A sex position is a positioning of the bodies that people use to engage in sexual intercourse or other sexual activities. Sexual acts are generally described by the positions the participants adopt in order to perform those acts. Though sexual intercourse generally involves penetration of the body of one person by another, sex positions commonly involve non-penetrative sexual activities. Three broad and overlapping categories of sexual activity are commonly practiced: vaginal sex , anal sex , and oral sex mouth-on-genital or mouth-on-anus.
Some acts may include stimulation by a device sex toy , such as a dildo or vibrator. There are numerous sex positions that participants may adopt in any of these types of sex acts, and some authors have argued that the number of sex positions is essentially limitless. Sex manuals typically present a guide to sex positions. They have a long history. In the Greco-Roman era, a sex manual was written by Philaenis of Samos , possibly a hetaira courtesan of the Hellenistic period 3rd—1st century BC.
Different sex positions result in differences in the depth and angle of sexual penetration. Alfred Kinsey categorized six primary positions, [ 4 ] The earliest known European medieval text dedicated to sexual positions is the Speculum al foderi , The Mirror of Coitus a 15th-century Catalan text discovered in the s. These positions involve the insertion of a phallic object s such as a penis, strap-on dildo , plug, or other nonporous object s into a vagina, anus or mouth.
The most used sex position is the missionary position [ citation needed ]. In this position, the participants face each other. The receiving partner lies on their back with legs apart, while the penetrating partner lies on top.
This position and the following variations may be used for vaginal or anal intercourse. In the spoons position both partners lie on their side, facing the same direction. Most of these positions can be used for either vaginal or anal penetration. When the receiving partner is a woman, these positions are sometimes called the woman on top , or cowgirl positions. A feature of these positions is that the penetrating partner lies on their back with the receiving partner on top:.
