Femininity, Sexual Positions and Choice

While women present themselves and their sexuality through dress and their deportment, there are areas of their sexual lives that are not so public and are less easy to research, such as intimate sexual relations. In this study, the authors report findings from interviews with men and women about a topic not often reported on – choice of sexual positions. The focus on sexual positions raises questions about sexual agency – who chooses, what do they choose, and why? It also raises issues of gender power and inequality between consenting (heterosexual) adults. In this study from urban Ghana, the authors show that women exercise sexual agency in the ‘bedroom’ but do so in ways that reflect emotional and relational security and, in turn, reflect men’s power. However, the article’s argument is not just about the power of men to seek and obtain pleasure. Women seek and obtain pleasure too.