By The Babes (Katie Harbinson and Maddie Womack)
Art by Sarah Forgey & Whitney Young

Sometimes I reminisce on the first and only time I did poppers (an inhalant that causes muscle relaxation and dilation of the blood vessels)—on the dancefloor of a local queer club on a night out with friends. Over the sound of thumping bass, a mustached man dressed as a pilot educated me—a queer woman in her twenties—on how to inhale it properly, and then immediately asked if my butthole felt loose. I didn’t notice it. And come to think of it, I don’t often notice my butthole. Honestly, I neglect it sexually, mainly because I don’t know enough about it to incorporate it regularly.

Anal has been a thing for forever. We know this. It’s also a popular and pleasurable sex act in the gay community, and amongst queer people with penises in general. So much so, that cishet men will avoid washing their asses to avoid being perceived as gay. I don’t know—I heard it on TikTok. But if you’re homophobic, chances are you’re unsanitary. I don’t make the rules.