What percentage of women enjoy anal sex or would be open to it
Executive summary
Estimates vary, but large national surveys and reviews converge on roughly one-third of women reporting lifetime experience with receptive anal intercourse and about 28–31% saying anal intercourse was enjoyable; some studies report higher “positive experience” rates after specific encounters [1] [2] [3] [4]. Differences between “have tried,” “enjoyed,” and “would be open to” are important: representative data cover the first two more reliably, while “would be open to it” is less consistently measured and must be inferred cautiously from available studies [5] [4].
1. What the numbers say: lifetime prevalence versus reported enjoyment
Nationally representative surveys and public-health reports place lifetime receptive anal intercourse (RAI) among women in the ballpark of the mid‑30s percent: for example, a CDC-linked data summary reports about 35.9% of women had ever had anal sex, and several population studies find figures near 36% [1] [2] [6]. When the question shifts from “have ever tried” to “did you find it enjoyable,” a commonly cited figure is about 31% of women reporting that anal intercourse was enjoyable in at least one study summarized in mainstream coverage [3].
2. Nuance in “enjoyment”: first experiences, later behavior and positive framing
Multiple analyses and meta‑reviews show nuance: one meta‑analysis of medical literature found 28.4% of women who have sex with men described their first anal experience as pleasant, and among those who tried it a majority (62.3%) continued having anal sex afterward — suggesting that an initially positive or acceptable encounter often predicts further engagement [4]. Other surveys report a larger share describing positive experiences when “receiving anal sex” specifically, with one source noting 63.3% reported a positive experience in that framing, which highlights how question wording and context strongly affect responses [7] [4].
3. Who is more likely to enjoy or be open to it — and why figures differ
Demographic and behavioral factors—age cohort, sexual orientation, prior sexual history, and study sampling—shape prevalence and reported enjoyment: bisexual women and LGB respondents are often found to report higher openness to varied sexual practices, researchers note [3] [6]. Younger cohorts and middle‑aged groups appear similarly represented in some surveys but differ in others; earlier national research showed lifetime RAI clustering in the 25–44 age range [7] [2]. Methodological differences (sample size, representativeness, question wording) explain much of the scatter between studies [7] [5].
4. Limits of the evidence and hidden agendas in popular summaries
Existing reporting mixes nationally representative survey data with small or self‑selected samples, and some web compilations reuse the same primary studies without clarity; for example, a piece highlights high positive rates from a tiny sample of 32 participants with histories of illicit drug use, which is not generalizable to the population at large [7]. Public‑facing sites and magazines sometimes conflate “tried it” with “enjoyed it” or use headline‑friendly rounding (e.g., “about one‑third”), so readers should treat single‑figure headlines as approximations rather than precise population estimates [8] [9].
5. Bottom line: a cautious synthesis
A defensible synthesis from the sources is: roughly one‑third of U.S. women report having had anal sex in their lifetimes, and about 28–31% report finding anal intercourse enjoyable in at least some studies; higher percentages appear when questions ask about positive experiences in particular encounters or among subgroups [1] [2] [3] [4]. Direct, representative data on how many women “would be open to” anal sex if offered are sparse and variable; openness can be inferred indirectly from lifetime prevalence and subgroup analyses but is not consistently reported across the cited sources [5] [4].