Easier Orgasms for Women in The Man-on-Top Position
Vaginal intercourse in the man-on-top (missionary) position can feel wonderful, but the man-on-top position can also be problematic.
Vaginal intercourse in the man-on-top (missionary) position can feel wonderful: the physical closeness, the emotional intimacy, and for many people, the feeling that this position is a key element of what sex is all about.
But the man-on-top position can also be problematic: According to a great deal of research, only a small fraction of women are consistently orgasmic in this position no matter how firm the erection, what size it is, how vigorous the intercourse, or how long it lasts.
It’s All About Positioning
The reason is that in the missionary position, the penis does not directly stimulate the clitoris, women's orgasm trigger. Sexuality experts have spent decades reassuring women and their lovers that women's inability to reach orgasm with the man on top is (1) very common, (2) no reflection on the woman's sexual responsiveness, (3) no reflection on the man's sexual technique, and (4) no reflection on the relationship or how the woman feels about it.
These same sexuality authorities have encouraged couples in this situation to let go of the idea that women “should” have orgasms during intercourse. They have encouraged men to help bring women to orgasm by hand, or tongue, or sex toy.
In addition, sexuality authorities have encouraged couples to use two other positions that facilitate female orgasm during intercourse. In the woman-on-top position, with the woman straddling the man's hips, he can place a fist at the junction of other lower abdomens, which allows the woman to press her clitoris directly against his knuckles and bring herself to orgasm. In the rear-entry (doggie) position, either lover can caress the clitoris by hand and provide enough stimulation for the woman to come.
But even when couples make these adjustments, many still wish the woman could reach orgasm during man-on-top intercourse.
The “Coital Alignment Technique”
Enter the “coital alignment technique” (CAT). It was first introduced back in 1988, by sex researcher Edward Eichel, who claimed it helped women have orgasms during missionary-position sex.
The CAT is deceptively simple: Instead of the man lying on top of the woman chest-to-chest with his penis moving in and out more or less horizontally, the man shifts forward so that his chest rests on one of her shoulders. With this little adjustment, the penis moves more up and down. In other words, the man rides higher on the woman's pelvis, and the bony base of his penis makes more contact with the woman's clitoris. This increases direct clitoral stimulation and just might provide sufficient clitoral stimulation for her to climax.
Eichel’s studies teaching the CAT to couples produced good results. Using the technique, many women who had never had orgasms in the man-on-top position were able to have them. Eichel’s studies also made headlines, and led to a flurry of magazine articles, and a 1992 book, The Perfect Fit. But for reasons that remain unclear, the CAT proved to be little more than a short-lived blip on America's sexual radar. By the late-1990's, the CAT was largely forgotten, and few sex experts encouraged couples to try it.
But quietly, research into the CAT continued—and largely affirmed it. The CAT can help women reach orgasm during missionary-position intercourse.
In one study that’s typical of several, researchers worked with 36 women who could not have orgasms in the man-on-top position. All of them, along with their partners, participated in an 8-week sexual enrichment workshop that taught massage, sexual communication, and assertiveness skills. In addition, 17 of the women were encouraged to self-pleasure between lovemaking sessions to become more comfortable with their genitals and their sexual responsiveness, a standard approach in sex therapy. Meanwhile, the other 19 were taught the CAT. Based on sexual diaries kept during a 21-day period after this training, the solo-sex group reported a 27 percent increase in orgasm during missionary-position intercourse, while the CAT group reported twice the increase, 56 percent.
Even if a woman is one of the few who can have orgasms during missionary-position intercourse, the CAT represents a positional variation that can feel intimate, enjoyable, and erotically novel. But for women who have difficulty reaching orgasm during man-on-top intercourse, the CAT provides a technique that may help. Happy experimentation.
References
Eichel, E.W. et al. “The Technique of Coital Alignment and Its Relation to Female Orgasmic Response and Simultaneous Orgasm,” Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy (1988) 14:129.
Eichel, E. and P. Noblie. The Perfect Fit. Dutton, NY, 1992.
Hurlbert, D.F. and C. Apt. “The Coital Alignment Technique and Directed Masturbation: A Comparative Study of Female Orgasm,” Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy (1995) 21:21.
Kaplan, H.S. “Does the CAT Technique Enhance Female Orgasm?” Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy (1992) 18:285.
Pierce, A.P. “The Coital Alignment Technique 9(AT): An Overview of Studies,” Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy (2000) 26:257.
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