Missionary position
Encyclopedia
The missionary position is a "man-on-top" sex position usually described as the act in which the woman lies on her back and the partners face each other. Though often acted on and applied by heterosexual
pairings, it may also be used by gay
and lesbian
couples.
The missionary position is an example of ventro-ventral copulation. Variations of the position allow varying degrees of vaginal tightness
, clitoral stimulation
, depth of penetration, participation on the part of the woman, and likelihood and speed of orgasm
.
A common myth states that the term "missionary position" arose in response to Christian
missionaries
, who taught that the position was the only proper way to engage in sexual intercourse
. This explanation probably originated from Alfred Kinsey
's Sexual Behavior in the Human Male
through a confluence of misunderstandings and misinterpretations of historical documents. Tuscans
refer to the position as "The Angelic Position" while some Arab
ic-speaking groups call it "the manner of serpents."
The missionary position is often preferred by couples who enjoy its romantic qualities afforded by copious skin-to-skin contact and opportunities to look into each other's eyes and kiss
and caress each other. The position is also believed to be a good position for procreation. In heterosexual sex, missionary allows the man to take charge of the rhythm and depth of thrusting. It is also possible for the woman to thrust against him by moving her hips or pushing her feet against the bed, or squeeze him closer with her arms or legs. The position is less suitable for late stages of pregnancy
, or when it is desired for the woman to have greater control over rhythm and depth of penetration.
as well as in the art of Early Greeks, Romans
, Peruvians, Indians
, Chinese
and Japanese
. The majority of the positions described in the Kama Sutra
involve the woman lying on her back with her legs in a variety of positions. According to Canongate, ancient art shows missionary as being less popular than woman-on-top positions in Ur, Greece, Rome, Peru, India, China and Japan. But Francoeur states that the ancient Chinese preferred male-on-top because of their belief that males are born face down and women face up. Kagaba natives in Colombia preferred missionary because of the stability it offers; they believed that if the woman moved during intercourse, the earth would slip off the shoulders of the four giants who held it up above the waters. Some Kerala
tribes believe that the male-on-top position is the only way to conceive warriors.
In 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. However, circa the second century, Artemidos 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, 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. 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. Simon Hardy wrote that the missionary position was used to distinguish "bestial and civilized sex."
Others who held that missionary was the only permitted position included Alexander of Hales
and the author of De secretis mulierum, who suggested that nonstandard positions might result in birth defects. Ruth Mazo Karras states that William Peraldus' treatise Summa de virtutibus et vitiis distinguished between sins against nature that were "according to the substance" (intercourse other than vaginal) and "according to the manner, as when a woman mounts." Nicholas Venette's 1770s-era sex manual praised the missionary position as the "common posture...which is most allowable and most voluptuous." Numerous sources have reported that in the United States
, some states had outlawed positions other than missionary between husband and wife, or will grant a divorce to a woman whose husband makes love to her in another position. While many states formerly outlawed oral sex
, anal sex
, buggery
, or other "unnatural" acts, no US law has banned dorso-ventral heterosexual sex, or specified which partner needed to be on top.
"the male superior position". In 1948, Kinsey published the male volume of the Kinsey Reports
, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. He described the American preference for the position and called it "the English-American position." Discussing Malinowski's The Sexual Life of Savages in North-Wester Melanesia, Kinsey wrote, "It will be recalled that Malinowski (1929) records the nearly universal use of a totally different position among the Trobrianders ... [and] ... that caricatures of the English-American position are performed around ... campfires, to the great amusement of the natives who refer to the position as the 'missionary position.'" To date, lexicographers and sexologists have not found use of the term "missionary position" prior to Kinsey.
In 2001, Robert Priest examined the origins of the term and concluded that Kinsey had confused several factors in accidentally coining the term. 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 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.
From then on, the story of the name's "origin" was retold until it became largely accepted, and its connection to Kinsey and Malinowski faded. Writers began using the expression for 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. By the 1990s, it had spread to other languages: Missionarsstellung (German
), postura del misionero (Spanish
), missionarishouding (Dutch
) and position du missionaire (French
).
