Bottom shaming, shame anxiety, and sexual wellbeing

‘Bottom shaming’ refers to the way in which men experience shame due to engaging inreceptive anal intercourse, or ‘bottoming’. While regularly discussed in an array of online andoffline LGBTQ+ media, bottom shaming has seldom been explored academically, as a conceptand in relation to the sexual wellbeing of gay, bisexual, and men who have sex with men(GBMSM). This article explores what is meant by ‘bottom shaming’, how it developedhistorically and transculturally, and draws on the concept of shame anxiety to suggest waysin which GBMSM can experience shame in relation to bottoming. It argues that shame can beanticipated in both clinical and non-clinical contexts, and that the anticipation of shame dueto bottoming can cause a range of anxieties that can impede sexual wellbeing.