Woman on top
any sex position in which a woman is on top of another person
Woman on top is any sex position in which the woman is on top of her sexual partner during sexual activity. The position most commonly associated with the woman on top is often called the cowgirl position, which derives its name from the image of the woman "riding" the man as a cowgirl rides a bucking horse. In that position, a man typically lies on his back with his legs closed, while the female partner straddles him, usually in a kneeling position facing either towards or away from him (the latter called reverse cowgirl), and either the man or woman inserts the man's erect penis into the woman's vagina or anus.
The cowgirl position is cited as one of the most popular sex positions, especially by women, because it gives them control over the rhythm and pace of vaginal stimulation and the extent and duration of penetration, and because of its ability to adequately stimulate the clitoris. There are other positions in which the woman may be on top, including the 69 position and the pompoir sex position.
In any of these positions, the woman is usually the active partner during sexual activity, and in addition to satisfying herself can stimulate or massage the man's scrotum, especially if his legs are spread. The woman may take the position in the course of sexual activity, especially if the man has attained orgasm while she has not; and in this position, she or her partner may perform fingering for her to achieve orgasm.
Variations
Initially, the man typically lies on his back with his legs together, while the female partner straddles him in a kneeling position. With the woman's legs open, either the man or woman would insert the man's erect penis into the woman's vagina. Once the woman has attained sufficient vaginal lubrication, she feels comfortable in thrusting up and down the penis and is in a position to vary her position for variety and enhanced pleasure.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Woman on top” is any sex position in which a woman is on top of another person. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Woman, position and woman, not as a finished interpretation.
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The phrase “any sex position in which a woman is on top of another person” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q875006. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Woman on top” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.