spreadeagle (position)

The term spread eagle is used for sex positions where one of the partners adopts all or part of a spreadeagle position. One of the simplest versions has the lower partner lying on their back facing upwards (supine) with their arms and legs spread wide apart. It is a variant of the missionary position and it allows for deep sexual penetration.{{cite magazine|magazine=Women's Health Magazine|title=Why the Spread Eagle Is the Latest Sex Position You Need to Try|url=https://www.womenshealthmag.com/uk/health/sexual-health/a702085/the-best-sex-positions-ever-the-spread-eagle/|first=Alexia|last=Dellner|date=3 September 2021}} This position is also used for manual stimulation{{cite web|title=What Is the Eagle Sex Position?|url=https://www.webmd.com/sex/what-is-eagle-sex-position|website=WebMD|date=28 June 2021}} such as erotic massage of the G-spot{{cite web|title=Spread Eagle Sex Position|url=https://loveandsexanswers.com/spread-eagle-sex-position/|website=Love and Sex Answers|access-date=16 January 2023}} or clitoral stimulation using the fingers or a sex toy. Clitoral stimulation can be performed by either partner and can be combined with penetrative sex.{{cite magazine|title=Science Just Found the 4 Best Penetration Techniques for Female Pleasure|url=https://www.menshealth.com/sex-women/a36122877/study-penetration-techniques-female-pleasure/|magazine=Men's Health|first=Zachary|last=Zane|date=14 April 2021}} The position is also popular for oral sex{{cite magazine|magazine=Cosmopolitan|title=17 Rope Bondage Sex Positions That'll Have You Begging for More|url=https://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/positions/g13822514/rope-bondage/|first=Jill|last=Hamilton|date=10 December 2021}} which can be combined with vaginal massage. It is a comfortable position for the receiving partner to maintain, though the person providing the stimulation may experience neck discomfort. This may make it difficult for them to remain in place long enough for the receiving partner to reach orgasm.

There are a number of variations on the position. The reverse spreadeagle position is a less common version in which the lower partner lies facing down (prone). It is a variant of the doggy style position.{{cite web|title=Spread Eagle Bondage Position|url=https://www.kinkly.com/definition/1481/spread-eagle-bondage-position|date=20 March 2022|website=Kinkly}} If one leg is straight while the other is bent, the position is called the "broken eagle".{{cite magazine|magazine=Woman and Home|title=What is the broken eagle sex position? Plus, benefits of this unique position|url=https://www.womanandhome.com/health-wellbeing/broken-eagle-sex-position/|first=Grace|last=Walsh|date=9 October 2022}}

The variant known as the eagle{{cite magazine|magazine=Cosmopolitan|title=Everything You Need To Know About The Eagle Sex Position|url=https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/love-sex/a27732137/eagle-sex-position/|first1=Abigail|last1=Malbon|first2=Chloe|last2=Bowen|date=1 September 2022}} or peace sign involves the lower partner lying on their back and holding their legs in the air spread wide apart{{cite news|title='The Eagle' and other Love Island inspired sex positions to try out|url=https://uk.style.yahoo.com/what-is-the-eagle-the-love-island-sex-position-that-broke-the-internet-083724148.html|first=Marie Claire|last=Dorking|website=Yahoo Life UK|date=7 June 2019}} in a "V" shape, though the arms are not usually spread.{{cite magazine|title=The Spread Eagle Sex Position Is Great for Going Deep. Here's How to Do It.|url=https://www.menshealth.com/sex-women/a35885456/spread-eagle-sex-position/|magazine=Men's Health|first=Gigi|last=Engle|date=19 March 2021}} It is said to be better for stimulating the G-spot due to the angle of penetration. This can be done using a penis or a G-spot vibrator. The position is used for both vaginal and anal sex. The piledriver sex position, which is similar except that the lower partner's bottom is raised into the air to bring their feet close to the ground, can also be modified into a spread eagle version if the lower partner spreads their legs.{{cite web|website=Refinery 29|title=The Best Sex Positions When Your Partner Isn't Necessarily Endowed|url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/small-penis-sex-positions|first=Alden|last=Wicker|date=10 March 2020}} This is sometimes called the soaring eagle.{{cite book|title=Love, Sex and Everything in Between|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fnRMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT96|first=Martha Tara|last=Lee|publisher=Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd|date=2013|isbn=9789814516785|page=96}}

The standing eagle variation adapts the spreadeagle to a vertical position. Typically the partner whose legs are spread is either pinned against a wall or stands on one leg and spreads the other. A variant exists that is easier for partners of different heights: one partner rests on the edge of a counter or bed with their legs spread while the other stands and penetrates them. Another vertical adaptation making use of furniture is the sofa spreadeagle: one partner stands on the edge of a bed or sofa or balances on two chairs and squats to allow for standing penetration.

