Lesbian sexual practices in the context of "Sexual identity"

Anal sex or anal intercourse principally means the insertion and thrusting of the erect penis into a person's anus, or anus and rectum, for sexual pleasure. Other forms of anal sex include anal fingering, the use of sex toys, anilingus, and pegging. Although anal sex most commonly means penile–anal penetration, sources sometimes use anal intercourse to exclusively denote penile–anal penetration, and anal sex to denote any form of anal sexual activity, especially between pairings as opposed to anal masturbation.

While anal sex is commonly associated with male homosexuality, research shows that not all homosexual men engage in anal sex and that it is not uncommon in heterosexual relationships. Types of anal sex can also be part of lesbian sexual practices. People may experience pleasure from anal sex by stimulation of the anal nerve endings, and orgasm may be achieved through anal penetration – by indirect stimulation of the prostate in men, indirect stimulation of the clitoris or an area in the vagina (sometimes called the G-spot) in women, and other sensory nerves (especially the pudendal nerve). People may also find anal sex painful, sometimes extremely so, which may be due to psychological factors in some cases.

Anilingus (also spelled analingus) is an oral and anal sex act (anal–oral contact or anal–oral sex) in which one person stimulates the anus of another by using their tongue or lips.

The anus has a relatively high concentration of nerve endings and can be an erogenous zone, and so the recipient may receive pleasure from external anal stimulation, whereas pleasure for the giver is usually based more on the principle of the act. People may engage in anilingus for its own sake, before anal penetration, or as part of foreplay. All sexual orientations may participate in the act. Studies confirm anilingus to be one of the sexual practices between women, though only practiced by a minority.

The feminist sex wars, also known as the lesbian sex wars, sex wars, or porn wars, are collective debates amongst feminists regarding a number of issues broadly relating to sexuality and sexual activity. Differences of opinion on matters of sexuality deeply polarized the feminist movement. The debates took place between leading feminist thinkers of the late 1970s and early 1980s, and continue to influence debates amongst feminists to this day.

The sides were characterized by anti-porn feminist and sex-positive feminist groups with disagreements regarding sexuality, including pornography, erotica, prostitution, lesbian sexual practices, the role of transgender women in the lesbian community, sadomasochism and other sexual matters. The feminist movement was deeply divided as a result of these debates. Many historians view the feminist sex wars as having been the end of the second-wave feminist era (which began c. 1963) as well as the herald of the third wave (which began in the early 1990s).