Originally Posted On insider.com by Julia Naftulin On aug 29, 2019
- On Wednesday, August 21, I headed to Manhattan’s Flatiron neighborhood to check out Butt-Con, a first-of-its-kind convention to celebrate and educate people about all things backside-related.
- The convention featured panels with butt experts including a rectal surgeon, a porn star, a celebrity fitness trainer, and a butt-lift surgeon.
- There were also interactive exhibits like a history of butt cleaning and product booths for bidets and anal douches, all meant to destigmatize anal health.
- Here’s what it’s like to attend Butt-Con.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more.
“I want you to say it louder … ANAL!”
There aren’t many places where you can hear a crowd of over 450 near-strangers shouting “anal” in unison, but on one balmy evening in late August, that’s exactly what happened in response to the emcee’s call.
Everyone had gathered for Butt-Con, a convention created by bidet attachment brand Tushy to celebrate and educate the masses about all things butt-related.
Press materials for the inaugural New York City Butt-Con described the event as “the interactive convention for the like-behinded” and featured a mélange of expert panels, product demonstrations, and interactive exhibits about butt wiping, anal sex, fitness, diet, and more.
When I first recieved a publicity email about Butt-Con, I knew I had to check it out. As both a person with a decently ample backside and a journalist who writes about sexual health regularly, I knew learning more about butts in every way possible could be an invaluable way to destigmatize conversations about them and what they do, from pooping to creating sexual pleasure.
Plus, the idea of a convention dedicated to butts sounded pretty ridiculous, and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to see it for myself.
Here’s what it was like inside the first-ever Butt-Con.
Butt-Con’s inaugural event was hosted in a nondescript building in Manhattan’s Flatiron district.
The building where Butt-Con took place was covered in scaffolding and also housed the entrance to a popular restaurant called The Ainsworth.
I was thankful for the scaffolding, which protected me from a massive downpour that started a minute after I arrived at the venue.
Under the scaffolding, I was greeted by a Butt-Con host wearing an apt t-shirt. He led me, along with my photographer colleague, in the right direction.
The guide directed us to the elevator in the lobby of the corporate-looking building and told us to head to the fourth floor where all of the action was taking place.
The second we stepped off the elevator, we were greeted with a giant bright pink blow-up butt.
With one quick glance, I could tell we were in the right place.
Beyond the blow-up butt, booty-themed decor, like this giant pair of briefs, covered the walls of the venue.
The evening was hosted by Tushy, a bidet attachment brand created by Thinx founder Miki Agrawal.
Attendees could give the bidet attachments a test run since each bathroom stall had one installed.
Bidets work by spraying a small stream of water, the same water that comes out of your faucet for brushing your teeth, onto your butthole, rinsing off any leftover fecal matter.
Although I had no plans to try the bidet attachment out when I first arrived at Butt-Con, I became intrigued after my talks with butt experts and decided to give the device a spin.
Before trying it on my own butt, I turned the bidet to its “on” setting, which proved to be a huge mistake because the water sprayed all over the bathroom. I tried again, positioning myself over the toilet this time and bracing my backside for a harsh stream of water.
I was pleasantly surprised to find the stream gentle, and kind of refreshing.
Agrawal told me Butt-Con provides an outlet for destigmatizing conversations about the human butt, from how we wipe it to its ability to offer sexual pleasure.
Agrawal, who also founded Thinx, a line of underwear designed for people menstruating, said she sees Tushy, her bidet brand, as an extension of her mission to talk abut feminine hygiene taboos.
“The toilet category hasn’t changed since the late 1800s because of the taboo around it,” and genitals in general, Agrawal told me. “That area creates pleasure and babies and yet we choose to ignore it because of a weird societal stigma.”
As soon as the doors opened, people began snatching up seats in front of the main stage, eager to learn about all things butt-related.
Butt-Con goers appeared to come from all walks of life. There were people of varying ages, genders, and backgrounds at the convention, but the majority seemed to be in their twenties and thirties.
Folks attending Butt-Con seemed to be there for the novelty and to learn more about sexual health and hygiene. The same people I saw participating in a twerking competition were also found listening attentively to expert panelists later.
The “Belfie” booth was just one of many interactive exhibits guests could enjoy throughout the evening.
You could choose to take a still shot, a GIF, or a reel of four pictures of your butt.
I wasn’t quite prepared for my belfie, but you get the idea.
When I exited the booth, another guest asked me whether you were supposed to take a belfie of your naked behind. I shrugged and quickly walked away before having to witness her belfie style.
My personal favorite exhibit was the “Ass Kissing Booth,” where a woman dressed as a naked butt offered up free kisses.
I didn’t try to kiss her, nor did I see anyone else giving the booth a try, but it was fun to see nonetheless.
One wall doubled as decor and an educational experience, as it displayed a variety of butt-related accessories like anal douches, anal beads, and butt plugs.
Anal beads and butt plugs are sex toys that are inserted into a person’s rectum to create sexual pleasure.
Anal douching also involves the rectum, but it isn’t a sex toy. Rather, an anal douche is used before anal sex as a way to clear any fecal matter from the area and prevent messes.
Throughout the evening, all types of butt experts offered their insights into how we eat, exercise, have sex, and even wipe our butts affects our health.