.
Pillow
s (especially firm ones) are commonly used in the missionary position. A wedge- or ramp-shaped pillow can relieve pressure on the top person's hands and arms, and strategic placement can manipulate the depth and angle of penetration. Placing a pillow under the woman's buttocks can lift her pelvis—a Playboy
article suggested placing it under her hips to increase pressure on the clitoris
, and Men's Health
recommended placing it under the small of her back; each of these methods grants deeper penetration. Raising the clitoris generally allows easier access to it in this position. Using a pillow can also help the woman arch her back and avoid backache.
An MRI study determined that during sexual intercourse in the missionary position, the penis is in preferential contact with the anterior wall of the vagina and the tip of the penis reaches the anterior fornix, while in the rear-entry position it is in preferential contact with the posterior wall of the vagina and probably reaches the posterior fornix.
' Lysistrata
likely refer to it when they take an oath "not to lift high their Persian slippers" (οὐ πρὸς τὸν ὄροφον ἀνατενῶ τὼ Περσικά ou pros ton orophon anateuō tō Persika).
In one variant, the woman may lift and slightly bend her legs, resting her feet flat on the mattress. This shortens the distance between the vagina
and cervix
, and can apply more friction to the G-Spot
. The woman may find this more comfortable than the standard position, and it can allow her to push against the man's thrust, giving her some control over the rhythm.
Placing the woman's legs on or over the man's shoulders provides the deepest possible penetration. This variant is sometimes called "the anvil". This position aims the head of the penis at the posterior fornix
. When the legs are held mid-level in this way, the penis can achieve great depth while stimulating the G-spot and achieving more friction on the top of its shaft.
Some women enjoy the feeling of total submission or being trapped. Women who enjoy being passive and carrying the man's weight may find the missionary position the most rewarding. Some people find it appealing that the man has control of the rhythm and depth of his thrusts. The missionary position may also be ideal for women who want to be "taken" by the man and want to feel overpowered.
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 there and take it." She recommends positions such as woman on top
that allow the woman to control the speed and pressure at which she loses her hymen. 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.
The missionary position allows easy entry into the vagina. The man can use force and gravity to help himself in, and the position allows the woman to relax her vaginal muscles and help her partner guide his penis gently in with her hand. 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."
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." Journal-a-Day considers, "This position permits the penis to lock securely within the vagina and hence there is no waste matter of ejaculate. For adult males with short members and low sperm cell counts, this is very beneficial." Getting Pregnant Tips notes the importance of not using too large a sex pillow
while in the missionary position as it can cause the sperm to pool behind the cervix. 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." Nonetheless, according to BabyCenter, "There is no evidence that any particular sexual position is more likely to lead to conception." Donnica Moore
counters this by stating that while there are no scientific studies regarding the best sexual positions for baby-making, the missionary (man on top) position is typically considered optimal for conception.
Pregnancy Info states that the missionary position may become increasingly awkward for pregnant women as their belly begins to grow. 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." 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."
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. The male reaching orgasm first can be disruptive to sex, as 50% of penile erection is lost immediately after ejaculation, 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 2-3), 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.
The missionary position is sometimes derided as a plain vanilla sex
position. Archer stated, "To all the sex gymnasts, this kind of banal preference looks lazy, unimaginative and uninformed," but she rebuts this by pointing out the existence of variations: "Missionary is kind of like tofu: You have to add your own flavor." Perhaps due to the ubiquity of this position, its typical role as the first position used by couples, its tendency to put the man in control of speed, tempo and depth, its ability to cause him to quickly reach orgasm, and the fact that it is literally a "male-superior" position with the man on top, missionary is sometimes associated with men who are dominating and uncreative and selfish about sex. According to Gina Ogden, "the cultural missionary position – man on top" is not conducive to romance since "If a relationship is based on authoritarian control, keeping one person on top and the other underneath, it gets old pretty fast – for both partners, really". In Women Who Love Sex, Ogden writes, "Think what will happen to the missionary position when women, en masse, opt for pleasures that stir body and soul instead of continuing to do good-girl intercourse by the book." In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart
, the main character ridicules the idea of women making decisions by saying that one might as well say that the woman lies on top of the man when they are making the baby.
