{{Short description|Orally stimulating the anus of another person}} {{pp-semi-indef}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}} [[File:Wiki-anilingus.png|thumb|Lesbian anilingus, illustrated by Seedfeeder]]
'''Anilingus''' (also spelled '''analingus''')<ref>{{cite book|title=The Contemporary Dictionary of Sexual Euphemisms|author=Jordan Tate|year=2007|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-0-312-36298-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/contemporarydict00tate/page/8 8–9, 106]|url=https://archive.org/details/contemporarydict00tate/page/8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Anal Pleasure & Health: A Guide for Men and Women|author =Jack Morin|year=2000|publisher=Down There Press|isbn=0-940208-20-2|page=147}}</ref> is an oral and anal sex act ('''anal–oral contact''' or '''anal–oral sex''') in which one person stimulates the anus of another by using their tongue or lips.<ref name="Gupta">{{cite book |last1=Kumar |first1=Bhushan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kQ9tAwAAQBAJ&dq=%E2%80%9Canilingus%E2%80%9D+%E2%80%9Clips%E2%80%9D&pg=PA612 |title=Sexually Transmitted Infections – E-book |last2=Gupta |first2=Somesh |publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences |year=2013 |isbn=978-8-13122-978-1 |page=612 |access-date=13 September 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=LeVay |first1=Simon |last2=Valente |first2=Sharon|title = Human sexuality| publisher = Oxford University Press, Incorporated |year = 2006|page=263|access-date = 30 September 2023 |isbn= 978-0-87893-465-2 |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=aQNHAAAAMAAJ&q=%E2%80%9Canilingus%E2%80%9D+%E2%80%9Cbetween+the+mouth%E2%80%9D}}</ref>
The anus has a relatively high concentration of nerve endings and can be an erogenous zone, and so the recipient may receive pleasure from external anal stimulation, whereas pleasure for the giver is usually based more on the principle of the act.<ref>{{cite book |last=Newman |first=Felice |title=The Whole Lesbian Sex Book: A Passionate Guide for All of Us |publisher=Cleis Press Inc. |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-57344-199-5 |page=174}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Taormino, Tristan |author-link=Tristan Taormino |title=The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women |publisher=Cleis Press Inc. |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-57344-221-3 |page=92}}</ref> People may engage in anilingus for its own sake, before anal penetration, or as part of foreplay. All sexual orientations may participate in the act. Studies confirm anilingus to be one of the sexual practices between women,<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Diamant AL, Lever J, Schuster M |title=Lesbians' Sexual Activities and Efforts to Reduce Risks for Sexually Transmitted Diseases |journal=J Gay Lesbian Med Assoc |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=41–8 |date=Jun 2000 |doi=10.1023/A:1009513623365 |s2cid=140505473 }}</ref> though only practiced by a minority.<ref name="Zenilman & Shahmanesh">{{cite book | title = Sexually Transmitted Infections: Diagnosis, Management, and Treatment | publisher = Jones & Bartlett Publishers | year = 2011 | pages = 329–330 | access-date = 14 May 2014 | isbn = 978-0-495-81294-4 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lO5BND02eBwC&pg=PA329 | author1 = Jonathan Zenilman | author2 = Mohsen Shahmanesh | archive-date = 12 March 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170312224711/https://books.google.com/books?id=lO5BND02eBwC&pg=PA329 | url-status = live }}</ref>
Safer sex practices generally revolve around hygiene so as to prevent fecal–oral route transmission of diseases. Extra precautions include STI testing, dental dams, or enemas.
