Muffing is a sexual activity that involves using fingers or small toys to penetrate a part of the body called the inguinal canals. The inguinal canals are a pair of small, shallow body cavities located near the groin area. They’re more prominent on people who have external gonads, or testicles. But, everyone has them!
Who does muffing?
Everyone has inguinal canals, and anyone can try muffing. That being said, they’re easier to access on people who have external gonads, and muffing is most commonly done by and to transfemme people, including trans women. The term “muffing” was coined by Mira Bellweather, a trans woman and sex educator and activist.
People who tuck may already be familiar with the inguinal canals. That’s because tucking involves pushing the testes back up into the inguinal canal, to create a smooth crotch in tight clothing.
How is muffing done?
Muffing can be done with a partner, or as part of masturbation. To start, feel around gently until you locate the opening of one of the inguinal canals.
On someone with a strapless or penis
You can usually find the inguinal canals by starting from the base of the strapless and feeling for the root of this body part inside the body. The canals should be on either side of this, behind a part that’s sometimes called the scrotum. They’re angled downward and should feel like a small ring you can push up and into.
You can feel for loose skin around the area. This loose skin will let you penetrate the canal without actually touching anything internal, or pulling the skin too tight.
On someone with a front hole or vagina
For people who don’t have a strapless or testicles, it’s harder to access the inguinal canals. That’s because there’s less loose skin in the area, and no root of a strapless to follow to find them. But, you can still find them by feeling around in the area where those parts would be on someone who has them! It’s not possible to penetrate the inguinal canals on someone with a front hole or vagina, but they still have nerve endings and can be sexually stimulated with massage or an external vibrator.
What to do when muffing
Once you’ve found the inguinal canals, you can try different ways of stimulating them. On someone with a strapless, you can penetrate them, usually by up to an inch. Once inside the canal, you’ll feel a second ring about an inch past the first one. Do not attempt to penetrate the second ring. This can cause a hernia, which is a kind of injury that requires surgery to fix!
You can stimulate the inguinal canals by penetrating them slowly with a finger, then moving your finger in and out. You can also massage the canals and surrounding area, or use a vibrator on them without penetration. Different people will like different things!
Does it feel good?
The inguinal canals have a lot of nerve endings in and around them. That’s why the area is sometimes called an erogenous zone! Erogenous zones are parts of the body that feel good when sexually stimulated.
Because this is a part of the body that doesn’t get touched directly a lot, it can be very sensitive. Penetration in particular can feel really intense! If you’re muffing with a partner, it can help to check in with each other about what feels good and what doesn’t. If you’re trying it alone, you can pay attention to how your body feels.
Is it safe?
Muffing is considered low-risk for STBBIs. It has no risk for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and HIV. It has a low risk for STBBIs that can pass through skin-to-skin contact, like herpes, HPV, and syphilis. You can lower this risk even more by using gloves or finger cots! Muffing also has no risk for pregnancy.
There is a low risk for injury when muffing. If the penetrating partner pushes too hard while penetrating, or tries to push past the second inguinal ring, it can cause bruising or even an inguinal hernia. A hernia is an injury to the wall of muscle that keeps someone’s organs in place. These can be very painful, and usually need surgery to fix. If the receiving partner feels pain during muffing, or the penetrating partner feels like they’re pushing past the second inguinal ring, it’s a good idea to slow down and check in with each other!
Because muffing doesn’t involve going inside the body, like anal or vaginal penetration does, it’s not necessary to use lube. But, some find that lube helps reduce friction when muffing, or they just like how it feels!