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." Emily Queenie Chung notes, "Also, this position is the easiest for a woman to stimulate her clitoris manually." 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).
Sex 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. But 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 the 'man-on-bottom' technique during orgasm.
stated that 91% of married women surveyed reported using this position most often, whereas 9% reported using it exclusively. A Journal of Sexual Medicine study entitled What Kind of Erotic Film Clips Should We Use in Female Sex Research? An Exploratory Study selected 18 film clips out of a sample of 90 that were found by the women studied to be particularly mentally appealing and visually arousing. 21% of the original 90 involved the missionary position, but 33% of the final 18 involved missionary. Fewer than 10% of sexually active persons rarely or never use the missionary position. According to Francoeur, the Brazilian Bororo Indians eschew missionary, finding it insulting for either partner to be above the other during sex. Bali
nese shun the man-on-top position in favor of the "lotus position", in which intercourse is performed while the man is sitting down and the woman is squatting on top of the man's legs while facing him, and she moves her hips up and down. The inhabitants of Inis Beag
practice the missionary position exclusively, with very limited foreplay. In addition to humans, the missionary position is also used by certain other species including bonobo
s, gorillas and armadillo
s.
Heterosexuality
Heterosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, physical or romantic attractions to persons of the opposite sex";...
pairings, it may also be used by gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
couples.
The missionary position is an example of ventro-ventral copulation. Variations of the position allow varying degrees of vaginal tightness
Vagina
The vagina is a fibromuscular tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. Female insects and other invertebrates also have a vagina, which is the terminal part of the...
, clitoral stimulation
Clitoris
The clitoris is a sexual organ that is present only in female mammals. In humans, the visible button-like portion is located near the anterior junction of the labia minora, above the opening of the urethra and vagina. Unlike the penis, which is homologous to the clitoris, the clitoris does not...
, depth of penetration, participation on the part of the woman, and likelihood and speed of orgasm
Orgasm
Orgasm is the peak of the plateau phase of the sexual response cycle, characterized by an intense sensation of pleasure...
.
A common myth states that the term "missionary position" arose in response to Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
missionaries
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
, who taught that the position was the only proper way to engage in sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
. This explanation probably originated from Alfred Kinsey
Alfred Kinsey
Alfred Charles Kinsey was an American biologist and professor of entomology and zoology, who in 1947 founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, now known as the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, as well as producing the Kinsey Reports and the Kinsey...
's Sexual Behavior in the Human Male
Kinsey Reports
The Kinsey Reports are two books on human sexual behavior, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female , by Dr. Alfred Kinsey, Wardell Pomeroy and others and published by Saunders...
through a confluence of misunderstandings and misinterpretations of historical documents. Tuscans
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
refer to the position as "The Angelic Position" while some Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
ic-speaking groups call it "the manner of serpents."
The missionary position is often preferred by couples who enjoy its romantic qualities afforded by copious skin-to-skin contact and opportunities to look into each other's eyes and kiss
Kiss
A kiss is the act of pressing one's lips against the lips or other body parts of another person or of an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, affection, respect, greeting, friendship, and good...
and caress each other. The position is also believed to be a good position for procreation. In heterosexual sex, missionary allows the man to take charge of the rhythm and depth of thrusting. It is also possible for the woman to thrust against him by moving her hips or pushing her feet against the bed, or squeeze him closer with her arms or legs. The position is less suitable for late stages of pregnancy
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
, or when it is desired for the woman to have greater control over rhythm and depth of penetration.
History
The position has been used at least for millennia if not longer since it is also used by the great apes, as well as other primates. Robert Francoeur notes that evidence of the missionary position's use appears in ancient pottery and art in the Fertile CrescentFertile Crescent
The Fertile Crescent, nicknamed "The Cradle of Civilization" for the fact the first civilizations started there, is a crescent-shaped region containing the comparatively moist and fertile land of otherwise arid and semi-arid Western Asia. The term was first used by University of Chicago...
as well as in the art of Early Greeks, Romans
Roman art
Roman art has the visual arts made in Ancient Rome, and in the territories of the Roman Empire. Major forms of Roman art are architecture, painting, sculpture and mosaic work...
