Doggy style is a

sex position 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 sexua ...

in which one participant bends over, crouches on all fours (usually on hands and knees), or lies on their abdomen, for

sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (also coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion of the Erection, erect male Human penis, penis inside the female vagina and followed by Pelvic thrust, thrusting motions for sexual pleasure ...

, 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 sexual behavior in non-human animals. The term is most commonly used in statute la ...

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) t ...

. Doggy style is a form of rear-entry position, others being 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 spoons may be positioned side by side, with bowls aligned. The sexual spoons position is a form of a rear-entry position, anot ...

in which the receiving partner lies on their side or the reverse cowgirl sex position.

Non-penetrative sex Non-penetrative sex or outercourse is Human sexual activity, sexual activity that usually does not include sexual penetration, but some forms, particularly when termed ''outercourse'', include penetrative aspects, that may result from forms of ...

in this position may also be regarded as doggy style. Between

sex partner Sexual partners are people who engage in sexual activity together. The sexual partners may be in a committed relationship, either on an exclusive basis or not, or engage in the sexual activity on a casual basis. They may be on intimate terms (i ...

s, 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 Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

partner.

History and etymology

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

, this practice was known as ''coitus more ferarum'', Latin for "sexual intercourse in the manner of wild beasts."

Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus ( ; ; – October 15, 55 BC) was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the philosophical poem '' De rerum natura'', a didactic work about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, which usually is t ...

said it was "generally thought" this manner was best for conception: the proper parts could "take the seeds with chests laid down and loins raised up."

English

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 The ''Kama Sutra'' (; , , ; ) is an ancient Indian Hindu Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment. Attributed to Vātsyāyana, the ''Kamasutra'' is neither exclusively nor predominantly a sex manual on sex positions ...

'' as the ''cow position'' or ''the congress of a cow'',''The

'', as given at and is listed in ''

The Perfumed Garden ''The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight'' ( ''Al-rawḍ al-ʿāṭir fī nuzhaẗ al-ḫāṭir''), also known as the Arabic Kama Sutra, is a fifteenth-century Arabic sex manual and work of erotic literature by Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Nefza ...

''.

Practices

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

female mammals An organism's sex is female (symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and males ...

, 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; while in the

missionary position The missionary position or man-on-top position is a sex position in which, generally, a woman lies on her back and spreads her legs and a man lies on top of her while they face each other and engage in vaginal intercourse. The position may also ...

, it is in preferential contact with the

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

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 A blank cheque or blank check in the literal sense is a cheque that has no monetary value written in, but is already signed. In the figurative sense, it is used to describe a situation in which an agreement has been made that is open-ended or va ...

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 Sensory processing, sensitivity, the sexual stimulation, stimulation of wh ...

s, such as the genitals,

nipples The nipple is a raised region of tissue on the surface of the breast from which, in lactating females, milk from the mammary gland leaves the body through the lactiferous ducts to nurse an infant. The milk can flow through the nipple passively, ...

, buttocks, administer a

spanking Spanking is a form of corporal punishment involving the act of striking, with either the palm of the hand or an implement, the buttocks of a person to cause physical pain. The term spanking broadly encompasses the use of either the hand or implem ...

,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 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. The ...

, 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 are made from a number of materials. The shape and size are typically t ...

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, sculp ...

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 In most terrestrial mammals, the scrotum (: scrotums or scrota; possibly from Latin ''scortum'', meaning "hide" or "skin") or scrotal sac is a part of the external male genitalia located at the base of the penis. It consists of a sac of skin ...

sometimes provides friction to the

clitoris In amniotes, the clitoris ( or ; : clitorises or clitorides) is a female sex organ. In humans, it is the vulva's most erogenous zone, erogenous area and generally the primary anatomical source of female Human sexuality, sexual pleasure. Th ...

, thus possibly producing an orgasm or sexual stimulation in the woman. For some women, doggy style sex helps to stimulate an area that may be termed "the

G-spot The G-spot, also called the Gräfenberg spot (for German gynecologist Ernst Gräfenberg), is characterized as an erogenous area of the vagina that, when stimulated, may lead to strong sexual arousal, powerful orgasms and potential female eja ...

". However, this position may offer only minimal stimulation of the clitoris; so some women may require finger stimulation to achieve orgasm. Some men however, may be able to stimulate the G-spot and clitoris simultaneously using 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 "a sexual interaction between three people whereby at least one engages in physical sexual behaviour with both the other individuals". While the term ''threesome'' typically refers to sexual activity involvin ...

. 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 Eye contact occurs when two people or non-human animals look at each other's eyes at the same time. In people, eye contact is a form of nonverbal communication and can have a large influence on social behavior. Coined in the early to mid-1960s, ...

and

kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

ing are more difficult. However, in a 2018 survey of

millennials Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s a ...

it was found to be the most popular sex position.

As a theme in art

Doggy style has been known in most cultures in all times, and has been depicted in art: File:Pompeii - Erotic Scene 3 - MAN.jpg,

Pompeian Styles The Pompeian Styles are four periods which are distinguished in Roman art#Painting, ancient Roman mural painting. They were originally delineated and described by the German archaeologist August Mau (1840–1909) from the excavation of wall painti ...

File:Pompeii - Osteria della Via di Mercurio - Erotic Scene 1.jpg, Pompeii – Osteria della Via di Mercurio File:KamaSutra23.jpg,

– A Mughal couple performing doggy-style File:Utamaro E.jpg,

Utamaro was a Japanese artist. He is one of the most highly regarded designers of ukiyo-e woodblock prints and paintings, and is best known for his ''Bijin-ga, bijin ōkubi-e'' "large-headed pictures of beautiful women" of the 1790s. He also produ ...

, 1799 File:PeterJohannNepomukGeigerEroticWatercolor01.jpg, Peter Johann Nepomuk Geiger File:Édouard-Henri Avril anal sex detail.jpg,

Édouard-Henri Avril Édouard-Henri Avril (; 21 May 1849 – 28 July 1928) was a French painter and commercial artist. Under the pseudonym Paul Avril, he was an illustrator of erotic literature. Avril was a soldier before starting his career in art; he was awarded ...

– Hadrian and Antinous in the doggy style position File:Deveria07.jpg, Achille Devéria – a couple having doggy style sex

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doggy Style Metaphors referring to dogs Pornography terminology Sex positions Kneeling