Enemas were once more of a woman's thing?

When I really think about it, my fate of all the enemas I received lay entirely in the hands of women. All my buddies were also enemaed exclusively by their mothers, if they thought it was necessary.

And that accompanied me throughout my entire life up to this point; mom, one of my former girlfriend and now my wife.

Where would we be without these wonderful female creatures? ...definitely nothing...😎

@Vicki_V said,

Who buys more Fleet-type enemas, women or men? Anecdotal results obviously, but at the neighborhood pharmacy where my family has been going for years, Anna the pharmacist says women buy the enemas about three-fourths of the time.

The statement by the pharmacist is in line with what my colon hydro therapist told me a number of years ago. In conversations I had with her over four or five years, I learned that two thirds to three fourths of her clients were female. Of those, almost all gave themselves enemas at home and more than half gave their kids enemas. Then, of the group that gave their kids enemas, a number of those brought their older kids in for a colonic.

When my siblings and I were growing up, enemas were the realm of females. Our grandmother was a retired Registered Nurse and a firm believer in enemas for both kids and adults alike. To that end, she taught her daughters how to give enemas as preteens. Then they were responsible for the younger ones, like my siblings and me.

The same was also true for our friends, like us, they were taught personal hygiene as they began their preteens by their mom or grandmother. Afterwards, like us, they were expected to take of themselves when it came to enemas.

My point is, both boys and girls were giving and taught how to give themselves enemas by females. Then along with enemas, girls were also taught how to give themselves a douche. Again, by either their mom or grandmother.

When I grew up enemas were more of a woman thing and the woman of that time didn’t hesitate to use them on their children. It created a entire generation of baby boomers that grew to like enemas for health and sexual pleasure. Other children my age then would talk about getting enemas from their mothers and they either liked them, didn’t care if mom gave them an enema or hated them. Overall women tend to discuss enema use with other women more than men do, at least from my experience in listening in on women having conversations with other women. When I was young my hearing was extremely good.

@Silver_Bullet said,

When I grew up enemas were more of a woman thing and the woman of that time didn’t hesitate to use them on their children. It created a entire generation of baby boomers that grew to like enemas for health and sexual pleasure. Other children my age then would talk about getting enemas from their mothers and they either liked them, didn’t care if mom gave them an enema or hated them. Overall women tend to discuss enema use with other women more than men do, at least from my experience in listening in on women having conversations with other women. When I was young my hearing was extremely good.

My siblings and I had the same experience growing up that you did, and like you, we also had extremely good hearing. Some of the conversations we overheard were very interesting and informative. When it came to enemas or spankings, moms told other moms everything, nothing was private. Plus, our grandmother was a retired Registered Nurse and a firm believer in enemas for both kids and adults. And taught all her daughters, as preteens, how to care for and give enemas to children. Then gave moms two younger sisters, the responsibility of doing our evening bath, including enemas and the occasionally spanking. Around nine or ten, we began to put together the feelings we received from enemas with those that were beginning to awaking in our groin. By that I mean, the relationship between enemas and our awakening sexuality. Then, once we reached our preteens, grandma taught us personal hygiene and enemas became our responsibility. Once that happened, we were able to explore the connection between enemas and sexuality in ways we couldn’t previously.

Who buys more Fleet-type enemas, women or men? Anecdotal results obviously, but at the neighborhood pharmacy where my family has been going for years, Anna the pharmacist says women buy the enemas about three-fourths of the time. I wouldn’t be surprised if this were about right in most pharmacies.

@Vicki_V Maybe the pharmacist is seeing more women buying the Fleet-type enemas because the women are the caregivers. The one making sure that health care needs are met and supplies for doing that are on hand. It is my job for my sub and my family, when they were living under our roof.

Yes, I'd agree... In some families that was the situation. However, when reading these posts, I see families were different and some took enemas equally. Growing up the women in my family were taking enemas and douching and it was completely a woman's thing in my house. I wasn't taught anything. I learned from what I overheard, saw/glimpsed, and my own self exploration. Now it seems there are a lot of enema/douche devices that are arguably marketed to males who like me, are bottoms. All I have to say is it's about time, lol 😂

It is my belief, based on my experiences, that women still use enemas the most, both taking and giving, but they do not speak about it unless they have a very close relationship with you, at the most they talk about it with their lady friends and they are usually pretty matter of fact, unless there is some kink among them.... Even if my wife was pretty open about it and enjoyed them, it was not a regular talking subject, least of all with men. I only founs some women talking about it openly in forums like this and the ratio to men, you can see it by yourself....

