Figging is the practice of inserting a piece of ginger root into the anus, vagina or male urethra. Originally applied to horses in a practice known as gingering, it now most commonly refers to a practice in BDSM.
The ginger, skinned and often carved into the shape of a butt plug, causes an intense burning sensation and discomfort to the subject.[1]
If the person being figged tightens the muscles of the anus, the sensation becomes more intense.[2] For this reason it is rumored to have been done to wives in the Victorian age to prevent them from clenching during a spanking.[2]
As with butt plugs, there is a danger of the ginger root entering the rectum completely, becoming irretrievable. The chance of this can be reduced by carving a wider base.[3]
Figging...To treat a horse in such a way as to make the animal appear lively, as by putting a piece of ginger into the anus.