Doggy style is a sex position in which a person bends over, crouches on all fours (usually on hands and knees), or lies on their abdomen, for

sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal penetrat ...

, other forms of

sexual penetration Sexual penetration is the insertion of a body part or other object into a body orifice, such as the mouth, vagina or anus, as part of human sexual activity or animal sexual behavior. The term is most commonly used in statute law in the context ...

or other

sexual activity Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation) ...

. Doggy style is a form of a rear-entry position, others being with the receiving partner lying on the side in the

spoons sex position The spoons position or spooning is both a sexual position and a cuddling technique. The name derives from the way that two spoons may be positioned side by side, with bowls aligned. The sexual spoons position is a form of a rear-entry position, a ...

or the reverse cowgirl sex position.

Non-penetrative sex Non-penetrative sex or outercourse is sexual activity that usually does not include sexual penetration. It generally excludes the penetrative aspects of vaginal, anal, or oral sexual activity, but includes various forms of sexual and non-sexua ...

in this position may also be regarded as doggy style. Although it is not the most commonly used sex position, it is regarded as the favoured position by men, while the reverse cowgirl position is favoured by women. Between sex partners, the person in the doggy style position is usually passive, while the other partner is active (although sometimes it can be the other way around if the person in doggy position backs up into their partner behind them). Either partner may be the dominant partner or the submissive partner. The submissive partner in the doggy position is open to a variety of additional sexual activities, with the active partner being able to penetrate the

vagina In mammals, the vagina is the elastic, muscular part of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vestibule to the cervix. The outer vaginal opening is normally partly covered by a thin layer of mucosal tissue called the hymen ...

, the

anus The anus (Latin, 'ring' or 'circle') is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to control the expulsion of feces, the residual semi-solid waste that remains after food digestion, which, d ...

during

anal sex Anal sex or anal intercourse is generally the insertion and thrusting of the erect penis into a person's anus, or anus and rectum, for sexual pleasure.Sepages 270–271for anal sex information, anpage 118for information about the clitoris. ...

, or being in a position to simply massage the whole body.

History and etymology

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

, this practice was known as ''coitus more ferarum'', Latin for "sexual intercourse in the manner of wild beasts". The specific origin of the term ''doggy style'' is not known, but is presumably a reference to the initial position assumed by dogs when mating. It is described in the '' Kama Sutra'' as the ''cow position'' or ''the congress of a cow'',''The Kama Sutra'', as given at and is listed in ''

The Perfumed Garden ''The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight'' ( ar, الروض العاطر في نزهة الخاطر ''Al-rawḍ al-ʿāṭir fī nuzhaẗ al-ḫāṭir'') is a fifteenth-century Arabic sex manual and work of erotic literature by Muhammad ibn ...

''.

Practices

The posture adopted by the receiving partner resembles lordosis behaviour – a physical posture seen in many

female mammals Female (symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females a ...

, often when they are ready for sex/mating, the primary characteristic of which is a ventral arching of the spine. During vaginal penetration from behind, the penis may penetrate deeper into the vagina, reaching preferential contact with the posterior wall of the vagina and probably reaching the

posterior fornix The fornices of the vagina (sing. fornix of the vagina or fornix vaginae) are the superior portions of the vagina, extending into the recesses created by the vaginal portion of cervix. The word "fornix" is Latin for "arch". Structure There are t ...

; while in the missionary position, it is in preferential contact with the

anterior Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

wall of the vagina and the tip of the penis can reach the anterior fornix. In this position, the receiving partner implicitly gives the active partner a carte blanche over their body. Besides other potential sex acts, the active partner may also massage or stimulate the receiving partner's

erogenous zone An erogenous zone (from Greek , ''érōs'' "love"; and English ''-genous'' "producing", from Greek , ''-genḗs'' "born") is an area of the human body that has heightened sensitivity, the stimulation of which may generate a sexual response, su ...

s, such as the genitals,

nipples The nipple is a raised region of tissue on the surface of the breast from which, in females, milk leaves the breast through the lactiferous ducts to feed an infant. The milk can flow through the nipple passively or it can be ejected by smooth mu ...

, buttocks, administer a spanking,Rogiere, Jean, ''The Little Book of Sex''. Ulysses Press, 2001. , 96 pages. or introduce a

sex toy A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate human sexual pleasure, such as a dildo, artificial vagina or vibrator. Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals, and may be vibrating or non-vibrating ...

, such as a

dildo A dildo is a sex toy, often explicitly phallic in appearance, intended for sexual penetration or other sexual activity during masturbation or with sex partners. Dildos can be made from a number of materials and shaped like an erect human penis ...

or vibrator, into the vagina or anus. The doggy position may be

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, scul ...

or sexually provocative for participants.

Advantages and disadvantages

Doggy style may be a preferred sex position if either partner has back issues or some other medical conditions. During doggy style, the

scrotum The scrotum or scrotal sac is an anatomical male reproductive structure located at the base of the penis that consists of a suspended dual-chambered sac of skin and smooth muscle. It is present in most terrestrial male mammals. The scrotum cont ...

sometimes provides friction to the

clitoris The clitoris ( or ) is a female sex organ present in mammals, ostriches and a limited number of other animals. In humans, the visible portion – the glans – is at the front junction of the labia minora (inner lips), above the ope ...

, thus possibly producing an orgasm or sexual stimulation in the woman.Janssen, Erick, Nicole Prause, and James H. Geer. "The sexual response." Handbook of psychophysiology (2007): 245-266 For some women, doggy style sex helps to stimulate an area that may be termed "the G-spot". However, this position may offer only minimal stimulation of the clitoris; so some women may require manual stimulation to achieve orgasm. Some men may, however, be able to stimulate the clitoris simultaneously with the penis and the scrotum respectively during doggy style sex. Doggy style offers benefits as a sex position in group sex, such as during a

threesome In human sexuality, a threesome is commonly understood as "a sexual interaction between three people whereby at least one engages in physical sexual behaviour with both the other individuals". Though ''threesome'' most commonly refers to sexua ...

. Doggy style allows the passive partner to perform fellatio on male participant (termed "spitroast") or to perform cunnilingus on a female participant. Some women may feel vulnerable in this position, as it requires and implies a level of trust and a surrender of control by the receiving to the active partner. However, some women find this transfer of control to the partner arousing. According to the book ''Sexual Pleasure'' by Barbara Keesling, many established couples find doggy style relationship-affirming. Some consider doggy style to be unromantic. The position is considered by some to be less intimate because eye contact and

kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

ing are more difficult.

As a theme in art

Doggy style has been known in most cultures in all times, and has been depicted in art: Image:Pompeii - Erotic Scene 3 - MAN.jpg, Pompeian Styles Image:Pompeii - Osteria della Via di Mercurio - Erotic Scene 1.jpg, Pompeii - Osteria della Via di Mercurio Image:KamaSutra23.jpg, Kama Sutra Image:Utamaro E.jpg, Utamaro, 1799 Image:PeterJohannNepomukGeigerEroticWatercolor01.jpg,

Peter Johann Nepomuk Geiger Peter Johann Nepomuk Geiger (11 January 1805 – 29 October 1880) was a Viennese artist. Life Born in Vienna, Geiger wanted originally to follow the family tradition and become a sculptor, but drawing and painting were his natural element. ...

Image:Édouard-Henri Avril anal sex detail.jpg, Édouard-Henri Avril - Hadrian and Antinous in a doggy style position Image:Deveria07.jpg, Achille Devéria - a couple having doggy style sex

References

External links