Cowgirl sex position

The reverse missionary or cowgirl is a type of sex position. In this position,

the man lies on his back
the woman sits on top of him facing him, with his body between her legs, and with her groin aligned over his to facilitate penetration.

Classical Greek bas-relief

The name derives from the image of the woman "riding" the man like a cowgirl rides a bucking horse. It is one of a number of female superior sexual positions, another being the reverse cowgirl.

Table of contents

1 Features
2 Dominance and submission
3 Feminism
4 Disabilities
5 External links and references

Features

Penetration is quite deep, and the woman can control the depth and intensity of penetration. Some people have speculated that there may be a marginally lower risk of pregnancy due to the effects of gravity. Evidential support for this is lacking. Clitoral pressure is not very intense, but can be provided by hand and other means.

Proponents of the cowgirl position says there are these advantages:

both partners can see one another
they can both caress one another (but with difficulty)
often the man can last longer in this position

Dominance and submission

In general, the position is suited to partners where the female is more sexually dominant. As well as being enjoyable for its own vanilla sexual pleasure, this position is a good position for role-playing games: some women like to take control of the man by holding his arms down, and some men like to take control of the woman by taking hold of her arms behind her back. Those of a switchy disposition can move from one to the other and back again.

Feminism

Female superior sex was promoted by some feminists of the 20th century. For example, Avedon Carol recalls in an essay on feminism and BDSM that:

"I definitely felt I was under pressure from some quarters to be dominant if I was going to persist in my unfortunate tendency to interact sexually with men. It was also made clear to me that I was supposed to prefer the "female superior" position in intercourse."

Disabilities

The reverse missionary position is one of a number of positions sometimes recommended for experimentation by partners where the male has some form of sexual disability. Dr. Ruth Westheimer wrote to the wife of a stroke victim that:

"Another area that you could explore would be a change of positions. The side by side position is sometimes helpful in these situations, as long as you make sure that the stroke victim is positioned so that the "healthy" side is uppermost. You could also try mutual masturbation, oral genital stimulation, the female superior position or the use of a vibrator." [emphasis added]

External links and references

Is there a Feminist Position on BDSM?: Avedon Carol explores the link between sex and feminism.
Sex after a stroke: Dr. Ruth gives advice to the wife of a stroke victim.