Butter during anal sex: Does it go like clockwork?

In 1972, it was still possible to shock television viewers with sex scenes. It didn't even need to be explicit. A pair of naked breasts was enough to get a movie banned or at least bring the actress into disrepute. Just think of Uschi Glas or Hildegard Knef. A free love life like that of Uschi Obermeier and her co-stars was reserved for only a small section of society at the time. The rest continued to be uptight in the bourgeois bedroom. Sexual openness as we know it today was still a long way off back then. Oral sex? Not to be pronounced! Anal intercourse? Not even imaginable!

The scandalous movie

And of course, even back then there were directors who wanted to provoke scandals. A prime example of such a film is probably The Last Tango of Paris. Banned in many countries at the time and still declared a porno in some places today, it is likely to have secretly thrilled millions of viewers, but also repelled them. The very young Maria Schneider enters into a sexual relationship with the ageing Marlon Brando. Explicit sex scenes, the relationship, the huge age difference: each of these three points is a monstrosity in itself. But all three together?! At that time?! Phew! Scandalous! But everything that we're not allowed to do excites us all the more. A forbidden film with a sexual practice that was strictly taboo at the time. And with a piece of butter in the leading role. That's as good as it gets.

Everything in butter, or what?

The Last Tango of Paris has gone down in the annals of film history. Speaking of annals: even if you haven't seen the whole movie, you might know this one scene. This one scene,

- in which Marlon Brando reaches for the butter,
- spreading it between his lover's buttocks with his bare hands,
- and then ruthlessly thrusts it into her.

Unfortunately, as we know today, sexual assault was not only committed on screen. But that's not the point here. We are only concerned here and now with the butter. Because the big question that millions of viewers have been asking themselves since that scene is this: Is butter really a suitable lubricant for anal sex? Can the animalistic eroticism of the movie scene be recreated with Brando's gesture of the butter grip? Let's take a look.

Butter is healthy and even tastes good

Butter is a natural product. It is pure animal protein and therefore in no way harmful. On the contrary, you could use it as a lubricant and then lick it off with relish. Perhaps you could even flavor it a little beforehand with lemon zest, sage or something similar. But I can already see the looks on their faces. Lick the butter??? It's fatty and fat makes you fat! But that shouldn't bother us at all. After all, we've just burned off a lot of calories! And when it comes to sex, we really shouldn't be thinking about diet tips. Because THAT is a pleasure killer. Not the butter. It even helps with chapped lips, dry skin and cracked hands.

Normal butter is unfortunately no substitute for lubricant

As healthy as it is for our body and our skin, butter is not suitable as a lubricant. This is because it has one major disadvantage: it does not remain slippery if it gets too warm. At a certain point, the water content separates from the fat content. In addition, the consistency obviously also depends on the animal's food. You can try it out for yourself by rubbing a tiny piece of butter between your fingers. The consistency will dissolve very quickly and the butter will liquefy. A little longer and it will lose its smoothness. This is the moment when anal sex can become uncomfortable. Because from now on, the butter is no longer slippery. On the contrary, it even becomes a brake.

But that's not all. Butter, as we have it in the fridge, is not particularly suitable as a lubricant. But if you are experienced in anal sex, you can still use it. Because professionals can do anything. And at least it's healthy. Reaching for butter is and remains an animalistic gesture. Perhaps because we are misappropriating a foodstuff, perhaps because we have the wickedness of the movie scene in mind. And if it does become unpleasant, we simply wash it off and reach for a lubricant.

You can find lubricant substitute products here in ORION magazine: What is a suitable lubricant substitute?

Anja Drews - qualified sex educator for ORION