Missionary position
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The missionary position or man-on-top position is a
The missionary position is the most common sex position, but it is not universally regarded as the most favoured one.
Etymology and other usage
A common story and belief is that the term 'missionary position' arose in connection with English-speaking
The French refer to it as the 'classical' position.
In 2001, Robert Priest examined the origins of the term and concluded that Kinsey had confused several factors in accidentally coining the term.[12] First, according to Malinowski, Trobrianders played and sang mocking songs under the full moon, and not around a campfire. In Sexual Behaviors, Kinsey wrote that the Trobrianders mocked face-to-face man-on-top woman-below intercourse, but does not give context. He mentioned that the position was learned from "white traders, planters, or officials", but does not discuss missionaries. Kinsey also recalled that the medieval Catholic Church taught the position, and upon seeing the natives mocking it, assumed that missionaries had taught it to them. Finally, Malinowski wrote that he saw an engaged Trobriand couple holding hands and leaning against each other, which the natives described as misinari si bubunela — the 'missionary fashion'. Upon accidentally combining these similar facts, Kinsey invented a new phrase despite believing that he was reporting an old one.[12]
From then on, the story of the name's origin may have been retold until it became largely accepted, with its connection to Kinsey and Malinowski having faded. Writers began using the expression for sexual intercourse in the late 1960s, and as Alex Comfort's bestseller The Joy of Sex (1972) and the Oxford English Dictionary (1976) spread the term 'missionary position', it gradually replaced older names.[14] By the 1990s, it had spread to other languages: 'Missionarsstellung' (German), 'postura del misionero' (Spanish), 'missionarishouding' (Dutch) and 'position du missionaire' (French).[12]
Variations
Though there are a number of variations and adoptions of the missionary position, the classic missionary position involves a man and a woman, with the woman lying on her back and the man on top. Variations in the positions may vary the angle and depth of penile penetration.
Basic position
In the missionary position, a woman lies on her back on a bed or other surface with her legs comfortably spread with the soles of the feet resting. The penetrating partner positions himself between the woman's spread legs, and either uses his arms to hold himself up, or lets his weight rest on her. When the woman's vagina is sufficiently lubricated, which may involve
With the penis inside the woman's vagina, the man can control the force, depth, and rhythm of thrusts, and can also control to some extent the female partner's movements. Subject to the man's weight and position, the woman may have some control by pushing her feet and legs against the mattress and by side movements in her pelvis as well as by clutching onto and moving with her partner.[15] A woman can increase the force of a man's thrust by moving against the man's rhythm.
The man may straddle the woman, taking the woman's legs between his. This restricts and further controls the woman's movements, and the man can increase the tightness on the penis by pressing the woman's thighs together. However, this increases vaginal friction and makes thrusting more difficult.
During sexual intercourse, most women experience involuntary
During sexual intercourse in the missionary position, the penis is in preferential contact with the
Position of legs
A receiving woman's legs and arms are generally free to move about, though her position and movement may be constrained by the penetrating partner's weight and in some other way. A woman can adjust the position of her legs for comfort, variety and to control the angle and depth of penetration. Generally, the higher a woman's legs, the deeper is the penetration. When the legs are raised in any way, the woman has less control of the rhythm of thrusts. Also, raising the legs raises the woman's pelvis, reduces the angle of penetration, and lowers the level of clitoral stimulation.
A woman's legs can remain flat or raised toward her chest, or wrapped around the penetrating partner at various heights: at the back of the legs, at the buttocks or back or over the shoulders, in a position called the Wiener Auster or Viennese oyster.[18] In the higher leg positions the woman's legs may need some support, which may be achieved by crossing the ankles behind the partner or resting on his shoulders. She may also hold them with her hands or cross her arms around them at the knees. Some are flexible enough to cross the legs behind their heads. Alternatively, her partner may hold her legs up.[19]
A pillow or
In one variant, the woman may lift and slightly bend her legs, resting her feet flat on the bed. This shortens the distance between the
Placing the woman's legs on or over the man's shoulders provides the deepest possible penetration. This variant is sometimes called the anvil.[26] This position aims the head of the penis at the vaginal fornix (posterior fornix). When the legs are held mid-level in this way, the penis can achieve significant depth while attempting to stimulate the G-Spot and achieving more friction on the top of its shaft.[citation needed]
Viennese oyster position
The Viennese oyster position requires the female to lie on her back and position her legs behind her head, with the groin area being completely exposed. The male partner penetrates the vagina from the top. In some cases, the male partner can help hold the female's legs in position and continue on with intercourse.[27]
Butterfly position

In the butterfly position, the woman can lie on her back with her hips on the edge of a platform such as a bed, table, kitchen bench, desk, etc.[28] while the man penetrates her while standing.
