A survey of 2,590 women just confirmed what a lot of people probably suspected: the sex positions most commonly featured in porn are largely not the ones women are actually enjoying. Turns out most women aren’t clamoring for a gymnastics routine. Who knew.
The January 2026 report, commissioned by adult content platform Seduced AI, polled women in the UK and the US on their most and least favorite positions. What came back had very little to do with stamina or spectacle and everything to do with comfort, connection, and actually being able to focus on pleasure. “A lot of people try to recreate what they see in porn and feel like they’re doing something wrong,” a Seduced AI spokesperson told Body+Soul. “The pleasure and comfort of all people involved should be a priority.”
The Three Women Love Most
Missionary came in first, preferred by 10% of respondents. Face-to-face contact and emotional connection were the most cited reasons, along with the fact that it’s easy to adjust until it actually works. Simple, effective, and what most women are actually after.
Doggy style ranked second at 9%. Eye contact goes out the window, which respondents acknowledged mattered to them, but the depth of penetration was consistently cited as the trade-off that makes it worth it.
Receiving oral came in third at 7.2%, and the reasoning is about as simple as it gets: nothing is required of the recipient except existing. No divided attention, no simultaneous effort, no performance. Just lying there and enjoying it. That’s a big selling point.
The Three They Could Do Without
Reverse cowgirl topped the least-favorite list at 31%. The complaints were consistent across respondents: knee strain, lower back tension, and an angle that doesn’t work for most bodies. Facing away from a partner also ranked as a significant downside for women who value connection during sex, which, per this survey, is most of them.
69 came in second at 29%. The problem is the multitasking. Trying to give and receive at the same time means most women reported losing track of their own pleasure entirely, which tends to produce frustration rather than satisfaction. It sounds sexy, but not so much in practice.
Woman on top landed third, disliked by 16% of respondents. Self-consciousness was the most common reason, followed by physical exhaustion. Several respondents described it as feeling like work. “Positions that require flexibility, stamina, or specific body types shouldn’t be the standard everyone tries to match,” the spokesperson noted. “When both people feel comfortable enough to adjust what isn’t working, sex life and romantic life both get better.”
Every position that ranked well had one thing in common: women could actually be present for it. Everything that ranked poorly required them to be somewhere else — in their heads, in their knees, trying to remember what to do with their hands.
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