, Peruvians, Indians
Indian art
Indian Art is the visual art produced on the Indian subcontinent from about the 3rd millennium BC to modern times. To viewers schooled in the Western tradition, Indian art may seem overly ornate and sensuous; appreciation of its refinement comes only gradually, as a rule. Voluptuous feeling is...
, Chinese
Chinese art
Chinese art is visual art that, whether ancient or modern, originated in or is practiced in China or by Chinese artists or performers. Early so-called "stone age art" dates back to 10,000 BC, mostly consisting of simple pottery and sculptures. This early period was followed by a series of art...
and Japanese
Japanese art
Japanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media, including ancient pottery, sculpture in wood and bronze, ink painting on silk and paper and more recently manga, cartoon, along with a myriad of other types of works of art...
. The majority of the positions described in the Kama Sutra
Kama Sutra
The Kama Sutra is an ancient Indian Hindu text widely considered to be the standard work on human sexual behavior in Sanskrit literature written by Vātsyāyana. A portion of the work consists of practical advice on sexual intercourse. It is largely in prose, with many inserted anustubh poetry verses...
involve the woman lying on her back with her legs in a variety of positions. According to Canongate, ancient art shows missionary as being less popular than woman-on-top positions in Ur, Greece, Rome, Peru, India, China and Japan. But Francoeur states that the ancient Chinese preferred male-on-top because of their belief that males are born face down and women face up. Kagaba natives in Colombia preferred missionary because of the stability it offers; they believed that if the woman moved during intercourse, the earth would slip off the shoulders of the four giants who held it up above the waters. Some Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
tribes believe that the male-on-top position is the only way to conceive warriors.
In 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. However, circa the second century, Artemidos 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, 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. Exceptions were made for couples dealing with illness, obesity, or pregnancy. According to John Bancroft's Human Sexuality and Its Problems, Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
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. Simon Hardy wrote that the missionary position was used to distinguish "bestial and civilized sex."
Others who held that missionary was the only permitted position included Alexander of Hales
Alexander of Hales
Alexander Hales also called Doctor Irrefragabilis and Theologorum Monarcha was a notable thinker important in the history of scholasticism and the Franciscan School.-Life:Alexander was born at Hales ,...
and the author of De secretis mulierum, who suggested that nonstandard positions might result in birth defects. Ruth Mazo Karras states that William Peraldus' treatise Summa de virtutibus et vitiis distinguished between sins against nature that were "according to the substance" (intercourse other than vaginal) and "according to the manner, as when a woman mounts." Nicholas Venette's 1770s-era sex manual praised the missionary position as the "common posture...which is most allowable and most voluptuous." Numerous sources have reported that in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, some states had outlawed positions other than missionary between husband and wife, or will grant a divorce to a woman whose husband makes love to her in another position. While many states formerly outlawed oral sex
Oral sex
Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
, anal sex
Anal sex
Anal sex is the sex act in which the penis is inserted into the anus of a sexual partner. The term can also include other sexual acts involving the anus, including pegging, anilingus , fingering, and object insertion.Common misconception describes anal sex as practiced almost exclusively by gay men...
, buggery
Buggery
The British English term buggery is very close in meaning to the term sodomy, and is often used interchangeably in law and popular speech. It may be, also, a specific common law offence, encompassing both sodomy and bestiality.-In law:...
, or other "unnatural" acts, no US law has banned dorso-ventral heterosexual sex, or specified which partner needed to be on top.
Etymology
Before the release of Alfred Kinsey's work, the missionary position was known by several names, including "the matrimonial", "the Mama-Papa position", "the English-American position", and"the male superior position". In 1948, Kinsey published the male volume of the Kinsey Reports
Kinsey Reports
The Kinsey Reports are two books on human sexual behavior, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female , by Dr. Alfred Kinsey, Wardell Pomeroy and others and published by Saunders...
, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. He described the American preference for the position and called it "the English-American position." Discussing Malinowski's The Sexual Life of Savages in North-Wester Melanesia, Kinsey wrote, "It will be recalled that Malinowski (1929) records the nearly universal use of a totally different position among the Trobrianders ... [and] ... that caricatures of the English-American position are performed around ... campfires, to the great amusement of the natives who refer to the position as the 'missionary position.'" To date, lexicographers and sexologists have not found use of the term "missionary position" prior to Kinsey.
In 2001, Robert Priest examined the origins of the term and concluded that Kinsey had confused several factors in accidentally coining the term. 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 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.
From then on, the story of the name's "origin" was retold until it became largely accepted, and its connection to Kinsey and Malinowski faded. Writers began using the expression for intercourse in the late 1960s, and as Alex Comfort
Alex Comfort
Alexander Comfort, MB BChir, PhD, DSc was a medical professional, gerontologist, anarchist, pacifist, conscientious objector and writer, best known for The Joy of Sex, which played a part in what is often called the sexual revolution...
's bestseller The Joy of Sex
The Joy of Sex
The Joy of Sex is an illustrated sex manual by Alex Comfort, M.B., Ph.D., first published in 1972. An updated edition was released in September, 2008.-Overview:...
(1972) and the Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
(1976) spread the term "missionary position", it gradually replaced older names. By the 1990s, it had spread to other languages: Missionarsstellung (German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
), postura del misionero (Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
), missionarishouding (Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
) and position du missionaire (French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
).
Basic position
During intercourse in the missionary position, the woman lies on her back, with her legs either spread flat, drawn up toward the chest, or wrapped around the penetrating partner. The woman can wrap one or both of her legs around the man at various heights: at the back of his legs, at the buttocks or back, or over his shoulders. Generally, the higher the woman lifts her legs, the deeper the penetration. The man lies on his belly on top of the woman, with his legs between the receiving partner's legs, and his penis at the same level as the woman's vagina to facilitate penetrationSexual penetration
Sexual penetration is a sexual activity that involves the entry into a bodily orifice, such as the vagina, anus or mouth, with a body part or an object....
.
Pillow
Sex pillow
A sex pillow is a soft implement used to enhance sexual intercourse. An ordinary pillow can be used. But there are also specially-designed sex pillows. Some even have a high-density urethane core to balance firm support with softness...
s (especially firm ones) are commonly used in the missionary position. A wedge- or ramp-shaped pillow can relieve pressure on the top person's hands and arms, and strategic placement can manipulate the depth and angle of penetration. Placing a pillow under the woman's buttocks can lift her pelvis—a Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
article suggested placing it under her hips to increase pressure on the clitoris
Clitoris
The clitoris is a sexual organ that is present only in female mammals. In humans, the visible button-like portion is located near the anterior junction of the labia minora, above the opening of the urethra and vagina. Unlike the penis, which is homologous to the clitoris, the clitoris does not...
, and Men's Health
Men's Health (magazine)
Men's Health , published by Rodale Inc. in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, United States, is the world’s largest men’s magazine brand, with 44 editions around the world. It is also the best-selling men's magazine on U.S. newsstands. It covers fitness, nutrition, sexuality, lifestyle and other aspects of...
recommended placing it under the small of her back; each of these methods grants deeper penetration. Raising the clitoris generally allows easier access to it in this position. Using a pillow can also help the woman arch her back and avoid backache.
An MRI study determined that during sexual intercourse in the missionary position, the penis is in preferential contact with the anterior wall of the vagina and the tip of the penis reaches the anterior fornix, while in the rear-entry position it is in preferential contact with the posterior wall of the vagina and probably reaches the posterior fornix.
