For me, having my first two fingers inside someone I love is one of the most wonderfully intimate activities on the planet. With some of my female lovers, this form of sex seems to have been enhanced through conscious stimulation of the so-called "G-spot." Over time, several of my friends have commented that it would be nice to write down some of the things that can help make G-spot play fun, and this article is our collaborative result. But before getting started, let's review the most important element of satisfying sex: good communication. Your partner will know better than anyone else what feels good to her, so encourage her to talk to you and listen to what she has to say. It should go without saying that every woman is different, and that you should pay attention to what feels good for the unique person you are with.

If you absolutely must have long fingernails for fashion reasons, then you'll probably want to put cotton balls around them and don latex gloves before doing any penetration. If you don't need your fingernails long, then go ahead and clip them short before playing. Even if you have short fingernails, you may wish to wear a glove on your "insertive" hand for comfort or "peace of mind" reasons; see the "Safer Sex Choices" section of this article for details.

For many women this type of vaginal penetration can be physically and emotionally intense; it isn't the sort of play most folks would want to leap into immediately after taking their clothes off. If you think of sex as being like a feast, you should probably think of the things this article will talk about as being the "main course." So... Start out by kissing and stroking and teasing each other until you two can't stand it any more (a word to the wise: many women find that vaginal penetration and G-spot play feel especially good after a lot of cunnilingus). When the two of you get to the point where a little penetration starts to sound nice, grab your bottle of water-based lube, apply it liberally to your "insertive" hand, and slowly (teasingly?) insert your first two fingers into your lover's vagina.

At this point, many couples like to alternate between patterns such as these:

Move your fingers in even circles all around the vagina, with your fingers as far "in" as is comfortable for the receptive partner. It generally feels best if you keep consistent, firm pressure along the entire length of the fingers against the vaginal walls and if you keep the pressure fairly constant while rotating (though you can give a LITTLE extra pressure at 12 o'clock [towards her belly] as long as you don't break the steady rotational rhythm). Stop rotating and rest your fingertips on the (often slightly ridged) area of the vagina just behind the pubic bone and exert pressure upwards, towards her belly. This is direct G-spot stimulation, and it usually feels best if the fingers are subtly moving somehow. You can move them in small, slow circles, or point the fingers more sharply upwards and rock them forwards and back.

Some couples find it erotic and pleasurable when the insertive partner thrusts his or her hand in and out in a simulated fucking style (and for an extra thrill, possibly exerts pressure upwards when withdrawing to involve her G-spot a little more). It might also feel good to her for you to use your thumb to rub her clitoris while the first two fingers of your hand rest, move in circles, rub her G-spot, or thrust in and out. Your non-insertive hand can do an almost endlessly delicious variety of things. You might try: holding the "penetratee" or gliding your hand all over her body.

Depending on your mutual comfort levels with these sorts of things, you might also experiment with one or more of the following:

Firmly grabbing her hair while kissing her
Holding her hands above her head
Pinching her nipples
Penetrating or just massaging the outside of her anus (especially if she's lying on her side and your other hand is gloved and lubed).
You can also lie down or crouch so that your head is next to hers and whisper hot things in her ear (incorporating fantasies which you know your partner enjoys into your verbal teasing and hot talk is almost always fun).
Passionate kissing is usually welcome, as is licking or sucking your partner's nipples while she is being penetrated.
Licking, kissing, or sucking on your partner's clitoris might also feel good to her during vaginal penetration.

If safer sex precautions for oral sex are necessary, you might try putting on a latex glove, slitting the glove up both sides, and using the flap as an oral sex barrier while the rest of the glove still serves as the barrier for your hand; if this doesn't work well, the other option would be for your partner to hold a Glyde oral sex barrier in place for you.

You and your partner might find vaginal penetration and G-spot play to be more arousing if she is somehow pleasuring you as you are pleasuring her; this can work equally well for same-sex as for opposite-sex couples, though you might have to do some experimenting to find the body positions that are most comfortable for the two of you.

Most women who have experienced both claim that it is easier to have multiple G-spot orgasms than it is to have multiple clitoral orgasms. If an orgasm rears its lovely head while you two are playing, try whispering some words of encouragement (and perhaps ratchet up the intensity just a little bit), but basically continue pleasuring through her orgasm, afterwards, and possibly into a next one. As long as it still feels good what's the point of stopping? There is often a "pyramid effect" with multiple G-spot orgasms; each one makes the next one feel better, and makes almost anything else sexual feel better too. However, as I said earlier, everybody is a little different, and quality is obviously more important than quantity. By the way, in general it isn't a good idea to have a huge ego/emotional stake in having (or "giving") orgasms or multiple orgasms. Most sex educators believe it isn't helpful to get "goal oriented" about something that's supposed to be fun.