== Slang terms == Analingus is also known in slang terminology as '''rimming''' (or '''rim-job'''), or '''salad tossing'''.<ref name="Gupta" /> The etymological origin of the term toss someone's salad is a 1970s gay-slang glossary, described as "encapsulat[ing] the act’s pleasure while retaining its delicacy [and being] the precursor to the main sexual event."<ref>{{cite-web|author=Chelsea G. Summers|title=The Tongue-Twisting History of the Many Euphemisms for Eating Ass |work=Vice|date=2015-09-11|url=https://www.vice.com/da/article/tongue-twisting-history-of-the-many-euphemisms-for-eating-ass/|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20251205203414/https://www.vice.com/da/article/tongue-twisting-history-of-the-many-euphemisms-for-eating-ass/|archivedate=2025-12-05}}</ref> It has since appeared in prison slang in the United States prison system, where performing anilingus on another inmate is one way of paying dues or gaining favor.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Byrne |first1=J. |last2=Hummer |first2=D. |year=2007 |title=In search of the "Tossed Salad Man" (and others involved in prison violence): New strategies for predicting and controlling violence in prison |journal=Aggression and Violent Behavior |volume=12 |issue=5 |pages=531 |doi=10.1016/j.avb.2007.02.001}}</ref><ref>Marc Levin for HBO (1996). {{Cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0272256/ |title=Prisoners of the War on Drugs |website=IMDb |access-date=30 August 2013 |archive-date=8 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208234744/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0272256/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
== Etymology == The term ''anilingus'' comes from the Latin words {{lang|la|anus}} and {{lang|la|-lingus}}, from {{lang|la|lingere}}, meaning "to lick"<ref>{{cite book|last1=Carroll |first1=Janell L. |last2= Wolpe|first2= Paul|title = Sexuality and Gender in Society | publisher = HarperCollins College Publishers |year = 1996|page=325|access-date = 16 September 2023 |isbn= 978-0-06-500872-2 |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=7_oss1XXYbsC&q=%E2%80%9Canalingus%E2%80%9D+%E2%80%9CLatin%E2%80%9D}}</ref> and is based on the pattern of ''cunnilingus''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Anilingus Definition & Meaning|access-date=16 September 2023|publisher=Dictionary.com|url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/anilingus}}</ref> It entered English through the 1899 F. J. Rebman translation of Edition 10 of sexologist Richard von Krafft-Ebing's 1886 book {{lang|la|Psychopathia Sexualis|cat=no}}.<ref>{{cite book |first=Mark |last=Forsyth |title=The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language |publisher=Icon Books |year=2011 |page=49}}</ref><ref>{{Cite OED|anilingus|access-date=16 July 2018}}</ref>
== Practice == Anilingus can involve a variety of techniques to stimulate the anus, including use of the lips or licking;<ref name="Gupta" /> it may also involve the tongue moving around the edge of the anus or up and down the insides of the cheeks of the buttocks. Insertion of the tongue into the rectum is another possible technique.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bullough |first1=Bonnie |last2= Bullough|first2= Vern|title = Human Sexuality: An Encyclopedia | publisher = Taylor and Francis|year = 2014|page=27|access-date = 13 September 2023 |isbn= 978-1-135-82502-7 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-cqlAgAAQBAJ&dq=%E2%80%9Canilingus%E2%80%9D+%E2%80%9Ctongue%E2%80%9D+%E2%80%9Cpenetrate%E2%80%9D&pg=PA27}}</ref>
== Health risks and prevention ==
=== Health risk === {{Main|Fecal–oral route}} Anilingus has potential health risks arising from the oral contact with feces. Diseases which may be transmitted by contact with feces include: bacterial diseases including shigellosis (bacillary dysentery); viral systemic diseases including hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, poliomyelitis, human papillomavirus (HPV) and herpes simplex virus; parasites including intestinal parasites; and infections and inflammations chlamydia infection, gastroenteritis, conjunctivitis, gonorrhea, lymphogranuloma venereum<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lgbt.foundation/get-support/for-men/think-you-have-an-sti-/Lymphogranuloma-Venereum|title=Lymphogranuloma Venereum – LGBT Foundation|author=LGBT Foundation|work=lgbt.foundation|access-date=25 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626120609/http://lgbt.foundation/get-support/for-men/think-you-have-an-sti-/Lymphogranuloma-Venereum|archive-date=26 June 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> and other sexually transmitted infections.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.uhs.uga.edu/sexualhealth/oral_sex.html#safe |title=Is Oral Sex Safe? |publisher=University Health Center at the University of Georgia |access-date=12 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010145522/http://www.uhs.uga.edu/sexualhealth/oral_sex.html |archive-date=10 October 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
Applying the mouth to the genitals immediately after applying it to the anus can introduce the bacterium ''Escherichia coli'' ("''E. coli''") into the urethra, leading to a urinary tract infection. HIV/AIDS is not believed to be easily transmitted through anilingus.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/answered-questions/whats-rimming |title=What's Rimming? |publisher=Columbia University's internet health service |access-date=12 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160714051811/http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/answered-questions/whats-rimming |archive-date=14 July 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
Anilingus with a number of casual partners increases the health risks associated with the practice. Generally, people carrying infections that may be passed on during anilingus appear healthy. Parasites may be in the feces if undercooked meat was consumed. The feces contain traces of hepatitis A only if the infected person has eaten contaminated food.
