Everyone poops, but most people don’t like talking about their bowel movements. People especially don’t like talking about the part of their body that passes the poop – the last part of the digestive tract, medically known as the anus. People are simply uncomfortable talking about the anus. Even though this term is the correct anatomical word and the appropriate name for this body part, some people find the word itself offensive or embarrassing. They use words like rear end, bottom, or our favorite: booty. Think about it – anus is a medical term, just as chest, abdomen, and neck.
Even more fraught than the word anus is what has happened to its adjective form: the word anal. For quite some time, the term “anal sex” has been shortened to just “anal.” The widespread use of “anal” to mean “anal sex” has penetrated our collective psyche – and in doing so, we have all forgotten that anal is grammatically an adjective. First defined in 1769, its technical definition is “of, relating to, situated near, or involving the anus.”
A few decades ago, “anal” was used to describe people who were uptight, obsessive, or perfectionistic – a term originating from Sigmund Freud’s theory of the “anal-retentive” stage of development. Over the last two decades, however, the word has been sexualized. It is now most popularly used as shorthand for anal sex. For example, in the question “Do you enjoy anal sex?” the word anal is used correctly as an adjective describing the type of sex. But it is far more common for that question to be asked this way: “Do you enjoy anal?” Technically speaking, that is an incomplete sentence. Anal what, exactly? Do you enjoy anal health education? Anal wipes? Anal continence? No one ever asks these questions, because society has transformed anal from an adjective into a noun. It is now so commonly used in place of “anal sex” that the adjective can no longer be used to describe anything else. The moment people hear the word anal, they automatically think of sex — and tune out everything else.
Herein lies the problem with health education about this part of the body. If we call it anal health education, people assume it is about anal sex. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. The medical problems people experience in their anal area almost never have anything to do with anal sex.
More than 80 percent of people in the U.S. will experience, at some point in their lives, any number of booty (a.k.a. anal) problems – including pain, bleeding, itching, and discomfort. These are problems of the anus, and they are often unrelated to hemorrhoids. Countless people suffer from anal conditions that have nothing to do with hemorrhoids or with anal sex. Yet most of the information available on these topics is incorrect, misguided, or misleading – resulting in widespread misinformation and countless people needlessly suffering with booty (otherwise known as anal) problems.
This is why, at BootyMD, we provide education on topics related to the anus – starting with a simple but important reminder: anal is an adjective.
Knowledge is power, and education is the catalyst for change. When we can openly discuss these issues without fear or embarrassment – when we can say medical terms like anus and anal without shame – solutions come to light. People no longer need to suffer in silence or live with their problems out of fear or embarrassment.
Join us in education and empower yourself. Read our articles, then ask yourself: do you enjoy anal health education? We do! And we will keep talking about it until we restore anal to its rightful place – as the adjective it has always been.