Anal beads are a
sex toy
A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate sexual pleasure, such as a dildo, artificial vagina or vibrator. Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals, and may be vibrating or non-vibrating. The ...
consisting of multiple balls attached in series. Individual balls are continuously inserted through the
anus
In mammals, invertebrates and most fish, the anus (: anuses or ani; from Latin, 'ring' or 'circle') is the external body orifice at the ''exit'' end of the digestive tract (bowel), i.e. the opposite end from the mouth. Its function is to facil ...
into the
rectum
The rectum (: rectums or recta) is the final straight portion of the large intestine in humans and some other mammals, and the gut in others. Before expulsion through the anus or cloaca, the rectum stores the feces temporarily. The adult ...
and then removed with varying speeds depending on the desired effect. The main use of anal beads are for
sexual stimulation
Sexual stimulation is anything that leads to sexual arousal or orgasm. This thing can be physical or of other senses, and is known as a stimulus.
Sexual stimulation is a broad term, usually understood to mean physical touching of the genita ...
.
Design
Anal beads are available in many sizes, with individual beads measuring from 25 mm in diameter to 125 mm in diameter or larger. Most users enjoy beads of approximately 45 mm, but those more adventurous or with experience may try larger sizes. Anal beads are commonly made of
silicone
In Organosilicon chemistry, organosilicon and polymer chemistry, a silicone or polysiloxane is a polymer composed of repeating units of siloxane (, where R = Organyl group, organic group). They are typically colorless oils or elastomer, rubber ...
,
plastic
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...
,
rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds.
Types of polyisoprene ...
,
latex
Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latices are found in nature, but synthetic latices are common as well.
In nature, latex is found as a wikt:milky, milky fluid, which is present in 10% of all floweri ...
,
glass
Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...
, or
metal
A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...
, and normally end with a ring or similar handle designed for pulling. The purpose of this ring is to prevent the beads from becoming fully lodged in the rectum and to make the toy easier to remove. The beads may either be joined flexibly, requiring individual insertion or by a semi-rigid thin shaft, allowing anal insertion in a single motion.
The many nerve endings of the
sphincter
A sphincter is a circular muscle that normally maintains constriction of a natural body passage or orifice and relaxes as required by normal physiological functioning. Sphincters are found in many animals. There are over 60 types in the human bo ...
provide
arousal
Arousal is the physiology, physiological and psychology, psychological state of being awoken or of Five senses, sense organs stimulated to a point of perception. It involves activation of the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) in the hu ...
both during insertion and removal, while larger beads may create a feeling of pressure in the rectum. Removing anal beads at the point of
orgasm
Orgasm (from Greek , ; "excitement, swelling"), sexual climax, or simply climax, is the sudden release of accumulated sexual excitement during the sexual response cycle, characterized by intense sexual pleasure resulting in rhythmic, involu ...
heightens sensations, leading to a much stronger orgasm.
Some anal beads are enhanced with
vibration
Vibration () is a mechanical phenomenon whereby oscillations occur about an equilibrium point. Vibration may be deterministic if the oscillations can be characterised precisely (e.g. the periodic motion of a pendulum), or random if the os ...
technology. Certain models can be remote controlled or act as
IoT devices.
Use
Anal beads are commonly incorporated during
anal sex
Anal sex or anal intercourse principally means the insertion and pelvic thrusting, thrusting of the Erection, erect human penis, penis into a person's Human anus, anus, or anus and rectum, for sexual pleasure.Sepages 270–271for anal sex inform ...
,
worship of the buttocks,
genital or
anal masturbation, or any activity involving the buttocks, anus, or the anal area.
As with all anal sexual activity, the anal beads and the rectum should be well-lubricated with a
sexual lubricant
Personal lubricants (colloquially termed lube) are specialized lubricants used during sexual acts, such as intercourse and masturbation, to reduce friction to or between the penis and vagina, anus or other body parts, or applied to sex toys to r ...
intended for anal sex. It is important to do this, as the rectum can be easily ripped,
torn, or injured. Silicone-based lubricants should not be used with silicone anal beads, as the lubricant will erode the beads. Anal sex toys should be well washed with warm soapy water and left to dry naturally after use. Alternatively, they can be placed inside a
condom
A condom is a sheath-shaped Barrier contraception, barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a Sexually transmitted disease, sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both external condo ...