Legs up
"Legs-up" variants involve the woman raising her legs. These were exceptionally popular in Ancient Greece and were commonly depicted on Attic pottery of the Classical Period. The conspiring women in AristophanesAristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
' Lysistrata
Lysistrata
Lysistrata is one of eleven surviving plays written by Aristophanes. Originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC, it is a comic account of one woman's extraordinary mission to end The Peloponnesian War...
likely refer to it when they take an oath "not to lift high their Persian slippers" (οὐ πρὸς τὸν ὄροφον ἀνατενῶ τὼ Περσικά ou pros ton orophon anateuō tō Persika).
In one variant, the woman may lift and slightly bend her legs, resting her feet flat on the mattress. This shortens the distance between the vagina
Vagina
The vagina is a fibromuscular tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. Female insects and other invertebrates also have a vagina, which is the terminal part of the...
and cervix
Cervix
The cervix is the lower, narrow portion of the uterus where it joins with the top end of the vagina. It is cylindrical or conical in shape and protrudes through the upper anterior vaginal wall...
, and can apply more friction to the G-Spot
G-spot
The Gräfenberg Spot, often called the G-Spot, is a bean-shaped area of the vagina. Many women report that it is an erogenous zone which, when stimulated, can lead to strong sexual arousal, powerful orgasms and female ejaculation...
. The woman may find this more comfortable than the standard position, and it can allow her to push against the man's thrust, giving her some control over the rhythm.
Placing the woman's legs on or over the man's shoulders provides the deepest possible penetration. This variant is sometimes called "the anvil". This position aims the head of the penis at the posterior fornix
Vaginal fornix
The fornices of the vagina are the deepest portions of the vagina, extending into the recesses created by the vaginal portion of cervix. The word 'fornix' is Latin for 'arch'....
. When the legs are held mid-level in this way, the penis can achieve great depth while stimulating the G-spot and achieving more friction on the top of its shaft.
Riding high
In the riding high missionary variant, the man enters the woman in the normal fashion but 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.Psychological
There are many appealing psychological aspects of the missionary position. It is often regarded as a romantic position because the man and woman 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. Partners may engage in other intimate contact, such as kissing, or guiding each other's hips with their hands.Some women enjoy the feeling of total submission or being trapped. Women who enjoy being passive and carrying the man's weight may find the missionary position the most rewarding. Some people find it appealing that the man has control of the rhythm and depth of his thrusts. The missionary position may also be ideal for women who want to be "taken" by the man and want to feel overpowered.
Physical
The missionary position is commonly chosen for 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." The simplicity of the position makes it well-suited to the inexperienced. 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."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 there and take it." She recommends positions such as woman on top
Woman on Top
Woman on Top is a 2000 fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Fina Torres. It is set in Salvador, Brazil and San Francisco, United States. The film stars Penélope Cruz, Murilo Benício, Harold Perrineau Jr. and Mark Feuerstein. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2000 Cannes...
that allow the woman to control the speed and pressure at which she loses her hymen. 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.
The missionary position allows easy entry into the vagina. The man can use force and gravity to help himself in, and the position allows the woman to relax her vaginal muscles and help her partner guide his penis gently in with her hand. 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."
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." Journal-a-Day considers, "This position permits the penis to lock securely within the vagina and hence there is no waste matter of ejaculate. For adult males with short members and low sperm cell counts, this is very beneficial." Getting Pregnant Tips notes the importance of not using too large a sex pillow
Sex pillow
A sex pillow is a soft implement used to enhance sexual intercourse. An ordinary pillow can be used. But there are also specially-designed sex pillows. Some even have a high-density urethane core to balance firm support with softness...
while in the missionary position as it can cause the sperm to pool behind the cervix. 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." Nonetheless, according to BabyCenter, "There is no evidence that any particular sexual position is more likely to lead to conception." Donnica Moore
Donnica Moore
Donnica Moore is an American physician and women's health advocate, best known as an author and media commentator on women's health issues. Moore, who is known professionally as Dr. Donnica, has appeared multiple times on U.S. television shows such as CNN, the Tyra Banks Show, The View, ABC, and...
counters this by stating that while there are no scientific studies regarding the best sexual positions for baby-making, the missionary (man on top) position is typically considered optimal for conception.
