Try out PMC Labs and tell us what you think. Learn More. Anal intercourse is commonly associated with male homosexuality, but not all gay males engage in anal sex. Receptive anal intercourse can cause pain.

Growing up, the sex education lessons that I received in school were exclusive of LGBTQ people and solely focused on intercourse between a cisgender straight man and woman. Coming into my identity as a cisgender black gay young man, I used the internet to increase my understanding of sex and healthy relationships. I found that sex included consent, trust, kissing, masturbation, oral intercourse, and more. It was only until I had had enough of butt jokes from cisgender straight friends that I realized that they thought of relationships cisgender gay men only have penetrative anal sex.

Not exactly, anyway. The ubiquity of homosexual behavior alone makes it fascinating. Several years ago, a team of scientists led by Trevor Hart at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta studied a group of of gay male participants. That is to say, based on self-reports of their recent sexual histories, those who identify as tops are indeed more likely to act as the insertive partner, bottoms are more likely be the receptive partner, and versatiles occupy an intermediate status in sex behavior.

Anal sex or anal intercourse is generally the insertion and thrusting of the erect penis into a person's anus , or anus and rectum , for sexual pleasure. While anal sex is commonly associated with male homosexuality , research shows that not all gay men engage in anal sex and that it is not uncommon in heterosexual relationships. As with most forms of sexual activity, anal sex participants risk contracting sexually transmitted infections STIs. Anal sex is considered a high-risk sexual practice because of the vulnerability of the anus and rectum.