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Savage Love

Dan Savage

Published on December 27, 2006

This isn't the sort of question you usually answer, but I hope you will consider it anyway.

I was in a good relationship with a guy, Enis for naming's sake, for three years. About a year ago, Enis asked me if we could have anal sex. I might lose your sympathy here, but I have no interest in anal sex at all. I had a traumatic experience with anal sex that resulted in some permanent damage; I cannot do it without a lot of pain.

I told Enis no and that I was surprised he asked given my past. I offered to do him, if that was what he was looking for. He refused, telling me he wasn't gay. He asked me to reconsider a few more times, but I always told him no. Enis even attempted to just "add it in" while we were having sex once. It fucking hurt, and I flipped out on him. I told him I wasn't going to change my mind, and if he had to have anal sex then he could have it with someone else, giving him an out if it mattered that much to him.

A month ago, we were making love. I was restrained to the bed; we did this all the time. The next thing I knew, he's fingering my anus. I told him to stop, but he wouldn't. He took his time, stretching and lubing. I was screaming and crying for him to stop the whole time. I won't get into how much it hurt, but suffice it to say, I nearly passed out from blood loss as a result of his tearing open old scars. He freaked out when he saw the amount of blood on the bed and called 911. (This was after he'd had an orgasm). I spent a week in the hospital and ended up with 30 stitches to rerepair the damage. I'm still in a lot of pain.

I refused to see him while I was in the hospital. I didn't take his calls. I gave the flowers he sent to other patients. He utterly and completely betrayed my trust. I trusted him with my safety when I let him restrain me, and he took advantage and hurt me. I want nothing to do with him ever again. I've been told he's been on suicide watch at the local hospital several times since the incident. His friends and family tell me he's sorry, that he didn't mean to hurt me, and that I should forgive him. I realize that he may have not intended to hurt me; he did use lubrication, and attempted to open me up a bit first. If he had meant to hurt me then he would have just shoved his way in. But the fact is, I said no.

So, my question to you: Do I forgive him or let him wallow in guilt? I'm not traumatized (emotionally anyway), though of course my heart is broken, and I know I'll move on. I am not pursuing legal action. He and his family paid for my medical bills and other expenses.

Thank you for your time.

No Cute Acronym

Forgive him? Your ex wants you to forgive him? His friends and family are pestering you about forgiving him?

Good fucking God.

Your ex should get down on his knees twice a day and thank his lucky fucking stars that you didn't press charges. He raped you—you know that, right? The word "rape" doesn't appear anywhere in your letter, NCA, which I hope isn't a sign that you see this "incident" as anything other than a full-blown sexual assault. So what if Enis used lube? So what if he took his time? Some rapists use condoms and say "please" and "thank you." They're still rapists.

And, I'm sorry, but why aren't you pressing charges?

On to Enis: So your ex feels awful about this. The poor little douche feels so very, very terrible that he's had to be hospitalized. Why, he's even contemplated suicide. Good. He should feel terrible. Forever. Which is why I hereby forbid you to forgive Enis. Ever. Make the mistake of forgiving this speck of shit, NCA, and 10 minutes later a little voice in the back of his head would start telling him that this rape wasn't that big a deal—after all, the woman he tied up, anally raped, and landed in the hospital didn't press charges...she even forgave him...how bad could it really have been...no reason he shouldn't pull this same stunt with his next girlfriend....

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