On Top / Position Guide
Reverse CowgirlSex Position
Same seat, other direction. New rules.
The reverse cowgirl position has the partner underneath flat on their back while the other kneels astride their hips, looking toward the feet rather than the face. Setup-wise, that is the only change. Feel-wise, almost nothing carries over from ordinary cowgirl, since the angle is new, the view is new, and your balance gets noticeably shakier.
There is also a catch, and it deserves a calm explanation instead of a nervous one. Lean the wrong way, or come down hard when things are not lined up, and a single careless move can cause an injury. Handled sensibly, it is not a risky position. So treat the posture details below as the main event. They are not fine print.
What ReverseCowgirl Is
Underneath, one partner lies flat, legs straight or a little apart. On top, the other kneels over their hips but faces down the bed toward the feet. So one of you is looking at a back and the other at a pair of shins. That flip is the only real difference, and it reshapes almost everything after it.
With a man up top, people usually call the same arrangement reverse cowboy. Mechanically, nothing changes.
Know regular cowgirl? Then getting in will feel familiar, and the thing you actually have to learn is where the weight goes afterward.
Why The Reverse CowgirlPosition Feels Different
Facing forward invites a grind, with constant pressure on the pubic bone. Turn around and most of that contact disappears, replaced by pressure along the front wall, because entry now travels through the pelvis from the opposite angle. For some receiving partners that alone is the attraction. Others just find it different. They recover the grind by leaning back.
The view is part of the draw. No point pretending it is not. Whoever lies underneath watches the back, the hips and the motion, while the one on top moves without a face watching theirs, which some people find freeing.
What you give up is communication. Nobody can read an expression, so check-ins that usually happen silently need saying out loud, and a simple 'slower' or 'right there' carries far more weight than it would face to face. Does speaking up mid-moment feel strange? Our advice on saying it out loud makes it easier.
Where does your torso go?
Go from lying back to tipping forward. Stay in the middle and skip the far end entirely.
How To ActuallyDo It
- 1
Kneel astride, facing the feet
Place your knees level with the hip bones below you, on something soft. They will stay put for a while, so settle them properly first.
- 2
Use a hand on the way down
You are lining up something you cannot see. Guide with a hand, lower an inch at a time, and pause once everything is aligned.
- 3
Shoulders over hips
Sit tall, or let the shoulders drift a touch behind the hips. Palms go on the thighs below you or flat on the mattress behind.
- 4
Rise partway, lower just as slowly
Lift with the thighs only as far as keeps contact, then return under control. A short, even stroke never has to go looking for its target.
- 5
Trade eye contact for words
Say what works while it is working. The partner underneath rests both hands on the hips, where a light press can mean ease off, no words needed.
The CatchAnd Your Knees
Now the catch, plainly. If the partner underneath has a penis, it naturally points up toward their belly. Here the person on top faces the other way, so tipping far forward toward the feet bends it against that natural angle. The classic accident is landing hard off target, or missing entirely and coming down with full body weight. Anxiety is not required. Deliberate avoidance is.
Posture handles every part of it. Stay upright or lean back, and never pitch far forward. Brace your palms on the thighs or the mattress, where they support your weight instead of letting it fall freely. Rise with control, lower with control, and never drop.
Then there are the knees. Kneeling lasts the whole position, with few ways to unload them, so pad each one before you start. Aching already? Lean back onto your hands to shift some load into the arms, or switch to planted feet. Starting with enough lube matters more than usual as well, because friction makes a smooth rise jerky.
Anal ReverseCowgirl
Anal reverse cowgirl earns a section of its own for a practical reason: the person receiving is the one on top. Depth and speed are theirs from the very first moment. Nobody can go faster or further than they choose, which is about the most useful condition anal sex can start from.
Go slower than seems necessary. Lower just a little, pause, let the body adjust, then go further. Lube is mandatory here, ideally a thicker one that does not dry out fast, and the guide to the best type of lube sorts out which kind suits what.
Posture rules still apply. Staying upright or leaning slightly back keeps the angle comfortable for you both. Sharp pain means stop, not adjust and carry on. For preparation and everything else basic, the anal sex positions guide goes deeper.
VersionsWorth Trying
Lie all the way back. The top partner lowers their back onto the chest below and plants both feet, landing somewhere near the pearly gates. Shallower. Much easier to hold. Every hand is free.
Sitting reverse cowgirl. The partner underneath props up against the headboard or a pile of pillows, and the top partner sits in their lap facing away. It is closer and far steadier, and the partner behind can loop both arms around the waist.
Feet planted instead of knees. The top partner squats, soles on the bed to each side of the hips below. The knees get a break and depth is easier to fine-tune, though the thighs tire sooner.
The advanced extension is the full nelson, which begins in the sitting version and raises the top partner's legs up and back. Intense, brief, and governed by rules of its own.
The versions, drawn
Lie all the way back
The partner on top lowers onto the chest underneath and plants both feet. Shallower, easy to hold, and every hand is free.
Sitting reverse cowgirl
The partner underneath sits up against pillows and hugs the rider around the middle. Closer, and far more stable.
Feet planted instead of knees
A squat with the feet flat either side of the hips rests the knees and makes depth easier to fine tune. The thighs pay for it.
What is your reverse cowgirl tonight?
What does tonight call for?
WhoIt Is Best For
The reverse cowgirl position suits a receiving partner who likes steering and wants an angle regular cowgirl does not give. It also fits couples who enjoy the visual side and have no trouble speaking up, since words have to stand in for eye contact entirely.
Need to see a face to feel settled? Then pass, and pass too on a night when the top partner would rather hand the work over. Bad knees make the kneeling version rough. Planted feet or the sitting version usually sort that out.
What GoesWrong
Leaning toward the feet
It feels like the natural way to balance, and it bends the angle underneath in the wrong direction. Keep the shoulders over the hips or behind them, with the hands on the thighs.
Rising until contact is lost
A big lift ends in a blind descent onto something no longer lined up. Keep strokes short enough that nothing has to be found twice.
Twisting back to see a face
Looking over your shoulder yanks the hips off center at exactly the wrong moment. Agree up front that words, or a press on the hips, handle the checking in.
Questions PeopleAsk
What is the reverse cowgirl position?
In the reverse cowgirl position, the bottom partner stays flat while the top partner straddles their hips, facing toward the feet. Whoever is on top sets depth and pace, at an angle unlike regular cowgirl.
Cowgirl vs reverse cowgirl: what is the difference?
Just which way the top partner faces, though that changes plenty. Cowgirl faces the partner, favoring grinding and eye contact. Reverse cowgirl faces the feet, shifting pressure to the front wall, adding a view, and making both balance and check-ins trickier.
Is reverse cowgirl safe?
With sensible posture, yes. Stay upright or lean back, keep your hands on the thighs or the bed, and rise and lower with control. Tipping far forward, or landing hard off target, is what to avoid.
What is reverse cowboy?
Reverse cowboy is the same position when a man is the one on top. Setup, angle and posture rules are identical.
What are the best reverse cowgirl tips for beginners?
Pad the knees, guide by hand at first, and keep the torso tall. Move in short, controlled rises instead of big lifts, and settle on words or a touch that mean slow down, since nobody can see a face.