# Poll for men and women - sitting and sexual preference **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 26, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023 "2012-02-26T01:51:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023/41 "2012-02-27T00:42:35Z")
Straight male. Isn’t one very common option missing-- legs crossed at the ankles? I selected legs apart, but I fequently sit legs crossed knee over knee, ankle over knee, and ankle to ankle. I cannot sit legs together naturally, so I never do; is it even possible to do so without applying some muscular force? ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023/42 "2012-02-27T01:03:35Z")
It really very much depends on where I’m sitting and what I’m doing. Straight Female. On the couch watching TV - I sit on my left foot Eating dinner at the table - I sit with both feet on the floor and knees slightly apart At a hockey game - I sit with both feet on the floor flat, with my feet up on the seat in front of me, or with my ankles crossed. I get fidgety. Wearing a dress - I sit with legs crossed at the knees, usually right over left. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023/43 "2012-02-27T02:12:48Z")
> [@colonial](#): > > I cannot sit legs together naturally, so I never do; is it even possible > to do so without applying some muscular force? Sure! Sit at one end of the couch, resting one arm on the armrest. Flex knees and draw legs up, laying them horizontal and parallel with knees on one side, feet tucked under butt on the other side. Knees stay together with no effort. It’s a restful position. (It’s also quite girly. Great for indulging in a good long cry.) ---
**Author:** ![Corcaigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Corcaigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corcaigh)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023/44 "2012-02-27T15:46:14Z")
Straight female, sit with my feet up on a footstool, occasionally crossed at the ankle ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023/45 "2012-02-27T18:29:16Z")
Straight guy; how I sit from most often to least often: (1) knees about 8" apart, knees bent, feet crossed at the ankle under my chair; (2) right leg over left, crossed at the knees; (3) right ankle on left knee; (4) knees together, but only if I’m being squashed by people on each side. Very uncomfortable. Yes, I have cock & balls, and no, they don’t keep me from crossing my legs at the knees. Although, I will say this position occasionally requires a surreptitious manual adjustment to get the goods out of the way. Sometimes, when I’m home and dressed in lounge pants, sitting in a comfy chair reading, my right foot will go under my left thigh, with my left foot either on the floor or bent at the knee with foot on the chair. I generally don’t sit like that among company, though (except my family). ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023/46 "2012-02-27T18:54:31Z")
Straight guy. Any position is better than knees together, which is terrible. On a hard chair or bench, I prefer legs crossed “like a girl” or else the ankle-on-knee “4”. On a soft chair or couch I prefer to slouch with my legs apart. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023/47 "2012-02-27T21:43:33Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Straight male. > > I’ve been told I “sit like a girl” when I cross my legs. I’ve got tight hip joints and sitting in the “4” position is uncomfortable for me. I either sit with one leg crossed over the other at the knee, or I sit with my legs apart. See, to me that would be the opposite of tight hip joints. I can’t understand how anyone comfortably sits with their legs crossed at the knee. Their hips are always twisted in what I would think was an uncomfortable position. I voted for ankle on knee, but that’s because that’s what I’m doing now. I also often sit uncrossed and open, and when talking to someone I often cross at the ankle. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023/48 "2012-02-27T22:28:31Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > God, I can’t get over that image. Male skeleton stands straight, all business while the female skeleton just _has_ to be posed _in a sexual manner_. Gimme a break. :rolleyes: I don’t know what the image is actually from. Perhaps the skeletons are real and were lying on a table. It’s just the best example I could find of the alignment of the the femur that I “see” when I draw. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023/49 "2012-02-28T00:04:10Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Sure! Sit at one end of the couch, resting one arm on the armrest. Flex knees and draw legs up, laying them horizontal and parallel with knees on one side, feet tucked under butt on the other side. Knees stay together with no effort. It’s a restful position. > > (It’s also quite girly. Great for indulging in a good long cry.) I meant is it possible to do so with _both feet on the floor_. As we speak I am forcing my knees into contact with both feet on the floor, and it is not a trivial muscular effort. Maybe if I had started practicing 20-30 years ago… ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023/50 "2012-02-29T04:31:14Z")
