked in reverse.
Dildos
[ Slimline anal dildo | Realistic anal dildo | Steel anal dildo ]
Anal dildos are generally slimmer and smoother than dildos designed for vaginal play. They also often have a flared base, suitable for use with a strap-on harness.
Butt plugs
Butt plugs are roughly lightbulb-shaped with a large insertable head and narrow “neck” mounted on top of a flared base. There are endless ways to play with butt plugs. You can wear them under your clothes for extended periods of time. You can fuck yourself with them. You can insert graduated butt plugs to help your body relax and get ready for more intense anal play.
Of course, there are many different kinds of butt plug. Here are a few:
| Standard plug | Just a regular butt plug, no special features to write home about. |
| Graduated set | A set of butt plugs which range in size from small to large. Great for anal training. |
| Vibrating plug | A butt plug which vibrates for added stimulation. |
| Tail plug | A butt plug with a furry tail mounted on the base – often used for humiliation purposes, or for puppy play. |
| Inflatable plug | A butt plug that can be inflated to increase its girth. Useful for anal training or anal torture. |
| Expanding plug | An orchid-shaped plug that expands once inserted to provide a feeling of intense fullness. |
| Tunnel plug | A large plug with a hollow tube running through it. Used for… more exotic anal tortures. |
| Novelty plug | A butt plug moulded in the shape of something amusing. |
Dilators
Anal dilators are useful if you’re having trouble enjoying anal penetration at all. They come as a set consisting of several differently-sized, smooth insertables. Start with the tiniest, and then work your way up using lots of lube and patience on the way.
A set of anal dilators has a lot in common with a set of graduated butt plugs… but dilators are generally more forgiving in their shape and size, and so are a better choice for anal newbies.
Double penetration dildos
[ Realistic double dildo | Vibrating double dildo ]
These U-shaped toys usually consist of one large dildo (for the cunt) and one smaller dildo (for the arse). They’re designed especially for double penetration fun times.
If you already have a penis, you can get an anal dildo that straps onto your existing biological hardware to turn it into a double-penetration situation. And if you don’t have a penis? Double penetration strap-on sets are also available.
Douches and enemas
[ Bulb douche | Shower head douche | Gravity-fed douche ]
Some people use douches and enemas exclusively for the purposes of cleaning… but others find the experience of douching pleasurable (or painfully pleasurable) in and of itself. Douches, be they the bulb-shaped squirty kind or the gravity-fed bag kind, are fun things to play with.
Fisting dildos
[ One-hand fisting dildo | Two-hand fisting dildo ]
A dildo, but shaped like a hand (or two hands) instead of a penis. Most of these are designed for vaginal fisting, but if your arse is flexible enough to take them they make a decent anal toy too. Useful for practise if you’re trying to work up to taking a fist in the arse.
Hooks
[ Small anal hook | Full-size anal hook ]
Anal hooks commonly appear in BDSM porn. They’re usually made of stainless steel (sometimes silicone) and look like a big old fishing hook with a bulb where the barb would be.
They’re usually used as part of a predicament bondage setup, with a length of cord attaching the tail of the hook to the wearer’s hair or collar. When the wearer wriggles or moves their head, the hook burrows deeper into their arse. Delightful.
Lube syringes
[ Lube syringe ]
A lube syringe is a big, blunt, plastic syringe used to squirt a dose of lube into your orifice of choice. They’re good fun for anal play, as they can (somewhat) replicate the feeling of having had someone come in your arse. They’re also great at getting things nice and lubey, to make anal play more slippy and pleasurable.
Probes
[ Long anal probe | Vibrating anal probe ]
Anal probes differ only slightly from anal dildos. Usually they’re thinner and more flexible, and they might have a bulb or other protruberance on the end. They’re designed for reaching and stimulating spots deep within your arse (like the prostate) rather than for butt-fucking.
Prostate massagers
[ Silicone prostate massager | Vibrating prostate massager ]
These devices are shaped specifically to reach a male human’s prostate. You can get inanimate ones that rely on thrusting and wiggling to provide stimulation… or vibrating massagers that are perfect for providing plenty of prostate pleasure.
Speculums
[ Anal speculum ]
One for medical play enthusiasts. Anal speculums are designed to open up the arse – either purely for spectacle, or to allow other things to be inserted. Speculums of any sort are not for everyone, but if you’re interested in playing with them you can find out more about them here.
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