I tend to think of pegging as a kinky activity with a lot of cross-over appeal. Much like oral sex was once considered daring, but is now completely mainstream, I’ve always assumed anal play (for both genders) was in that kind of transition. However, I mentioned this idea to a female friend the other week (as you do in casual conversation), and she looked at me like I was a crazy person. I should emphasize that this wasn’t a proposition on my part, or a suggestion to try it, just a general comment that getting pegged for a guy was not too unusual. Given she’s a fairly cosmopolitan person, and not an escapee from a nunnery, it’s therefore possible I’ve misjudged just how mainstream pegging really is.
Whatever its current societal status, this images strikes me as a great advertisement for it. They look like two people really enjoying themselves in the moment. With a few more shots like this around, maybe it’d be as mainstream as the missionary position.
I found this on the Work Is Never Over tumblr. I believe, based on my internet detective work, it’s originally from the Ladies Fuck Gents site.
Several men I’ve dated who never demonstrated any other interest in kink whatsoever enjoyed being penetrated–not with a strapon, but digitally or with a tiny toy.
On the other hand, I’ve been in conversations with friends were (male) penetration/pegging has been mentioned, and they seemed honest-to-god APPALLED.
So I don’t know…I think that a lot of people really do find male penetration to be “gross” and threatening. But I also think a lot of men enjoy it and never talk about it. Not a majority…but quite a few.
I think that the strap-on freaks people out because it’s a genderfuck and if you’re an insecure ninny, you’re worried it threatens your masculinity/femininity.
Interesting. I never really thought about the strap-on being somehow different to other types of penetration, but you’re right. There is an obvious element of gender there. I can see how someone already concerned about what it means to be penetrated would be even more disturbed by the idea of a strap-on. Having spent so long in kinky bits of the web I’m probably to blase about this stuff.
-paltego
I think there are many issues at play here. Miss Margo brings up some excellent ones. I also thought that it was becoming more mainstream but based upon your conversation (would love to have heard the segue to that line) and Margo’s, maybe we’re wrong.
Or, maybe it’s just the company we keep.
RW
The segue line was actually her asking about a pro-domme session. She’s not kinky herself, but knows what my interests are. She asked if there was ever any penetration. Which gave me the obvious response of “Well no, not of the domme, but she’s fucked me a bunch of times!”
-paltego
Pegging is the #1 “kinky” activity that men who write me are into, and fairly often anal play is the ONLY activity they are into. Considering that most men seem to think that pegging means they are submissive, and being a submissive male isn’t mainstream, then I have to conclude that pegging still isn’t mainstream.
I don’t think we will see pegging as being mainstream until the well-entrenched notion that being penetrated = being submissive is done away with.
The correlation with submission is an interesting one. There’s definitely a community of submissive men who think of it in terms of D/s, rather than simply being sexual. But there’s also a community of guys who enjoy it purely from a sensual perspective (there are a fair number of tumblers about this kind of pegging). I think you’re right that the mainstream tend to identify it more to the former group than the latter.
Actually kind of interesting to compare it to cunnilingus. That has the same kind of split groups. There are a lot of guys out there who clearly attach elements of worship, service and submission to it. And there are a lot of guys who just get off on the sensual and shared pleasure nature of it. But in that case the mainstream view tends to the latter rather than the former. I suspect 50+ years ago that wasn’t the case.
-paltego