4 Techniques Women Use To Take Vaginal Penetration To The Next Level

A study published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One surveyed 3,017 American women between 18 and 93 years old, mostly cisgender and heterosexual, asking how they increase their pleasure during vaginal penetrative sex2. Here are the four most common techniques they found: 

Of the participants, 76.4% said they increase the sensation of penetration with a technique called "rocking." With this technique, the woman is rocking her body up and down so that the clitoris is constantly rubbing against the base of the penis or sex toy. Though P-in-V sex involves the penis being thrust in and out, "rocking" requires it to stay put inside the vagina the whole time. 

The most popular technique women said they use to increase pleasure was called "angling." Of those who were surveyed, 87.5% say they rotate, raise, or lower the pelvis or hips during penetration to hit that sweet spot. 

Though this was the least common technique, 69.7% of women still said they use a technique called "pairing" to increase pleasure during penetration. Pairing describes the act of touching yourself or having your partner stimulate your clit (either with their finger or a sex toy) as penetrative sex is happening. This usually leads to what is called "blended orgasm," a type of orgasm triggered through simultaneous vaginal and clitoral stimulation.

The second most common technique is called "shallowing." More than 83% of participants said this act—where their partner shallowly touches the inside of the vagina with the tip of their penis, a sex toy, the tongue, lips, or fingertip—is more likely to increase pleasure or the chance of reaching orgasm when followed by penetration.

Because knowledge, paired with sexual self-esteem, are the keys to better sex.