Pregnancy Info states that the missionary position may become increasingly awkward for pregnant women as their belly begins to grow. The March of Dimes
March of Dimes
The March of Dimes Foundation is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies.-Organization:...
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." 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."
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. The male reaching orgasm first can be disruptive to sex, as 50% of penile erection is lost immediately after ejaculation, 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 2-3), 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.
The missionary position is sometimes derided as a plain vanilla sex
Vanilla sex
Vanilla sex is a description of what a culture regards as standard or conventional sexual behaviour. Different cultures, subcultures and individuals have different ideas about what constitutes this type of sex...
position. Archer stated, "To all the sex gymnasts, this kind of banal preference looks lazy, unimaginative and uninformed," but she rebuts this by pointing out the existence of variations: "Missionary is kind of like tofu: You have to add your own flavor." Perhaps due to the ubiquity of this position, its typical role as the first position used by couples, its tendency to put the man in control of speed, tempo and depth, its ability to cause him to quickly reach orgasm, and the fact that it is literally a "male-superior" position with the man on top, missionary is sometimes associated with men who are dominating and uncreative and selfish about sex. According to Gina Ogden, "the cultural missionary position – man on top" is not conducive to romance since "If a relationship is based on authoritarian control, keeping one person on top and the other underneath, it gets old pretty fast – for both partners, really". In Women Who Love Sex, Ogden writes, "Think what will happen to the missionary position when women, en masse, opt for pleasures that stir body and soul instead of continuing to do good-girl intercourse by the book." In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apartis a 1958 English language novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. It is a staple book in schools throughout Africa and widely read and studied in English-speaking countries around the world. It is seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English, and one of the first African...
, the main character ridicules the idea of women making decisions by saying that one might as well say that the woman lies on top of the man when they are making the baby.
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." Emily Queenie Chung notes, "Also, this position is the easiest for a woman to stimulate her clitoris manually." 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).
Sex 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. But 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 the 'man-on-bottom' technique during orgasm.
Popularity
Among humans, the missionary position is the most commonly used sex position. In his seminal study Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953), which focused on American women, researcher Alfred KinseyAlfred Kinsey
Alfred Charles Kinsey was an American biologist and professor of entomology and zoology, who in 1947 founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, now known as the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, as well as producing the Kinsey Reports and the Kinsey...
stated that 91% of married women surveyed reported using this position most often, whereas 9% reported using it exclusively. A Journal of Sexual Medicine study entitled What Kind of Erotic Film Clips Should We Use in Female Sex Research? An Exploratory Study selected 18 film clips out of a sample of 90 that were found by the women studied to be particularly mentally appealing and visually arousing. 21% of the original 90 involved the missionary position, but 33% of the final 18 involved missionary. Fewer than 10% of sexually active persons rarely or never use the missionary position. According to Francoeur, the Brazilian Bororo Indians eschew missionary, finding it insulting for either partner to be above the other during sex. Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
nese shun the man-on-top position in favor of the "lotus position", in which intercourse is performed while the man is sitting down and the woman is squatting on top of the man's legs while facing him, and she moves her hips up and down. The inhabitants of Inis Beag
Inis Beag
Inis Beag is a remote island off the coast of Connemara, Ireland and near the Aran Islands. It contains a small, isolated Gaelic-speaking Irish Catholic community which cultural anthropologist John Cowan Messenger observed in his study "Sex and Repression in an Irish Folk Community." During the...
practice the missionary position exclusively, with very limited foreplay. In addition to humans, the missionary position is also used by certain other species including bonobo
Bonobo
The bonobo , Pan paniscus, previously called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often, the dwarf or gracile chimpanzee, is a great ape and one of the two species making up the genus Pan. The other species in genus Pan is Pan troglodytes, or the common chimpanzee...
s, gorillas and armadillo
Armadillo
Armadillos are New World placental mammals, known for having a leathery armor shell. Dasypodidae is the only surviving family in the order Cingulata, part of the superorder Xenarthra along with the anteaters and sloths. The word armadillo is Spanish for "little armored one"...
s.