=== Prevention === Safe sex practices may include thorough washing of the anal region before anilingus to wash away most external fecal particles and reduce the risk of contraction of fecal-sourced infection. An enema can also reduce the risk of direct fecal contact.<ref name="Castleman">{{cite magazine |last = Castleman |first = Michael |date = 27 April 2010 |title = Rimming: The curious couple's guide to oral-anal play |magazine = Psychology Today |access-date = 23 November 2012 |url = https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/all-about-sex/201004/rimming-the-curious-couples-guide-to-oral-anal-play |archive-date = 25 January 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220125035723/https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/all-about-sex/201004/rimming-the-curious-couples-guide-oral-anal-play |url-status = live }}</ref> A dental dam may also be used, and another safe sex practice is to avoid unprotected sex which involves fellatio after anal intercourse.
If the receiving partner has wounds or open sores on the genitals, or if the giving partner has wounds or open sores on or in the mouth, or bleeding gums, this poses an increased risk of sexually transmitted infections. Brushing the teeth, flossing, undergoing dental work, and eating crunchy foods (such as potato chips) relatively soon before or after performing anilingus also increases the risk of transmission, because all of these activities can cause small scratches on the inside of the lips, cheeks, and palate. These wounds, even when they are microscopic, increase the chances of contracting sexually transmitted infections that can be transmitted orally under these conditions.
== In popular culture == In the 18th century, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote several canons on the topic, including the 1782 6-voice canon "Leck mich im Arsch", which repeats the request throughout. Similarly, he wrote the 1782 lyrics for "Leck mir den Arsch fein recht schön sauber" ("Lick my arse right well and clean"). Circa 1786, Mozart composed the 4-voice canon "O du eselhafter Peierl" which jokingly implores his friend to "lick his ass" alongside humorous insults and death threats.
In 2020, the Mozarteum uncovered a 21-year-old Mozart's humorous 1777 commission of a gay rimming scene for his family and friend's target shooting practise. Knowing he would be out of town, he commissioned a target of (in Mozart's own words):<blockquote>"...a small man with fair hair, bending over and showing his bare arse. From his mouth come the words: ''Enjoy the spread''. The other figure should be shown in boots and spurs, a red suit and a beautiful wig according to the latest fashion; he must be of medium height and positioned in such a way that he appears to be licking the other man’s arse. From his mouth come the words: ''Just go ahead''."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stiftung Mozarteum Salzburg {{!}} Mozart Museum {{!}} Konzerte {{!}} Wissenschaft |url=https://mozarteum.at/en/a-lock-of-mozarts-hair-returns-to-salzburg/ |access-date=2026-05-14 |website=Stiftung Mozarteum Salzburg {{!}} Mozart Museum {{!}} Konzerte {{!}} Wissenschaft |language=en}}</ref></blockquote>In 2025, ''Men's Health'' published an explanation and list of techniques on the topic.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-07-14 |title=Let’s Talk About Rimming: Tips, Techniques, and What to Know Before You Try |url=https://www.menshealth.com/sex-women/a23652027/what-is-rimming/ |access-date=2026-05-14 |website=Men's Health |language=en-US}}</ref>
== See also == {{Portal|Human sexuality}} * Anal eroticism * Anal fingering * Facesitting * Fecal bacteriotherapy * Felching
== References == {{Reflist|33em}}
== External links == {{Commons category|Anilingus}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20050528075940/http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/2087.html Columbia University article on health risks of anilingus]
{{Sex}} {{Human sexuality}} {{Sexpositions}} {{Sexual slang}}
Category:Anal eroticism Category:Anal sex Category:Oral eroticism Category:Pornography terminology Category:Sexual acts