Seated / Position Guide
Face OffSex Position
Perch at the front. Let the floor handle everything else.
The face off sex position is a seated straddle: one partner perches at the front of a couch, bed or armless chair, soles down, and the other climbs onto their lap facing in, chest against chest. That top partner sets their own feet down as well. Those feet are the engine.
Of all the sitting sex positions, this is the least fussy, and that is a compliment. You need no special chair, no bracing and no flexibility, because only two details decide everything: how far forward the seated partner sits, and whether the top partner's feet genuinely touch the ground. Get those right. The rest takes care of itself.
What The Face OffSex Position Is
The seated partner parks right on the front lip of the seat instead of sinking into it, soles down about hip width apart. Their partner faces them and straddles, placing a foot outside each of the seated partner's legs. Arms wrap around, or hands rest on shoulders. Chests touch, eyes are level, and nobody is horizontal.
This is the seated sex position that happens in real living rooms, with no inspection of the dining chairs required and no furniture dragged anywhere. A couch is fine. So, often, is the side of an ordinary height bed.
In our full list of position guides it lives next to the chair positions, though the emphasis differs. Those rely on furniture to take the weight. Here the point is two bodies pressed together, with the top partner's legs providing the push.
Sit On The EdgeNot The Cushion
Slump back into a couch and two problems arrive together. The seated partner's hips roll back and their thighs tilt uphill, turning the lap into a slide that deposits the top partner against their stomach. Meanwhile that top partner is kneeling in squashy cushions, feet nowhere near the ground. Leverage? Gone, for both of you.
Shuffling to the front edge fixes all of that. The seated partner's pelvis comes upright and their hips can tilt and sway again. Thighs flatten out, so the person on top has a level place to sit. Best of all, the top partner's feet reach the floor. A planted foot is the difference between sitting and moving: press down to rise a little, then let the weight sink back, like getting up from a low stool and changing your mind halfway.
Surface height decides whether any of this can happen. A couch usually gets it right, low enough for the top partner's feet to land with bent knees. Tall beds usually get it wrong. Your partner ends up on tiptoe, or dangling. Bed too high? Head for the living room, because this is a sex position on sofa height before it is anything else.
How far forward does the seated partner sit?
Drag from slumped in the cushions to perched on the lip, and see how much push the top partner has to work with.
How To ActuallyDo It
- 1
Find a knee height seat
Look for a couch or armless seat low enough that the top partner can stand astride it, knees bent, with both soles still on the ground.
- 2
Shuffle to the front
The seated partner inches forward until the thighs are level, setting their feet slightly wider than normal to leave space.
- 3
Straddle, then sit
The top partner stands over the lap facing in, a foot outside each of the seated partner's feet, and lowers straight down.
- 4
Push from the feet
Press down through the soles and the hips lift slightly. Relax and they settle. That tiny lift and settle powers everything.
- 5
Seated partner sets the rhythm
Hands on the top partner's hips or lower back keep a rhythm going and stop anyone slipping forward off the lap.
Look AfterThe Knees
In the face off, the top partner does the lifting, and the bill goes to the knees. Feet down means knees bent and working on every rise. Keep the lifts small, since shallow ones are much gentler than deep ones, and lean forward onto the seated partner's shoulders so your arms pitch in.
Kneeling up on the couch instead, one knee beside each of the seated partner's hips, stresses the knees differently. Now they are folded tight and pressed into upholstery, so a firm couch starts to hurt before a soft one does (and the crack between two cushions is the worst spot of all). Slide some folded bedding beneath both knees. Get off them before the ache sets in.
The seated partner has the easy job, but not a free one. A body on the lap can leave thighs tingling, so shift the feet around occasionally. Couch fabric also chafes after a while. Throw a towel over the seat and grab a lube that stays slippery. Two problems, solved.
VersionsWorth Trying
Knees on the cushion. Rather than standing, the top partner kneels on the seat itself. Push falls away, because soft upholstery gives knees little to press into, yet the hips gain freedom to sway. Good for a slower, grinding pace, or for a couch too tall for feet.
Seated partner reclines. Settling back into the couch alters the angle and leaves room for the top partner to lean over. Want more push? Grab the back of the couch.
Top partner leans back with hands held. You grip hands or forearms, and the top partner tips away against that hold, which shifts the angle dramatically while the grip keeps things balanced. Keep the lean modest. Each of you is relying on the other's arms.
Turning around. The top partner faces away and settles back into the lap, feet still down. That is basically reverse cowgirl brought upright, swapping eye contact for a fresh angle. For more wrap and no floor involved, the lotus position takes the same closeness onto the bed.
The versions, drawn
Knees on the cushion
Less push, freer hips, and a slower grinding pace. The fix for a couch too tall for feet to reach the floor.
Lean back, hands held
Both people hold forearms while the one on top tips back into that grip. The angle changes sharply, so keep the tilt modest.
Turn around
The partner on top faces away and sits back into the lap, feet still on the floor. Reverse cowgirl, brought upright.
What is your face off tonight?
Which one sounds like tonight?
WhoIt Is Best For
Love eye contact, hate planning? The face off happens wherever you already are, say a couch at the end of an evening, and it keeps your faces near enough to talk, kiss or simply look.
Height differences shrink when you both sit, so it copes with those well, and pausing or restarting never requires anybody to stand. It also helps when saying what you want does not come easily. A quiet word at this range costs nothing, and talking during sex handles the harder part.
Skip it when the top partner has sore knees and the only surface is a tall one, or when someone wants a long session with zero effort. After a sitting position for sex where the furniture takes more of the load? The captain position fits better.
What GoesWrong
Slouching into the cushions
The lap tilts toward the seated partner's stomach and the top partner's feet float off the ground. Everything good about the face off depends on scooting forward first.
Using a bed that is too high
A top partner on tiptoe spends all their effort in the calves and thighs. Swap the surface. Stacked pillows will not rescue it.
Bouncing high on bent knees
Deep rises hammer the top partner's knees and pull your chests apart, whereas short presses through the feet keep you together and go easy on the joints.
Questions PeopleAsk
What is the face off sex position?
It is a seated straddle. One partner sits at the front of a couch, bed or chair with their feet down, and the other settles onto that lap face to face, chest to chest, driving the movement by pushing through their own soles.
Does the face off work as a couch sex position?
Very well. Couches are frequently the best surface for it, since standard couch height lets the top partner's feet reach the ground. Sit on the front edge, not back in the cushions.
How does the face off differ from the lotus?
Where you sit, and what the feet are doing. Face off puts the seated partner on an edge with feet down, handing the top partner leverage. In the lotus you are both on the bed, cross-legged and wrapped, with nothing underfoot to push against.
Is the face off the same as the captain or CEO position?
Close cousins, not twins. The captain and CEO revolve around a chair bearing the weight. The face off centers on a couch or bed edge, full chest contact, and the top partner's feet doing the work.
How do you make sitting sex positions easier on the knees?
Keep the top partner's feet planted and the lifts small, and lean forward onto the shoulders so the arms carry some weight. For kneeling versions, pad the knees and go back to feet before they start aching.