Stripper Jacqueline Frances hosted the second panel of the evening, where she chatted with cam girl Lindsay Dye about the allure and business of butts. (Cam girls are video performers who perform erotic acts on the internet.)
Although I missed this panel, I did hear lots of laughs coming from the main stage while it was going on.
Next, celebrity fitness trainer Jorge Cruise led a butt-toning workout on the main stage.
The entire audience joined in for the 15-minute sweat session and everyone was squatting and pulsing in front of their seats.
Squats target and tone various leg and backside muscles including your quads, glutes, and hamstrings.
The human butt even left her post at the ass kissing booth to join the workout.
Later, I had an intimate moment with 83-year-old Hattie Wiener, a self-proclaimed cougar and sexpert who insisted we chat in the bathroom.
Wiener told me she started having sex with younger men when she was 55 and now that she’s been doing it for 28 years, she would never go back to older men.
“I have nothing against older guys, except they don’t turn me on,” Weiner said.
Later that night I saw her cozying up with a 20-something man during one of the experts panels.
Wiener also told me she’s having the best sex of her life now, and it all stems from confidence.
“The secret is not to buy into b — — — t about aging,” like the perception you lose your sex drive. Wiener said that sex is all about “capturing the pleasure of physical exchange and play,” rather than about appearances.
She also said she wishes women would judge their own bodies less.
After my conversation with Wiener, I stopped by Cheeks Dive Bar for a refreshment.
I ordered the “Vlad Pootin,” Butt-Con’s take on a Moscow Mule, and was pleasantly surprised at how tasty it was.
There were also veggie tacos and non-alcoholic drinks available.
The head-turning Dragon Sisters taught Butt-Con guests how to pop their backsides during a “Twerking 101” seminar.
Guests weren’t shy about unleashing their dance moves alongside the two queens.
Although I didn’t get to chat with The Dragon Sisters, one of them, who goes by Odessah Mann, told New York Post “the key to twerking is understanding your pelvis and hips. Spend a lot of time in front of the mirror, practicing.”
Butt-centric products were on display, like this anal douche from The Future Method.
The Future Method is a brand started by NYC-based rectal surgeon Dr. Evan Goldstein. The product comes with a fragrance-free solution and small syringe that gay mean can use to flush out their anals canal and prepare for butt sex.
The small size of the syringe prevents people from over-douching, which can lead to intestinal problems, one of Goldstein’s representatives who was hosting a demonstration told me.
Guests could also give this special chair, which vibrates and makes you more aware of your anal muscles, a spin.
The chair forces the body to do 20,000 kegels in a 28-minute session, according to one of Goldstein’s reps.
Kegels help to strengthen your pelvic floor, or the muscles that support your bladder, anus, and uterus. Having a strong pelvic floor can prevent incontinence, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Dr. Rita Linkner, a cosmetic dermatologist, demonstrated a butt facial.
Linkner said a butt facial can brighten and smooth the skin, according to an interview she did with the New York Post. She recommended using products that contain salicylic acid, glycolic acid, or benzoyl peroxide because they help to exfoliate dead skin off your rear.
One woman stripped down to her thong and was transformed into a walking Butt-Con billboard.
I have no idea why she opted for the body paint, but would have loved to been on her subway ride home.
I also learned about the history of butt wiping with this art-like exhibit.
Long after their use, archaeologists found these chugi in toilet stops along the Silk Road.
Native Americans once used oyster shells as toilet paper.
Folks in rural areas used to use dried corn on the cob to wipes their butts.
The Romans would use this sponge on a stick, called a tersorium, to wipe their butts after soaking it in vinegar or salt water. To my dismay, I learned they shared and reused these sponges.
In 1857, toilet paper was invented by a New York entrepreneur named Joseph Gayetty.
Gayetty’s toilet paper was more of a linen-like material, derived from hemp, according to Mental Floss. It came in a box much like today’s tissues and would dispense one sheet at a time.
In 1890, brothers Clarence and E. Irvin Scott created the first toilet paper roll.
There was also a bidet on display, of course.
Since Butt-Con was hosted by Tushy, a bidet brand, there were lots of opportunities to chat about the somewhat controversial butt-cleaning method. Although experts at the event were all for bidets, there’s not a lot of research on their supposed health benefits.
Research suggests bidets could be a good option for people with arthritis, and they could help with conditions such as hemorrhoids, anal fissures, and pruritus ani (an itchy butt).
Other research has found that a type of anal fissure may actually improve when you stop using a bidet, Berkeley Wellness reported, and another study found that women who use bidets all the time may alter the normal bacteria in their vaginas.
The event wrapped up around 10 p.m. I found Butt-Con to be as fun as it was informative.
As the night went on, I realized every aspect of the evening allowed butt-related taboos to be front and center, destigmatizing them as a result.
Read more:
- A rectal surgeon says bidets are way healthier than toilet paper, but the average American still uses 3 rolls every week
- A rectal surgeon said you’re probably wiping your butt wrong
- Brazil’s president wants people to ‘eat a little less’ so they poop every other day, but that’s not how the human body works
Tushy is a bidet startup which aims to replace toilet paper, Tushy was founded by Miki Agrawal.
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