What Your Favorite Sex Position Says about You

The Move: Missionary is like Sex 101: It’s the way we’re “taught” to have sex, and the way that we see it most often in rom-coms and TV shows. But although this position is a classic, a Missionary Man might be a little insecure or “need reassurance by seeing his lover be responsive,” says sex therapist Ava Cadell, Ph.D., author of Neurolovology. You may also be keen on having control duringsex, as missionary gives you all the driving power. Since the position finds both people face-to-face, there’s some intimacy to it—but its basicness suggests the guy might not be confident about the other moves in his arsenal. “It’s romantic, but not very adventurous,” Cadell says.

Switch Things Up: There’s nothing wrong with loving the classics, but make sure you take a walk on the wild side every now and then. "If you can onlyclimax during missionary, that’s a problem," Cadell says, and you’ll need to do some “reprogramming” to your sex life. Try switching to woman on top, which has all of the same intimate qualities, but will let you relinquish some of that control—and spice things up.

DOGGYSTYLE

The Move: We’ve never met a guy who didn’t like doggy. This, some believe, is how man was meant to have sex. A doggy-lover "taps into his territorial animalistic instinct as king of the jungle,” says Cadell, “but he also has fears of intimacy and is generally unromantic.” After all, you probably don’t go for rear entry because you want to whisper sweet nothings in her ear from behind.

Switch Things Up: You can get the deepest penetration from this position, but what you earn in depth, you lose in intimacy. To make up for it, spring for spoons every now and then. You’ll still get to enter from behind, but the snuggly qualities of spooning sex will make your partner feel like a dime, rather than a piece of meat. (Want more? Check out the 45 Sex Positions Every Couple Should Try.)

WOMAN ON TOP

The Move: The beauty of this position is that there are a million ways to do it—and it’s all up to her. Men who love their women on the saddle are likely concerned with pleasing their partners, and Cadell says this move shows that “he’s confident in being submissive, but he can also be dominant when he enables her to reach her orgasm with deeper penetration.” Basically, you get off helping her get off.

Switch Things Up: We get that you like the view from down there—who wouldn't?—but take control every now and again by flipping her over. She’ll appreciate the occasional shift in power, and the view isn’t bad from back there, either.