Fisting Seminars Bring People Together

For a lot of people the act of "fisting" is truly NBD. I've done it so many times that I don't even have to carry a purse anymore, but apparently college students at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec wanted to learn more about it so the queer kids hopped to and organized an instructional evening on campus called Take Five: The Pleasures of Fisting, taught by sex blogger, polyamorist, and kink historian Andrea Zanin. We obviously couldn't resist making the most out of a potentially awkward and emotionally vulnerable situation such as this, and dispatched two students to attend the thing and then report back on what went down. Here's what they had to say:

GIRL REPORT

VICE: What was the name of the seminar, and where was it held?

GIRL: Queer McGill presents TAKE FIVE: THE PLEASURES OF FISTING with Andrea Zanin. It was held on McGill Campus, in the same room that the senate meetings take place, talk about reclaiming space by students.

What made you want to attend?

Why not? How often is something like this a) going to appear on campus (although I found out afterwards it's an annual event) b) be free c) be filled with pretty much exclusively student-aged people, e.g. less awks d) I'll be in a position where I can attend. It was a bit of a last minute decision, but I figured it'd be too insane to miss out on.

What sort of people were there?

I think everyone was a student, or student aged (e.g. 18-30 ish). Roughly speaking I'd say about 60 percent were granola/lgbt/feminist peeps e.g. pro armpit hair, long hair on guys, thick knitted jumpers, fixi lovers, anti-establishment etc. - that general vibe. They were sitting in front of me.

About ten percent I believe were high and were engineers-cum-activists. They were directly behind me. Most left fairly quickly. Then there were about ten percent more 'bland' girls e.g. wear high-street clothes, couldn't tell much about them from what they were wearing or their interactions.

Ten percent were lads. Like bros. That kind of a lad. They came in towards the end of the talk, and before the demonstration. They were towards the back of the room. The other ten percent were dotted around. A mix of curious/ random people. Hard to identify their reasons for attending.

Were you uncomfortable at the event? What sort of thoughts went through your head while you were there?

Well the event was two hours long. The first hour and a half was a talk, or more like an informal discussion really, about vaginas, techniques, anatomy and other things of that nature. She (the instructor) was incredible at creating such a chill vibe and told sex jokes throughout. Didn't really feel awkward then.  Having someone who is not afraid of saying the word vagina loudly to a large room, and really going into detail (she had props too, including a large vagina pillow which she used to describe the anatomy) helped.

Then there was half an hour for the demo. They pulled curtains around us all and the receiver (called 'bottom' in fisting terms) was on a desk which had a blanket and sheet on it. The fister (called 'top') then went through ground rules with bottom, and then told us all. e.g. we could come as close as we wanted, no cheering, no pictures, no twitter, no social media in general, and be considerate. They told us for the best view we should go to the bottom's feet, e.g. we could see straight up her vagina. Then the bottom took off her dress and lay there in a t-shirt. The top had gloves on and sat next to her. The room went silent. A few people left. And then they got down to business.

I'm pretty sure I spent the entire time with my mouth open in shock. Nothing about it was a turn-on. It was more like we were watching something methodical happen, like touching a cow's stomach. Like it was completely normal, but not something you'd particularly encounter everyday unless it was your thing.

After about 15 minutes they stopped. The bottom had said she wasn't feeling it. She later described the event as being in a gynecologist's chair, except when she looked down, she could just see like 40 faces looking back at her. The top explained what had happened (she'd gone in to the bridge of her hand and then she'd stopped because the body wasn't relaxed enough). At this point I felt uncomfortable. It felt like a social experiment. It was such an intimate moment between the top and bottom, except all of us had been included, and I certainly felt strange having partaken without partaking.

Did you learn anything from the event?

Yes. All about squirting, different bits of a vagina, why and how people get fisted, that some people get loose enough during that the entire fist can go in and out of the vagina. That the vagina doesn't actually stretch in the sense that two days later she will be more loose.

Thank you for this report.

BOY REPORT

VICE: What was the name of the seminar, and where was it held?

BOY:  To the best of my recollection, the seminar was called "Take Five" which was a decently witty attempt at a sexual pun. It was held in a room called "Leacock 232," which, quite frankly, resembles a spaceship.

What made you want to attend?

As soon as I saw "live fisting demonstration" on my Facebook news feed, I knew that there was nothing I could do to satiate the curiosity. Nothing, that is, but attend.

What sort of people were there?

A lot of the people in the audience were lgbt and/or members of Queer McGill, the organization that put on the event. There were a few obviously straight people (pardon the possible political incorrectness of that statement). There was one ignoramus that answered a question of "why would it feel good to have a fist in your vagina" with "um it's like five penises in there."

Were you uncomfortable at the event? What sort of thoughts went through your head while you were there?

I was surprisingly comfortable to tell the truth. It probably helped that I was sitting with friends and that I go to a school that is ridiculously liberal by default, so things of this nature don't really freak me out. The reason I went was to basically culture shock myself. As somebody who enjoys writing, anything out of the ordinary is fair game and this was no exception.

Some people left. Many laughs were had. Some people were really into the actual demonstration. All in all, I think the overwhelming thought was, "I can't believe she's doing this. I'm just going to stand here in an awkward way along with everyone else until it's over."

Things going through my head? "I'm not attracted to either demonstrator so I feel weird watching this. Real life "porn" is just as depressing as porn. What does it mean if I end up getting a boner? Does this work with brass knuckles? This will be fun to tell the kids someday, etc."

Did you learn anything from the event?

I learned a lot about the female anatomy and the way things are connected and all that jazz. The vagina puppet was hilarious and informative. Really, Sex Ed doesn't teach anything. Fumbling around in the dark like a stereotypical dude doesn't really do it either. I'd like to think I learned something from the event but it's not up to me to decide.

Thank you young people, go forth and fist.

@WolfieVibes

Don't stop now. Read more about fisting:

Bed & Breakfast & Fisting

Myles Jackman: Freedom Fister

A Hand in the Bush - An Interview with Deborah Addington