Fisting

Fisting—also known as fist fucking (FF) and handballing—is a sexual activity that involves inserting one or more hands into the rectum (anal fisting) or the vagina (vaginal fisting). Fisting may be performed on oneself (self-fisting) or performed on one person by another. People who engage in fisting are often called "fisters".

Fisters have developed a distinct subculture with its own history, norms, and values, including literature and clubs for sexual, social, and spiritual exploration.

Fisting's emergence as a sexual practice is commonly attributed to gay male culture. However, its precise origin is disputed. Some claim fisting began in the twentieth century, whereas others assert the practice dates back to the eighteenth century or earlier. Sex educator Robert Morgan Lawrence, for example, claimed the practice dates back thousands of years.

Fisting gained visibility and popularity around the time of the gay liberation movement. Whereas until the 1960s fisting was generally confined to the bedroom, by 1969 men openly engaged in fisting at gay bathhouses such as St. Mark's Baths in New York. The hanky code and personal advertisements allowed fisters to safely and discreetly signal their interest to potential partners around the world. By 1973, gay bars, bathhouses and clubs such as the Red Star Saloon in South of Market, San Francisco were publicly advertising fisting. Sex clubs dedicated to fisting quickly emerged, including the Catacombs, Handball Express, and Red Hanky Express.

By 1980, associations had formed in major cities around the world for fisters to meet, play, and socialize with like-minded men, including "Fist Fuckers of America" (FFA), "Total Ass Involvement League" (TAIL), and "Mid America Fists In Action" (MAFIA). Founded in the late 1960s, FFA established chapters in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, Philadelphia, Miami, and Washington, D.C. FFA registered as a non-profit under the pseudonym "Fall Festival Association." TAIL was founded in the early 1970s and included members in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia. MAFIA was founded in Chicago in 1978 and remains active as of 2025.

Fisting parties became a major social activity for "dedicated handballers," some of whom attended as many as three each month. Parties tended to be held at gay bathhouses with carefully controlled guest lists ranging from eight to eighty people. In 1975, approximately 300 men gathered for a two-day fisting convention and contest organized by FFA in Ossining, New York. In addition to arranging sex parties, associations organized social events including dinners, games, cook-outs and bar meet-ups.

Crisco was commonly used as a fisting lubricant since it was inexpensive and widely available, as depicted in pornographic films such as Erotic Hands (1974). As a result, Crisco became a euphemism for fisting in gay slang.

The onset of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s claimed the lives of countless fisters, many of whom were particularly vulnerable due to the common pairing of fisting with unprotected anal sex and drugs. In response to the AIDS crisis, safe sex advocates launched public health campaigns to promote the use of gloves. Meanwhile, cities such as San Francisco and New York forcibly closed gay establishments that—accurately or not—were believed to permit unsafe sex, including fisting. Consequently, many popular venues for fisting permanently closed. Although closures were supported by some members of the gay community, many regarded the closures as a product of anti-gay hysteria as well as anti-sex attitudes and disapproval of gay sexual activity in particular. The gay press, San Francisco AIDS Foundation, and San Francisco Human Rights Commission criticized the closures as counterproductive and a violation of civil liberties.