How to 69

The low down:

The 69 sex position involves two partners performing oral sex on each other simultaneously, with bodies placed head-to-toe so each person's mouth aligns with the other's genitals. The 69 position works for all genders and sexual orientations as it involves mutual oral stimulation and only requires both partners to comfortably align head-to-toe.
The classic 69 position can be performed with one partner on top, both partners lying on their sides, or with one partner standing and the other inverted. Using a pillow under the hips and communicating about comfort are the two top tips for making the 69 position more comfortable.
The main challenge of the 69 position is dividing attention between giving and receiving pleasure simultaneously. Slowing down, communicating and taking turns focusing can make the experience significantly more satisfying for both partners.

Here's what nobody tells you about the 69 until you've done it properly. It isn't the mechanics. It isn't the geometry, number itself, or the decades-long chokehold that the number has on most of the population. It's the moment your mouth finds them at the exact second theirs finds you - and any ounce of decorum swiftly exits the building.

Something happens when pleasure loops… When the gasp you draw out of them travels straight down your spine. When you feel them lose focus for a second because of your excellent head game, then they recover and do something with their tongue that makes you forget your own name entirely. It's a feedback loop. It builds, and builds, and builds until you can’t take it anymore. The 69 sex position is oral sex with no queue or turn-taking. Just two people entirely occupied, quietly (or loudly) competing over who comes first.

What is the 69 Position?

Simply put, it’s two people, head to toe, with their mouths exactly where they want to be, simultaneously. The name is a picture: two bodies curved into each other, the shape of a 6 and a 9 nestled up close.
The classic 69 position puts one of you on your back and the other above them, facing the opposite way. From the bottom view, you get a view other sex positions can rarely offer. And from the top? You get to lower yourself onto their tongue, so it hits all the right places while your tongue roams freely.

How to Perform the 69 Position

Here’s how to 69 properly, for maximum joy:
One of you lies back with a head on a pillow, legs slightly apart to leave yourself completely and utterly available. The other climbs on facing away from you, knees planted either side of their partner's head, hips lowering toward that waiting mouth.
Sometimes it can take a few seconds to find your rhythm with each other, and when it does, you'll be moving together in a loop that neither of you is entirely leading - your hips answering their mouth, their hips answering yours; the whole thing building until you're both fully lost in the throes of pleasure.

Getting the Angle Right

The most common first-time issue with the 69 oral sex position is the angle: the partner on top is either too high so the mouth can't comfortably reach or hovering too low so the partner below can't breathe comfortably. The fix for this is pillows: a pillow under the lying partner's head raises their mouth to a more comfortable working height and takes all pressure off the neck. A small adjustment that makes an enormous difference to the position.
The partner on top controls height with their knees and core: hovering just enough to give the partner below room to breathe and move freely, while keeping close enough for their own access to be effortless.

Benefits of the 69 Position

Why has the 69-position remained one of the most iconic positions in the playbook? Because it delivers:

Mutual pleasure
The most obvious benefit of all. This is the oral position where nobody is waiting, and nobody is doing all the work. You’re both receiving and giving in the same moment, which creates an intimacy that other types of oral, however excellent, can’t quite top.
The arousal feedback loop
Being pleasured while you pleasure someone else creates a feedback loop of arousal that intensifies sensation for both parties. The sounds, movements and responses of your partner amplify your own experience in real time.
Full-body contact
Unlike sitting on someone’s face or standard oral, 69’ing involves full-body contact throughout the whole experience. Your hands can roam freely, and there's warmth and the weight across the entire length of each other’s bodies. It's oral sex and full-body intimacy at the same time: winner, winner!

The perfect next position

Now you’ve mastered the classic 69, try some mouth-watering variations like the sideways 69 and standing 69.

Teach me more

Want more? Make your way through our sex position guides to keep your bedroom hot, unpredictable and entirely focused on your climax.

Love,
AS

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