A lot of the bags sold had a picture of a women on the box it came in so was most the advertisements. So pretty much mom started it with the children and after all that time of our past we find ourselves here.

Warm water for everyone!

Hello to everyone on this forum.

I’m going to share my own, somewhat unpopular, female perspective.

I’m not from America.

In the past—let’s say in the ’70s, ’80s, and early ’90s—enemas were used primarily by women as a weight-loss method. There were so-called “enema diets”—weight-loss regimens for a slimmer figure. It was super popular, even though the results were pretty questionable. I had mutual female friends, and even a friend of my mom’s, who were into this type of diet. Just like the “Kremlin Diet.” In the early ’90s, audio cassettes were sold with a three-month weight-loss program. Yet another scam from the “how to make easy money without getting off the couch” series.

There’s also a lot in our region that involves enemas and vaginal douching. It’s worth noting that for this “purely feminine” procedure, people in my region—Eastern Europe—had all sorts of devices in their homes. From enema bags called “Esmarch Enemas,” made of thick rubber with a capacity of up to 2 liters, to various enema bulbs of different sizes, ranging from 30 ml to 700 ml. With hard and soft tips. They were kept in the bathroom, hanging right next to the toilet; no one hid them from view. In the 1970s and 1980s, vaginal douching with acidic solutions was common practice, ranging from a weak solution of diluted citric acid to Coca-Cola. These were widely used in home settings following unprotected sexual intercourse to prevent consequences. Of course, this was a major misconception.

Enemas were also frequently used in cases of poisoning. Nowadays, this is handled either by a specialized gel like “Enterosgel” or by specialized tablets, provided it is a mild case of poisoning.

Enemas were always administered in hospitals prior to abdominal surgery, regardless of the patient’s gender.

Perhaps enemas are considered more of a feminine procedure due to the fetishization of the procedure. For example, many years ago I saw and learned from my husband that there was an artist who depicted the enema process. I have reproductions of his work. His name was Julie Delcourt.

Conclusion. Due to the underdevelopment of medicine in the early 20th century (at the household level), naturally, penicillin and the two world wars that followed advanced medicine and especially surgery; however, in some fields such as gynecology, urology, and certain other medical fields, some inaccuracies were allowed to persist, which over time came to be interpreted differently. For example: douching and enemas.

When did the fetishization of the process begin? Everything (if not everything, then much of it) was invented and tested even before our era. It’s all been done before; it’s just that, like everything in the history of civilization, it moves in a spiral. There are ancient depictions of the process. We haven’t invented anything completely new in this regard.

As my grandmother used to say: “...what is natural is not ugly.”

I wish everyone warm water!

Sincerely, Elena

I think enemas have always been more of a "woman's thing". I think constipation is more common in women than men so women may use enemas more often for relief. And, even today I think women are more likely to admit to a friend or relative that, I really needed an enema after that trip. Or, that new medication really binds me up, and I needed an enema. I don't see men discussing their last enema while on the first tee.

Back in “the day,” those drugstore attractive displays of feminine hygiene and enema bags were especially appealing to women. Maybe it was because we have twice the openings down there!

Women are maternal beings. It’s in our DNA. I remember when my older daughter was sick on her 17th birthday and also having unusually uncomfortable menstrual cramps. I was sitting on the side of her bed, coaching her through a gentle warm water enema to help relieve the cramps, when she asked if “daddy ever took enemas?” Not by himself, although in rare times when he was ill, I had given him enemas. “Then it’s a woman’s thing,” Jen said. I have not thought exactly of that description.

However, reflecting on comments by @Cheryl77177, daughter had the right idea.

There's no question in my mind that many men seemed far more reticent to discuss, or share their enema inclinations, unless a degree of anonymity was available. You gals could discuss and share such personal issues without relinquishing any machoism. It took many decades for me to discover that I could be more open about such things. The result was finding a degree of enjoyment that didn't exist when subjected by mom or grandma. I suppose that you gals who provide such intimate care for your hubby's and families, may well be under appreciated. Perhaps the marketing experts were spot on when the displays of those rubber implements were targeting the female gender.

Enemas as a regular medical procedure or no enemas as a recommended medical procedure.

