Basic Types of Sexual  Behavior

2. Heterosexual Intercourse: Anal Intercourse

Cultural Attitudes

In both the Jewish and Christian traditions, anal intercourse was long considered sinful and perverse, an attitude later also adopted in Islam. Medieval Christians spoke of a "crime against nature" or “buggery” (after a heretical sect in Bulgaria) or "sodomy" (after the biblical city of Sodom). As these terms indicate, the behavior was, first and foremost, seen as a religious offense. However, it was later also made a secular crime that carried severe penalties. (In some criminal codes oral intercourse was included as well.) Over time, these harsh “sodomy laws” were softened and rarely enforced, but they remained on the books in some Western countries well into the 21st century. Both heterosexual and homosexual couples could be and were convicted under such laws.

The destruction of Sodom
According to the Bible, God destroyed the city of Sodom because of its sins (Genesis 19).
In the Middle Ages, these sins were generally assumed to have been “unnatural” sexual behavior,
especially anal intercourse between men, but also between men and women.
(12th century mosaic, Monreale Cathedral, Sicily.)

Quite apart from the continuing psychological effects of this historical legacy, many people today remain conditioned to consider the anus filthy and repulsive because of its excretory function. (To a lesser extent, the sex organs are also seen as disgusting because of their association with the release of urine.) Such personal attitudes are often deep-seated and must be respected. After all, it would be arrogant and presumptuous for anyone to tell people to engage in sexual activities they do not like. However, scientists who study the matter impartially from a historical and global perspective, discover that the revulsion against anal intercourse is not and has never been universal.