, which is recommended if they are shared with others.
Care must also be taken to count the beads before and after use to ensure that they are all removed from the anus, as strings have reportedly broken during intense rectal movements.
Safety
If the beads are threaded onto a string, which is a porous material, they cannot be fully disinfected. Anal beads should not be shared between users without using a physical barrier, such as a latex or
neoprene
Neoprene (also polychloroprene) is a family of synthetic rubbers that are produced by polymerization of chloroprene.Werner Obrecht, Jean-Pierre Lambert, Michael Happ, Christiane Oppenheimer-Stix, John Dunn and Ralf Krüger "Rubber, 4. Emulsion Rub ...
condom, to prevent the transfer of
feces
Feces (also known as faeces American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, or fæces; : faex) are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the ...
. Sharing unsterilized anal toys can expose users to various
sexually transmitted diseases
A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, oral ...
. Anal beads that have been inserted into an anus should not be inserted into a vagina, as this causes
yeast infections
Candidiasis is a fungal infection due to any species of the genus '' Candida'' (a yeast). When it affects the mouth, in some countries it is commonly called thrush. Signs and symptoms include white patches on the tongue or other areas of the ...
and
bacterial vaginosis
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is an infection of the vagina caused by excessive growth of bacteria. Common symptoms include increased vaginal discharge that often smells like fish. The discharge is usually white or gray in color. Burning with urina ...
, as well as various sexually transmitted diseases.
In popular culture
''South Park''
Anal beads serve as the primary weapon for one of the priests in the critically acclaimed 2017 ''
South Park
''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...
'' role-playing video game ''
South Park: The Fractured but Whole''.
''Made of Honor''
In the 2008 romantic comedy ''
Made of Honor'', starring
Patrick Dempsey
Patrick Galen Dempsey (born January 13, 1966) is an American actor and racing driver best known for playing neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd in ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005–15; 2020–21). He is also known for his leading man romantic film roles, such ...
and
Michelle Monaghan
Michelle Lynn Monaghan ( , born March 23, 1976) is an American actress. She has starred in the films ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'' (2005), ''Gone Baby Gone'' (2007), ''Made of Honor'' (2008), ''Eagle Eye'' (2008), ''Trucker (film), Trucker'' (2008), '' ...
, in the scene where Tom (played by Dempsey), the "man" of honor, throws a bridal shower for Hannah (played by Monaghan), Tom unknowingly hires a lady who sells sex toys. Hannah's grandma Pearl (played by Selma Stern) asks, "What are these?" and picks up glow-in-the-dark "thunder beads" (which are anal beads) and wears them as a necklace around her neck during the rest of the scene and even during the wedding.
Carlsen–Niemann cheating controversy
In the 2022
Sinquefield Cup, a prestigious
chess tournament
A chess tournament is a series of chess games played competitively to determine a winning individual or team. Since the first international chess tournament in London 1851 chess tournament, London, 1851, chess tournaments have become the standard ...
, reigning
World Champion Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. Carlsen is a five-time World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, five-time World Rapid Chess Championship, World Rapid Chess Champio ...
withdrew from the tournament after implying that the opponent he lost to,
Hans Niemann, was
cheating
Cheating generally describes various actions designed to subvert or disobey rules in order to obtain unfair advantages without being noticed. This includes acts of bribery, cronyism and nepotism in any situation where individuals are given pr ...
. An
internet meme
An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...
, first propagated as a joke in
grandmaster Eric Hansen's
Twitch chat, suggested that Niemann was cheating using anal beads that vibrated the
computer-suggested move via
Morse code
Morse code is a telecommunications method which Character encoding, encodes Written language, text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code i ...
. The meme spread throughout the internet, even appearing on late-night talk shows such as ''
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night news satire, news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Stephen Colbert, Spartin ...
'' and
''The Daily Show with Trevor Noah''.
See also
*
Anal masturbation
*
Anal vibrator
*
Ben Wa balls
*
Butt plug
*
Pegging
*
Prostate massage
Prostate massage is the massage or stimulation of the male prostate gland for medicine, medical purposes or sexual stimulation.
The prostate takes part in the Human sexual response cycle, sexual response cycle and is essential for the productio ...
r
References
Go Ask Alice: Anal Beads*Silverberg, Cory
Further reading
*
{{Masturbation
Masturbation
Anal sex toys