Tired of missionary and bored of doggy style? Checked the helicopter and corkscrew off your to-do list? Well, if you’re looking for a bit more of a challenge in the bedroom, allow us to introduce you to the butter churner sex position. But be warned: this one’s tough on your abs.
The butter churner (also known as the squat thruster) is definitely one of the lesser-known positions, but it did enjoy a brief moment of virality in 2020 after Callum Jones revealed it was his favourite position during the Spill The Tea Challenge of Winter Love Island.
Intrigued? We were too, so we asked Gigi Engle, a certified sex and relationship psychotherapist and resident intimacy expert at dating app 3Fun, to give us the scoop on how to master this posish (and why it’s so good).
What is the butter churner sex position?
The butter churner involves the receiving partner — usually someone with a vulva — getting into a shoulder stand and is then penetrated by their partner who is standing above them. Sounds like a workout. We give the butter churner 5/5 for difficulty, so limber up if you’re gonna try this one.
To achieve this position, you first need to get into a shoulder stand on the floor, using the sofa or the edge of the bed to support your weight. Then, with your legs crossed in the air, get your partner to hold your ankles and enter you from above.
“For the receiver, you need to be able to hold a shoulder stand for a prolonged time. It takes a lot of core stabilisation and coordination to achieve, especially on an uneven surface like a bed. If you lack stability in this position you can use a wall or bed for balance,” explains Engle.
Top tip: make sure the receiver uses their elbows to support their weight, and avoids putting pressure on their neck (a pillow under the neck might help with this). A post-sex injury can really kill the blissful aftercare vibe.
Benefits of the butter churner sex position
This position is high payoff, but can also be high reward. Firstly, the novelty of a new angle can be really exciting, and the depth of thrust means you can achieve great G-spot stimulation. And because it’s tricky, the butter churner relies on communication and care, so it can be super intimate, too.
What’s more, says Engle, “the receiver gets the benefit of holding still and letting your partner do the work. Gravity can aid in pumping up the experience, as the person laying on their back is going to have a rush of blood flow to the brain which can be pleasurable and exhilarating”. Though, she adds, “this is obviously a bit dangerous too”, so treat it as a position for a good time, not a long time.
Plus, your partner has full access to your clit, meaning you could experiment with using a bullet vibrator or clit sucker at the same time, for dreamy blended orgasms. But warned, trying to hold a shoulder stand while you cum is even harder than it sounds.
“The biggest appeal of all is being able to say you actually pulled this position off because it is a sex position for true champs,” says Engle — and we couldn’t agree more. There’s nothing like a mutual sense of achievement after sex!
Lois Shearing is Cosmoplitan's Former Senior Sex and Relationship Writer. They have been writing about sex, sexuality, gender, politics, and relationships for almost ten years. Their writing on these topics has appeared in Mashable, The Independent, Metro, The Advocate, and Byline Times, among others. In 2021, they published their first book, Bi the Way with JKP. They are currently working on two other books, set to be published in 2024. In a previous life, they worked as a content marketer and content writer for various tech start-ups. They continue to be interested in the tech sector and its impact on our lives, relationships, and work, with particular regard to the ways AI will shape our relationships in the future. Outside of work, they are deeply passionate about queer community organising, and run the only support resource for bisexual survivors of sexual violence in the UK: the Bi Survivors Network. You can find them on Instagram and X.