Fisting

Some women enjoy vaginal fisting (having all or most of their lover's hand in their vagina). This is DEFINITELY a case where you should proceed only with your partner's active and ongoing encouragement and within her comfort level. If you two would like to give vaginal fisting a try, then I'd recommend first reading Deborah Addington's book A Hand in the Bush: The Fine Art of Vaginal Fisting. However, the basic technique is as follows: with your hand palm up (and your lover on her back or on all fours) bring your fingers and thumb together to form something that looks like a duck bill. With massaging, and possibly gentle twisting motions, slowly tease your hand into her vagina. If your anatomies allows it, once you get past the third knuckles your fingers will start to gently and naturally curve back to form a fist. The whole procedure takes time and plenty of trust, but the women and men who can take a whole hand vaginally or anally often claim that it leads them to transcendent, ecstatic altered states (read Trust: The Handballing Book by Bert Herrman for a discussion of anal fisting, if that is your area of interest).

According to The New Good Vibrations Guide to Sex by Cathy Winks and Anne Semans (which I highly recommend), the G-spot, anatomically, is the area beneath the urethral sponge. This might at least partially explain its role in what is often called "female ejaculation." It also may shed light on why G-spot stimulation makes some women feel as if they have to urinate when they really don't (several studies HAVE shown that female ejaculate is NOT urine). If you're interested in learning more about this topic you might consider renting the films How to Female Ejaculate and Sluts and Goddesses. Still, it should be pointed out that female ejaculation is NOT a universal response to G-spot stimulation and orgasm; even among women who regularly enjoy G-spot orgasms, it's still pretty rare.

Many of these G-spot techniques will work in a similar fashion on men when performed anally. Men have what is called a "prostate gland," the stimulation of which can provoke and/or intensify orgasms. One may stimulate the prostate gland with one or two fingers a few inches inside the anus pressing towards the penis, which leaves the other hand free to massage the penis itself. The prostate gland usually feels like a little dome. Please see the latest edition of Jack Morin's book Anal Pleasure and Health or The New Good Vibrations Guide to Sex by Cathy Winks and Anne Semans for more information on prostate stimulation.

It is certainly true that you are much less likely to pick up or transmit diseases from the activities this document describes than you are from many other common sexual activities (such as unprotected vaginal or anal intercourse). If you and your partner don't wish to use gloves and one or both of you is possibly infectious, just be aware that menstruation or the presence of cuts on your hands adds risk, and washing your hands with hot water and anti-bacterial soap after playing reduces risk. For absolute protection when playing with someone of unknown HIV/STD status (and/or when YOU are of unknown HIV/STD status), standard latex "examination" gloves can be used. Boxes of these gloves may be purchased at many drug stores. Except in cases of powder allergies it doesn't matter whether the gloves are powdered or not, but do make sure you buy the size that fits you properly. Also, don't forget to use plenty of water-based lube on the outside of your gloves, preferably something without Nonoxynol-9 (by the way, if you want to see an erotic film in which both lube and gloves are used with obvious skill and comfort, rent Safe is Desire)

I've tried a lot of different products and have personally settled on the following choices:

Water-Based Lube: I-D, without N-9
Latex Condoms: Kimono MicroThins, without N-9
Oral Barriers: Glyde "Lollyles"
Gloves: Standard Latex Examination Gloves, powdered

Lately I've been experimenting with the new silicone-based lubes, which feel like oils but which have many of the desirable properties of water-based lubes. I-D "Millenium" is a fine brand, as is Wet "Platinum." Some women like the vaginal feel of silicone lubes and some don't, so it's a matter of mutual preference; water-based lubes without Nonoxynol-9 are still the most universally-accepted choice.

The Kimono MicroThins condoms taste fine for oral sex; certainly, they taste better than powdered, unlubed condoms and those mint condoms. The Glyde barriers, like all oral barriers, feel even better if you put a drop of water-based lube on your partner's side before applying them. Some men like to put a drop of water-based lube in the tip of a condom before putting it on to increase sensation, but other men (especially those who have been circumcised) don't notice a significant difference.

Those ever-popular "hip packs" work well for this sort of thing. You'll probably want to include a small bottle of water-based lube and latex condoms, and depending on your personal safer sex standards may want to add antiseptic towelettes, gloves, and Glyde barriers. You might also want to pack a portable toothbrush and a travel-sized toothpaste tube in the front pocket of your hip pack in case you end up staying overnight somewhere.

My favorite places to order lube, toys, videos, and books are Toys in Babeland (1-800-658-9119) and Good Vibrations (1-800-BUY-VIBE), and my favorite place to get condoms and other safer sex supplies is The Rubber Tree (1-888-792-TREE). If you want more information on safer sex or pointers to other sex-positive resources, please refer to the Society for Human Sexuality web page at http://www.sexuality.org/ or call SFSI at (415) 989-7374.

Ultimately, most sex is about pleasure and/or intimacy rather than "technique," and if one's entire focus is on "technique" rather than either of these things sex can often lose some of its spark. In other words, this whole article should be taken with a grain of salt; it has value only insofar as it inspires more pleasure, passion, and joy in your life.