# Angle degree and movement in human copulation **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 2, 2015, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983 "2015-03-02T04:24:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983/21 "2015-03-02T18:12:58Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > You’re thinking of England again. No, no. That’s the stiff upper lip part. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983/22 "2015-03-02T23:02:22Z")
Is this thread contributing to the delinquency of a minor? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983/23 "2015-03-03T00:46:46Z")
Well this certainly sounds arrousing. ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983/24 "2015-03-03T01:25:50Z")
Um, no. The penis does not, in fact, go past the cervix. Ever. However conducive this might be to conception. ---
**Author:** ![Inna\_Minnit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Inna\_Minnit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inna_Minnit)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983/25 "2015-03-03T02:49:52Z")
> [@Emiliana](#): > > Um, no. The penis does not, in fact, go past the cervix. Ever. However conducive this might be to conception. Get thee a good anatomical drawing. It can in fact move past the cervix, depending on angle of attack (so to speak) it will move into the anterior or posterior fornix, if the man has enough length to get there. But I think you are meaning go INTO the cervix. And that does not happen. The cervix is a tightly closed ring of muscle, and it only softens and stretches to open in childbirth. ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983/26 "2015-03-03T06:36:40Z")
> [@Inna\_Minnit](#): > > Get thee a good anatomical drawing. It can in fact move past the cervix, depending on angle of attack (so to speak) it will move into the anterior or posterior **fornix** , if the man has enough length to get there. Must be why they call it “fornication”. ---
**Author:** ![Umbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Umbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Umbridge)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983/27 "2015-03-04T00:42:42Z")
> [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](#): > > Must be why they call it “fornication”. Actually, **fornication** is derived from the word **fornix** , which means “an arch”, which must be an euphemism for a brothel or prostitution. The fornix in the female reproductive system must be the “arch-like doorway” into the uterus. ---
**Author:** ![Inna\_Minnit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Inna\_Minnit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inna_Minnit)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983/28 "2015-03-04T03:00:42Z")
> [@Umbridge](#): > > Actually, **fornication** is derived from the word **fornix** , which means “an arch”, which must be an euphemism for a brothel or prostitution. The fornix in the female reproductive system must be the “arch-like doorway” into the uterus. Again, get a good anatomical drawing. It isn’t an “arch-like doorway into the uterus.” It is the area surrounding the outside if the cervix. It is also described as a cul de sac. It doesn’t lead anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Noel\_Prosequi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b19c9b/32.png) [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983/29 "2015-03-04T03:37:19Z")
> [@Carl\_Pham](#): > > There’s a considerable amount of flexibility in the human body. If you are copulating face-to-face, then usually the woman’s pelvis is tilted up a bit, so that her vagina can be approached from below (towards her feet) and above (towards her belly), and the man’s lower back is arched a bit, so that his motion is mostly up (towards her head) and a little bit down (towards her back), and the flexibility of the various parts does the rest. You might also bear in mind that intercourse does not usually involve just one fairly rigid position and a lot of precision reciprocating motion. Usually the couple squirm around, shift position, move arms and legs and torso, roll this way and that, bend and arch and so forth. It’s not just a question of arranging the bodies in some static arrangement and then pistoning away, it’s more a continuous semi-fluid whole-body kind of interaction, albeit one centered on the coupling genitalia. Most. Romantic. Post. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983/30 "2015-03-04T17:24:05Z")
Most erotic “[dwarf](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fornax_Dwarf)” ever. (A great setting for Science Fiction porno. A whole galaxy of possibilities!) But if you really want a [cluster-hump](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fornax_Cluster)… ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983/31 "2015-03-04T18:48:36Z")
> [@tim-n-va](#): > > IIRC, the average erection angles away from the body at 23 degrees, the average vagina angles in at 23 degrees. Your angle may vary. I’m not sure of the exact numbers, but you’re probably about right. However, I think those numbers are pretty much irrelevant. Both penis and vagina are flexible enough that there is really no angle that would make penetration impossible. A position like reverse cowgirl, for example, has everything in all the wrong places based on those average angles and yet it is possible. (In fact, it’s a lot easier than you might expect). ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_York](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_York](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_York)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983/32 "2015-03-05T00:33:02Z")
> [@tim-n-va](#): > > IIRC, the average erection angles away from the body at 23 degrees, the average vagina angles in at 23 degrees. Your angle may vary. As Pythagoras said, “the heat of the beat determines the angle of the dangle” ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983/33 "2015-03-05T01:47:59Z")
> [@Duke\_of\_York](#): > > As Pythagoras said, “the heat of the beat determines the angle of the dangle” I thought the angle of the dangle was equal to the heat of the meat divided by the mass of the ass. Or: AD = HM/MA ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983/34 "2015-03-05T14:28:17Z")
I feel as if I’m going to regret this, but my curiosity has been piqued: **Umbridge** , you sound like you’re a virgin. Are you young? Or have you just not gotten around to having sex yet? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983/35 "2015-03-05T16:47:03Z")
OP needs to get a lab partner and start experimenting. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983/36 "2015-03-05T16:52:02Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > OP needs to get a lab partner and start experimenting. Hopefully he isn’t home schooled. ---
**Author:** ![Umbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Umbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Umbridge)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2015, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983/37 "2015-03-06T01:06:53Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > I feel as if I’m going to regret this, but my curiosity has been piqued: **Umbridge** , you sound like you’re a virgin. Are you young? Or have you just not gotten around to having sex yet? I am a life-long learner who is interested in many things under the sun - language, literature, arts, history, computer programming, biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, etc. Reproduction is an important part of biology and what contributes to the definition of speciation. This thread is about _human_ reproduction. Understandably, it is a sensitive topic and something that too many people take for granted. This thread simply illuminates what people do in their bedrooms. From a biological perspective, copulation can be a _costly_ business, and many animals compete amongst themselves for reproductive access. Humans mate differently, and there is this concept called “marriage”, which in Western culture, means the supposedly everlasting marriage between two persons. That said, I started this thread purely out of curiosity, not that I am really interested in it for my own practical use. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2015, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983/38 "2015-03-06T12:41:50Z")
That sure was a roundabout, drawn-out “yes”. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2015, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983/39 "2015-03-06T13:48:17Z")
Not necessarily. Maybe his species does it differently. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983/40 "2015-03-06T14:57:03Z")
> [@Umbridge](#): > > In my mind, I thought sex was a static process It can be, if your bedding is made of rabbit fur and polyester. Better put a grounding strap on the bedpost. Anyway… cardboard tube. I just thought I’d get that out of the way. Longtime members will know why. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angle-degree-and-movement-in-human-copulation/713983.md?page=3)