The legs are also spread during the lesbian sexual practice known as scissoring.{{cite web|title=6 Lesbian Sex Positions That Will Maximize Your Pleasure|url=https://hellogiggles.com/lesbian-sex-positions/|website=Hello Giggles|first=Raven|last=Ishak|date=23 September 2021}}

{{See also|Bondage positions and methods#Spread eagle}}

Image:Slave at St. Andrews cross (3098).jpg

The spread eagle position is also employed as a bondage position in BDSM play, with the submissive fastened to a bed, specially constructed table,{{cite book|title=Gender Disorders and the Paraphilias|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=otBrAAAAMAAJ|first=William B.|last=Arndt|publisher=International Universities Press|date=1991|isbn=9780823621507|page=326}} sometimes face down or other equipment. The wrists and ankles are typically either fastened with ropes or with bondage cuffs attached to straps.{{cite magazine|magazine=Men's Health|title=13 Rope Bondage Sex Positions for People Who Like BDSM|url=https://www.menshealth.com/sex-women/g35684481/rope-bondage-sex-positions/|first=Zachary|last=Zane|date=9 March 2021}} Alternatively spreader bars are used to keep the wearer's legs or arms a set distance apart{{cite web|title=4 BDSM Sex Moves to try with your Christian Grey if you love 'Fifty Shades'|url=https://www.elitedaily.com/p/4-bdsm-sex-positions-to-try-with-your-christian-grey-if-you-love-fifty-shades-8107807|first=Jamie|last=Kravitz|date=9 February 2018|website=Elite Daily}} and produce a spread eagle position{{cite book|title=Yes, Mistress: Why Men Crave Female Domination|first=Alicia|last=Zadig|publisher=Savio Republic|date=2021|isbn=9781642937916|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lSZAEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT213|page=213}} lying on the back or front.{{cite web|title=8 Hot Sex Positions That Are Better With a Spreader Bar|url=https://www.kinkly.com/8-hot-sex-positions-that-are-better-with-a-spreader-bar/2/17617|website=Kinkly|author=Mistress Kay|date=2 June 2021}}

An X-cross, a stationary bondage frame in the shape of an X, is often found in BDSM dungeons. It is designed to position and restrain a submissive in a spreadeagle position,{{cite book|title=The Little Vanilla Book: S&M Wisdom to Improve Your Everyday Life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NweiCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA117|first=Lux|last=Alani|publisher=Simon and Schuster|date=2015|isbn=9781582705712|page=117}} restrained at the wrists, ankles and sometimes waist.{{cite news|title=George Soros' right-hand man accused of BDSM crimes in his sex dungeon|url=https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/george-soros-righthand-man-accused-of-bdsm-crimes-in-his-sex-dungeon/news-story/d91a67e6c1c123b781772ac20d43e251|website=news.com.au|location=Australia|first=Michael|last=Kaplan|date=1 August 2021}} X-crosses are typically vertical if wall-mounted or lean back at a slight angle if freestanding,{{cite web|title= St. Andrew's Cross: A dungeon staple|url=https://www.humpstump.com/st-andrews-cross/|website=Hump Stump|date=7 November 2019 |access-date=19 July 2022}} and hence they restrain the subject in a standing spread eagle position.{{cite web|title=Saint Andrew's Cross|url=https://www.kinkly.com/definition/817/saint-andrews-cross|date=9 January 2018|website=Kinkly}} Alternatively this can also be achieved using ropes or chains attached to different endpoints.{{cite web|title=Bondage Position: Spreadeagle|url=https://leathercuffsandsilkenbonds.com/2011/11/07/bondage-position-spreadeagle/|website=Leather Cuffs and Silken Bonds|author=Jake|date=7 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190901234220/https://leathercuffsandsilkenbonds.com/2011/11/07/bondage-position-spreadeagle/|archive-date=1 September 2019}}

A spreader bar suspended from the ceiling provides wrist attachment points for a vertical spread eagle position, either standing or hanging. A hanging spread eagle position is also used in suspension bondage, for which wooden or steel bondage rigs are sometimes found in BDSM dungeons.{{sfnp|Zadig|2021|page=34}} Spreader bars can also be used with subjects who are kneeling on all fours to give access to the buttocks, genitals and anal region.{{cite magazine|title=18 Bondage Sex Positions That'll Have You Begging for More|url=https://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/positions/g13822514/rope-bondage/|magazine=Cosmopolitan|first=Jill|last=Hamilton|date=11 October 2022}}

Bondage in a spread eagle position provides immobility combined with a feeling of helplessness. It typically leaves much of the body available for BDSM play. This may include impact play, particularly if the subject is oriented with the back and buttocks exposed. Alternatively, if the front of the subject is exposed, erotic teasing may be undertaken.

Using the technique known an honor bondage,{{cite web|title=Bondage: It's More Than Just Rope|url=https://www.kinkly.com/2/9547/sex-tips/bdsm/bondage-its-more-than-just-rope|website=Kinkly|first=Kayla|last=Lords|date=30 November 2015}} an unrestrained submissive may be commanded to assume a spreadeagle position, either standing with or without support or laying down, and not move.{{cite web|title=How To Be A Dominatrix That Men Crave Being With|url=https://www.yourtango.com/2017306302/how-be-dominatrix-titles-sex-toys-clothes-femdom-submissive-men|date=23 June 2021|first=Rebecca Jane|last=Stokes|website=Your Tango}} This produces extreme vulnerability and can be a source of erotic humiliation.{{sfnp|Pelkey|2018|pages=48–49}}

During the American Civil War, soldiers convicted of theft, sleeping on duty, or cowardice could be punished by being tied spreadeagled to a large wooden wheel for five to six hours.{{cite web|title=10 Brutal Punishments That Used To Be Legal In The Military|url=https://taskandpurpose.com/military-life/10-brutal-punishments-used-legal-military/|first=Tahlia Y.|last=Burton|date=10 August 2016|website=Task & Purpose}}

• Limb restraint
• Blood eagle{{snd}}a method of ritual execution

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