性行為的基本類型

性交合的技巧 6

在過去，一些主張禁欲的基督教文化要求其信徒只用一種體位進行性交合：面對面、女方仰臥和男方躺于女方之上的體位。（較少有禁忌的非洲、亞洲和太平洋島嶼的“異教徒”習慣于把這種體位嘲笑為“傳教士體位”。）不過，隨著19世紀文化交流的增加，歐洲人和美洲人意識到對性的處事方法存在不必要的僵化態度。他們為了探索出嶄新而令人興奮的性交合體位，開始研究古希臘的花瓶畫、羅馬的壁畫、中國的卷軸春宮畫、日本的版畫[1]和印度的做愛手冊，而且他們的研究發現不久就使他們相信，他們已經找到了長期被遺失的真正達到性滿足的秘訣。

性交合技巧：東方與西方

（這幅18世紀印度繪畫顯示一名印度女子與一名歐洲男子以“傳教士體位”做愛）

不過，雖然在性的事物方面採取僵化和循規蹈矩的方式毋庸置疑地有害，但是，在每一種體位變換和纏綿中不存在什麼特別的魔法。也不存在什麼終極的、高超的甚或“自然的”或“正常的”性交合體位這樣的東西。畢竟，富有創造力的、為設法滿足自己所有需要與性欲望的性伴侶自然會隨著境況的不同調整他們的做愛方式，並因而繼續以他們自己的方式找到新的性交合體位。詳細地描述這樣的性交合體位是沒有必要的，而且甚至可能是有害的，因為這有鼓勵機械主義性交合觀點之虞。

甚至可以說，列舉出任何性交合體位的清單並清晰地做出定義也許根本就是不明智的。性交合在任何時候或任何情況下都涉及到一連串的動作，並形成一個連續的整體。而且大多數性伴侶在未有預先計畫或沒有刻意努力之下，會從一種體位轉換到另一種體位。如果挑選10種、12種、20種或更多特殊性交合姿勢並把其特殊的含義一一加以描述，則似乎書生氣十足。當然，他可能在少數基本的性交合處事方法之間做出區分，但是其種類實在是十分有限：性伴可以站著、坐著或躺著；他們可能面對面，或女方可能背朝男方；要麼男方可能在上方，要麼他們兩人都側臥。

[1]. 作者在此指的是日本的浮世繪。浮世繪是日本德川時代版畫主要藝術品種，作品主角是娼妓和藝伎，女性、裸體、性感、色情是其標誌性的特徵。“浮世”一詞自佛教用語，本意指人的生死輪回和人世的虛無飄渺。日語中自“浮世”一詞出現開始，就暗指豔事與放蕩生活之意。——譯者注。

2. Heterosexual Intercourse: Genital Intercourse

Coitus

Techniques of Coitus 6
In the past, some puritanical Christian cultures expected the faithful to have coitus in only one position: Face-to-face, with the woman lying on her back and the man on top of her. (The less inhibited "heathens" of Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands used to ridicule it as the "missionary position".) However, with the increase of cross-cultural contact in the 19th century, Europeans and Americans realized that their approach to sex was unnecessarily rigid. They began to search ancient Greek vase paintings, Roman murals, Chinese scrolls, Japanese woodcuts, and Indian love manuals for new, exciting coital positions, and their discoveries soon led them to believe that they had found the long lost secrets of true sexual fulfillment.

However, while rigidity and routine in sexual matters are undoubtedly bad, there is no special magic in ever-varying athletic contortions. Nor is there such a thing as the ultimate, superior, or even “natural” or “normal” position for coitus. After all, imaginative sexual partners who try to satisfy all of their needs and desires will vary their approaches spontaneously as the circumstances require, and thus they will continue to find new coital positions on their own. Detailed descriptions of such positions are unnecessary and may even be harmful because they tend to encourage a mechanistic view of coitus.
Indeed, it is perhaps unwise to list any distinct and clearly defined coital positions at all. Coitus always involves a series of movements which form a continuous whole, and most partners shift from one position to another without any advance planning or conscious effort. It seems pedantic to single out 10, 12, 20, or more particular postures and to ascribe to each of them some special meaning. One can, of course, differentiate between a few basic approaches to coitus, but their number is really quite limited: the partners may stand, sit, or lie down; they may face each other, or the woman may turn her back to the man; either partner can be on top, or they can both lie on their sides.