Doctors call their work a “practice” and certainly it is.

Women were featured on fountain syringe packaging because doctors recommended that women should douche after their periods and, of course, they suffered from constipation along with their periods.

Manufacturers picked up on this and targeted the female population to sell their products. And, women do talk among themselves about more personal matters than men do, so family enema use was a common topic.

Somewhere medical “practices” changed toward the use of enemas as a routine for family health.

Colonics for sure are dominated by women in both the therapists and recipients. Separated from any fetish aspect, it's just far, far more likely that a woman will want to hop up on a table, have a stranger shove a fat tube up her bum, and send gallons of water into her, than a man will want to do that. It's a more natural fit physically, psychologically, historically. A guy who has no fetish attachment to it might be uncomfortable with that set-up because of reservations of having something put up the butt, especially by someone else.

This is a very thoughtful as well as thought-provoking string. I just finished reading it through for the third time and much is quite profound. Let me comment on a few:

Enemas as a feminine matter. I still think that they are for the reasons that many of you have stated: 1) women are the caregivers and through much of even the 20th century many cures were simple ones such as taking two aspirin and an enema. But women probably have a much better appreciation for the human body since ours does tend to be more complex than for males.

Enemas and fetishism. I have had to think long and hard about this one because growing up there was nothing fetish related about getting an enema. To be honest I had a real dislike of them. When in college and learning that an enema was good for PMS I appreciated doing one, but that hardly made it a fetish. Several years later after doing at least one a month I came to realize that an enema is great for emotional relief and even to this day will take one for that reason.

Enema and douche equipment. Yes, aside from the nozzle, it is the same equipment. That said, my mother never discussed douching with me and I did not start until in college. At that time it seemed necessary, but to be honest was never an unpleasant practice because even now that I'm well past menopause I might still do an occasional one in the shower.

Visible equipment. We all have attested to seeing if not outright displaying enema and douche equipment in the bathroom. If not full time, then certainly drying after use. It was no big deal and certainly nothing that anyone seemed to be embarrassed about. I suspect that the thinking changed once many houses had multiple bathrooms and those that we call master bathrooms are essentially off-limits to outsiders if not the other family members. You can still find an enema bag drying in our masterbath and when I think about my sister-in-law having a bidet, that's not something that she can hardly hide after use.

So I don't feel that I have a fetish despite belonging to Zity. I enjoy a good enema but hardly go over the edge seeking out exotic equipment. As for my husband, I'm the one that usually will prod him into taking one, but I also have to remind him to make doctors' appointments,, clip his nose and ear hairs, and even get haircuts. Don't get me wrong because here are those times when both he and I will enjoy the experience of a bag of warm soapy water.

I have no idea if they are a women's thing or not because I never had one until I was in my 30s. Also, we didn't use them at home and I never heard any friends discuss enemas. Maybe I led to sheltered of a life.

As observed earlier in this thread it would appear that by far the majority of those who use colonic irrigation therapy are women.Many years ago when I was at a heallth spa which I thought offered colonics when I tried to make an appointment was told that it was only avaiable for women patients.

Also it is noteable that here in the UK all TV ads for constipation rtelief always feature women never mencould this mean that the fair sex is more likely more likely to seek instant relief using enemas and suppositories.

I think that women giving enemas are viewed as care givers whereas men giving enemas would be viewed as perverts.

Consider vintage photos of medical treatments in hospitals, sanitariums and health spas in the "old days." Most patients appear to be female, all the nurses are female. Rarely a male in sight. We see an "enema cart" or tray laden with towels, jug of water, soap, a funnel attached to a long tube – perhaps a metal bedpan is visible – while the patient waits anxiously for the nurse to give her an enema.

Oh, my! The nurses will keep her in bed to release the enema in the bedpan! So embarrassing! She looks up from bed while the nurse folds down the covers, helps turn her onto her side to expose her behind, and lubricates several inches of the soft rubber tube for insertion.

It's uncommon to find a vintage photo of a male being given an enema in a hospital setting. Another image, another sign that decades ago, "enemas were once more of a woman's thing."

I agree with Vicki’s observation that the majority of vintage photos of enemas show females both giving and receiving. In past years, the women of the family almost always attended to the health needs of the family. And in the hospital setting, the vast majority of nurses were women. This has changed in recent years, but when I was younger there were no male nurses in my experience.