Riding high
In the riding high missionary variant, the man enters the woman and then shifts his body up and forward toward her head. He then rocks back and forth, stimulating her clitoris with his pelvic bone, or base of his penis. This results in more consistent clitoral stimulation at the cost of a man's deep thrusting; accordingly, some men prefer to use it during only part of sex.[29]
Anal sex, tribadism and other aspects
Penetrative anal sex may be performed on a partner in the missionary position.[4] The legs may be raised high, with the knees drawn towards their chest, and with some sort of support (such as a pillow) under the receiver's hips for comfort and to raise the receiver's buttocks. The penetrating partner positions himself between the receiver's legs and aligns his penis with the anus for anal penetration. Instead of penetration, an active partner may perform anilingus on the partner with raised legs.
Tribadism between women may be performed in the missionary position.[30][31] The practice involves women rubbing their vulvas against each other.[32][33] Female couples may also engage in the missionary position while one or both partners use their fingers or sex toys for stimulation of the clitoris,[4] other parts of the vulva, or vagina.
Perceived advantages and disadvantages
Psychological
There are many appealing psychological aspects of the missionary position. It is often regarded as a romantic position because the two partners face each other and may maintain eye contact; there is potentially a greater amount of skin-to-skin contact than in any other position; and the couple can hold each other in their arms, which can easily segue into cuddling when sex is over.[citation needed] Partners may engage in other intimate contact, such as kissing, or guiding each other's hips with their hands.[34][35][36]
At the same time, the woman needs a high level of trust in the man on top who is in a dominant position vis-a-vis the woman below. The trust is demonstrated by the woman spreading her legs in an implicit invitation for the man on top to enter the most sexually sensitive part of her body.[6] This, as well as her lack of control, the social expectation of passivity of the woman and the possibility of pregnancy, heightens her feeling of vulnerability. Her lack of control is accentuated because once the man is in place, he is very difficult to dislodge without his co-operation. With the man's weight on the woman, especially on her pelvis, the man has control of the rhythm and depth of his thrusts,[6] as well as the duration and intensity of the sexual activity, which may continue after the woman has orgasmed.
Physical
The missionary position is commonly used the first time a couple has sex. Thomas Stuttaford notes that it may be more comfortable to do so: "The discomfort of early penetrative sex, if there is any, is usually related to tension in the pelvic or thigh muscles and/or anxiety that has prevented the usual vaginal lubrication. Muscles of the pelvic floor are more relaxed if, initially, the missionary position is chosen and a couple of pillows are arranged under the woman's bottom so her hips are tilted upwards."[37] The Lovers' Guide states that missionary lends itself well to sex with a new partner as it is "a romantic yet fairly unadventurous sex position" that is "non-threatening and loving" and "lays neither partner open to strangeness, anxiety and unfamiliarity."[26]
On the other hand, Sacha Tarkovsky advises women to not use the missionary position when having sex for the first time, stating, "You are not in control, and it will be more painful and you cannot do anything but lay [sic] there and take it." Tarkovsky recommends positions such as woman on top that allow the woman to control the speed and pressure at which she loses her hymen.[38] However, it may not be necessary to completely forgo missionary the first time; Alphonso Sirtle suggests starting with woman on top until the hymen is torn, and then possibly switching to missionary or whatever other position is preferred.[39]
The missionary position allows easy entry into the vagina. The man can use force and gravity to help himself in,[40] and the position allows the woman to relax her vaginal muscles and help her partner guide his penis gently in with her hand.[41] Suzi Godson said, "In an observational study carried out in The Netherlands, magnetic resonance imaging was used to study the male and female genitals during coitus. The images illustrate the very natural fit of the male and female genitals in [the missionary] position. The penis has the shape of a boomerang—one third of its length consists of the root of the penis—and the vaginal walls wrap snugly around it."[37][42]
According to Sexual Health Resource, "The man-on-top sex positions are very good for couples who are trying to have a baby, because penetration can be very deep. If the woman holds on to her legs behind her knees and draws her thighs right back, sperm can be deposited deep in the vagina—at the neck of the womb. This provided the best chance of conception occurring."[7] Francoeur states that "male-above sex promotes fertility by keeping the opening of the vagina higher than the seminal pool, which, in turn, helps sperm get into the womb and find the egg."[43] However, according to BabyCenter, "There is no evidence that any particular sexual position is more likely to lead to conception."[44] Donnica Moore agrees, stating that while there are no scientific studies regarding the best sexual positions for reproduction, the missionary (man on top) position is typically considered optimal for conception.[45]
