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The One Thing You Need To Know About Pleasure

According to a new study, orgasms are about someone’s anatomy more than anything else. While we’ve often heard that, especially for women, the ability to orgasm has a lot to do with her state of mind, the study has found that maybe that's not true after all. It also found, to no one’s surprise, that there still remain major differences in how men and women orgasm.

Two research teams, one from the Mayo Clinic and the other from the Indiana University School of Medicine have found that the female is orgasm is all about positioning. Although the researchers still stood by the fact that female orgasm is “far more complicated” and “inconsistent” than the male orgasm, it also found that finding the right position so a woman can climax isn’t exactly easy as the clitoris “has a tendency to roam during intercourse.”

This doesn’t mean it detaches itself and goes for a walk or anything equally terrifying to picture, but as Dr. Jason Siegel told the Daily Mail, “… the clitoris during sex tends to migrate up toward the vaginal wall.” In other words, orgasm success rates are more like if the front wall of the vagina gets more stimulation than the rest of it.

Dr. Siegel went on to explain that orgasms in women have nothing to do with penis size either, and everything to do with positions in which her partner enters her from the front. Yes, that means doggy style may not be doing women any favors in the orgasm department.

But while doggy style might not be on the menu when it comes to positions that are great for the female orgasm, here are three that are.

1. Missionary

Now before you dismiss the missionary position simply because it is so “basic” or “boring,” you should know that in being a front entry position, you’re more likely to orgasm. As Dr. Siegel and the other researchers found, with that roaming clitoris, missionary is able to keep things in place and provides maximum clitoral stimulation. And since 75 percent of women need clitoral stimulation to climax, this is a good thing — and far from basic or boring.

2. Cowgirl

Another front entry position that the researchers consider great for the female orgasm is the cowgirl position, and if if you’ve ever had sex in this position, you probably agree. Not only are we dealing with the front entry aspect, but when you’re on top, you’re in control. While your partner’s penis is stimulating that very important front wall of your vagina, you also get to use their pelvic bone to stimulate your clitoris.

3. Coital Alignment Technique

Don’t let the illustration fool you — the Coital Alignment Technique isn’t quite the same as the missionary position. Yes, the guy is on top and his body is between your legs, but where the two positions differ is that he pulls his body upward so his pelvis is higher than it normally would be in missionary.

This position obviously falls into the “front entry” category that the researchers have found to be the most successful when it comes to the female orgasm, but with your partner’s pelvis being a bit higher, the angle in which the penis is inside the vagina stimulates that front wall of the vagina, while the pubic bones being aligned allows for clitoral stimulation, too. If you put a pillow under your hips, you can create even deeper penetration and pubic bone contact.

Want more of Bustle's Sex and Relationships coverage? Check out our video on sex positions for small penises:

Images: Andrew Zaeh/Bustle; Caroline Wurtzel/Bustle