At CatalystCon – the conference created to inspire exceptional conversations about sexuality – my favorite panel was at the tail end. It was The “Ass Panel”: The Ins and Outs of Anal Pleasure. The Ass Panel consisted of four fantastic folks – all of whom have a vested interested in what’s going on, ahem, behind the scenes.
Ruby Ryder – Blogger, podcaster and aficionado of the style of strap on sex called pegging where the male is penetrated anally.
Charlie Glickman – the co-author of The Ultimate Guide to Prostate Pleasure.
CT Schenk – CEO of Aneros, manufacturer of prostate stimulators with over a million sold.
Tom Stewart– CEO of Sportsheets – a manufacturing company that among other products specializes in strap on harnesses.
At each class or event, participants were given a corresponding Twitter hashtag so we could tweet our comments to the world. We shared smiles of amusement that today’s hashtag was #cconass.
The ass lessons were nonstop. Tom Stewart started us off with graphs and data. In short, strap on harnesses have exploded in popularity in the past few years. Tom assumed that his products were purchased by lesbians. To his surprise, he found the, uhm, swell of demand is coming from heterosexual couples. Women are strapping on a harness and pegging their men.
This isn’t news to Ruby Ryder. She discovered for herself the pleasure and intimacy of this practice. Ruby was so deeply moved by its emotional potency, that she developed a website on the subject; its title reflects the potential bliss waiting for those who learn about and try it: PeggingParadise.com.
Paradise, really? What’s all the fuss about? The answer came from CT Schenk who explained that his company was first a medical supply manufacturer. Men were suffering with enlarged prostate glands that made urination difficult and painful. These poor fellows had few alternatives to find relief – medication or something called prostate massage where they would visit their urologists every few weeks for an awkward appointment.
In 1997, a Japanese urologist patented a prostate massager that could be used in the privacy of one’s own home. Customers began sending letters to the company asking if the side effects they were experiencing were normal. While doing their massage, these men were experiencing full body orgasms.
The medical device company created a subsidiary firm, Aneros, that marketed to the general public. Now all men – not just guys with a medical need – could enjoy the pleasure of prostate massage. The rest is history in the making.
I am so happy that men have a g-spot! By the end of the panel, many of us made a bee line to the Aneros product table to learn more about these handy pleasure givers.
Thanks, CatalystCon, for putting together the wonderful Ass Panel.
Thanks for the great article, Jean. I need to come down and teach a class on pegging in LA!