“The four most over-rated things in life are champagne, lobster, anal sex, and picnics,” says Christopher Hitchens. Anal sex? Really?

Here’s what was said about anal sex between men and women in a new national sex survey that was recently published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine: “We’re all having more sex, and more kinds of sex than ever before, and we’re getting sexually active at younger ages. Anal sex included.” In 1992, a similar survey found that 16 percent of women aged 18-24 had tried it. Now the number is more like 40 percent. And in 1992, the highest percentage of women in any age group who admitted to anal sex was 33 percent. Now it’s 46.

“Our asses carry with them so much cultural baggage,” says Tristan Taormino, author of The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex For Women. “Most of us are taught at a young age that our butts are dirty, that they shouldn’t be shared with others, that they are not a source of pleasure—all of which aren’t true.”

Writer William Saletan says: “The last time I looked at the anal sex data, I figured that most women who reported having done it meant they’d tried it just once. I was wrong… One-third of these women say they’ve done it in the last month. Among all women surveyed, the number who reported anal sex in their most recent sexual encounter was three percent to four percent. That’s a lot of butt sex. And remember, this is what women are reporting. If anything, they’re probably understating the truth.”

So, Saletan tried to answer the question why are women so into it. He just had to check what the orgasm data was saying and found out this: “Among women who had vaginal sex in their last encounter, the percentage who said they reached orgasm was 65. Among those who received oral sex, it was 81. But among those who had anal sex, it was 94. Anal sex outscored cunnilingus.” Saletan asks what could explain this. “Taboo thrill? Clitoral migration? Some new kind of vegetable oil?”

Additionally, Saletan found out that 86 percent of women who had anal also had vaginal sex, 72 percent also received oral sex, and 31 percent also had partnered masturbation.  “The more sex acts a woman engaged in during the encounter, the more likely she was to report orgasm. These other activities are what gave the women their orgasms. The anal sex just came along for the ride… Women who were getting what they wanted were more likely to indulge their partners’ wishes. It wasn’t the anal sex that caused the orgasms. It was the orgasms that caused the anal sex.” Intriguing.

Some women live it like this: “Slowly he f**ks my arse, pushing himself in and out of me. The sensation is so intense. I feel like my inner slut has finally been freed, and I revel in her carnal abandonment; throwing my head back while Mike rides me like an animal,” says Felicity Brandon on The Abduction.