Pregnancy Info states that the missionary position may become increasingly awkward for pregnant women as their belly begins to grow.[46] The March of Dimes notes, "Positions that work before pregnancy and early in pregnancy can be uncomfortable or even unsafe at later stages of the baby's development. For example, a woman should avoid lying flat on her back after the fourth month of pregnancy, because the weight of the growing uterus puts pressure on major blood vessels."[47] David Port states, "Beginning early in the second trimester, doctors tend to discourage pregnant women from supine exercise. And the missionary position is exactly that kind of exercise, at least if the activity lasts more than a few fleeting moments."[48]
The deep penetration and large hip thrusts of the missionary position can cause the man to reach orgasm quickly compared to other positions, which can be problematic if the couple seeks to reach simultaneous orgasm.[49] The male reaching orgasm first can be disruptive to sex, as 50% of penile erection is lost immediately after ejaculation,[50] making him more likely to inadvertently slip out of the vagina, especially during the strong pelvic contractions of female orgasm. In addition to the standard methods for treating premature ejaculation, Zachary Veilleux notes that this problem can be overcome by workarounds such as changing positions frequently (which studies have shown delays male orgasm by a factor of two-three), using lubrication to reduce friction (friction stimulates the male but is not as important in female orgasm), or switching to cunnilingus for a while when close to ejaculation, and then switching back when ejaculation is no longer imminent.[51]
The missionary position is sometimes mocked as a plain
The missionary position has potential for clitoral stimulation in several ways. Christakos assures, "This position can give the woman plenty of clitoral stimulation if the man leans forward thus rubbing his pelvic bone against her clitoris."[57] Emily Queenie Chung notes, "Also, this position is the easiest for a woman to stimulate her clitoris manually."[58] Sexual Health Resource notes that also "the man can reach under and stimulate his partner using his fingers on her clitoris" although "the man has limited use of his hands" (presumably this would depend on the variant of the position used and whether the man's hands are occupied holding himself up).[7]

Since in women the movements of the penis in and out do not stimulate the clitoral glans continuously, women have discovered the "rocking" movement technique. A study of over 3000 American women found that 76% of women use the technique because they find it sexually arousing, while the penis is in their vagina and barely moving, to rub their clitoris against the base of the penis.[59] Rocking is among the techniques that allow a man to mitigate the rise of his arousal, because the penis receives little friction. Unless he suffers from premature ejaculation, he can thus prevent the orgasm in himself while promoting arousal in the woman.[60] This technique is known as the coital alignment technique.
Sexual activity in the missionary position, as a form of physical exercise, may be slightly more vigorous for the man than in other positions. A study conducted by Bohlen et al. found that "man-on-top coitus required more metabolic expenditure than woman-on-top coitus" and that the heart rate during man-on-top sex was higher than in self-stimulation, partner stimulation, or woman-on-top.[61] In contrast, one study showed that there was no difference in heart rate or blood pressure when comparing these two basic positions, while another showed only a minor decrease in oxygen consumption or exertion with a man-on-bottom position during orgasm.[62]
History



The position has been used at least for millennia if not longer since it is also used by the great apes,
In ancient Greece, the missionary position was originally an unpopular position. Beds existed, yet not as we know them today, and men married girls 14 or 15 years of age, which created a height differential. These factors made the rear-entry standing position more convenient.[68] However, circa the second century, Artemidorus popularized the missionary position among Greco-Roman Stoics, declaring it "the only proper and natural" position due to the flow of semen.
Although the Bible does not mention sexual positions[citation needed], from the 6th to 16th centuries, some Church authorities taught that intercourse should be face-to-face, man-on-top, primarily because they believed that semen flows with gravity, leading to conception.[10] Exceptions were made for couples dealing with illness, obesity, or pregnancy. According to John Bancroft's Human Sexuality and Its Problems, Thomas Aquinas believed that crimes against nature included intercourse in "unnatural" ways. Protestants did not communicate proper sex positions, and the Catholic Church eventually abandoned its discourse on the topic.[69] Simon Hardy wrote that the missionary position was used to distinguish "bestial and civilized sex."[70]
Others who held that missionary was the only permitted position included
D'Emilio and Freedman, who are historians of sexuality, note that historical use of the missionary position in the US is marked by social class as well as ethnicity.[75] In the 19th century, white settlers and Protestant missionaries who moved West attempted to assimilate Native American, Mexican, and immigrant peoples into the sexual values held by the middle classes in the American north. These authors also note that the Kinsey studies revealed social class influences, with working class men preferring to use the missionary position over other sexual positions.[75]
Popularity
Among humans, the missionary position is the most commonly used sex position.
See also
- Human sexuality
- Penile-vaginal intercourse
References
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External links
- The How and Why of Coital Alignment Technique (archived in Wayback Machine)
- Easier Orgasms for Women in the Missionary Position at The Psychology Today