> [@colonial](#): > > I meant is it possible to do so with _both feet on the floor_. Well, nearly. It helps to sit with toosh back in your seat and upper body forward, sternum lifted (this is kind of girly too, come to think of it), and tuck one foot behind the ankle of the other foot. Lean your knees sideways until gravity presses the one knee between the other knee and the edge of the seat. As in my other example, gravity holds the knees together and you can relax. None of this is forced. With practice, it’s very fluid. This posture has one foot on the ground, and the other resting a couple inches off the floor by being tucked in behind the first foot’s ankle. I’m giving femme lessons here… ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023/51 "2012-02-29T07:52:47Z")
You left out: sit with legs crossed at ankle, resting on the coffee table in front of me. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023/52 "2012-02-29T08:05:58Z")
When I’m sitting at a desk using a computer, I sit with both feet on the floor, legs slightly apart. Most other times I sit with one leg curled up underneath me on the couch, or the “4” position. So I am not sure how to answer the poll. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023/53 "2012-02-29T08:36:40Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > It’s actually a bit rude in Thailand to sit with legs crossed ankle on knee. That means you’re showing the bottom of your foot and/or pointing your foot at someone. I long ago ago got in the habit of crossing them at the knees like all the guys do here. How do you do this…? It hurts when I try. ---
**Author:** ![Zenja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/47e85d/32.png) [@Zenja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenja)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023/54 "2012-02-29T09:00:38Z")
Straight male - my knees are always apart. Keeping them together takes some effort, probably due to muscle tension. I often have one of my legs folded under me, or just in front but still flat on the chair sideways. ---
**Author:** ![Waxwinged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c2a13f/32.png) [@Waxwinged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waxwinged)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023/55 "2012-02-29T13:02:09Z")
Question- Why is there not an option in the poll for the bisexuals out there? ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023/56 "2012-02-29T14:36:36Z")
Female, Straight Usually with my left foot on the seat of my chair under my right thigh. When that is inappropriate or uncomfortable it’s either feet on chair rung or uncrossed legs together canted to one side or stretched straight out in front. ---
**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023/57 "2012-02-29T14:47:07Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > I prefer to sit with my legs crossed [like this](http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/85699/85699,1202361400,3/stock-photo-young-woman-sitting-on-floor-meditating-in-yoga-lotus-pose-with-legs-crossed-and-eyes-closed-9467185.jpg), or with one leg tucked up under my butt and the other foot flat on the seat of the chair. But if I must behave myself and wear shoes or something, I’ll sit with my legs crossed at the knee. Straight female. That’s me too. Except I’m almost exclusively lotus position. I sit like that at work, out in public, and when I can’t sit like that, I’ll sit with one leg crossed over the other at the knee. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023/58 "2012-02-29T19:19:46Z")
> [@spankthecrumpet](#): > > Far more likely to be a correlation between being fat and favourite position. Fatter you are, less likely you are to cross yer legs. Yep: I’m a straight female who usually does the “ankle on knee” thing (I wear pants/jeans almost all of the time), but only because I’m too fat to comfortably cross my legs at the knees for long periods of time. I’m also too fat to have it look right: my legs don’t wind up being mostly next to each other, the way they should. In a long skirt, I sit either knee-over-knee (for a while) or with my knees together and ankles crossed. In a knee-length skirt, I sit with my knees together and ankles crossed. I’m getting closer to being able to “really” do the knee-over-knee thing, as I’ve gradually been losing weight, and I think it will become my preferred way of sitting once I get there. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023/59 "2012-02-29T19:39:32Z")
Male, straight, and as of the moment of opening this thread, am sitting with left leg resting over right thigh, while my right foot touches the floor. What I do for the rest of my life, though, may be colored by the results of this poll. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023/60 "2012-02-29T21:42:47Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > I’m getting closer to being able to “really” do the knee-over-knee thing, as I’ve gradually been losing weight, and I think it will become my preferred way of sitting once I get there. Try to avoid making a habit of it. It’s taken me a long time to get out of the habit. But if you have any hip problems at all (I have one arthritic hip that has bothered me since I was 20), sitting with legs crossed will exacerbate that. The joints get stressed and you’re sitting unevenly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-men-and-women-sitting-and-sexual-preference/614023.md?page=4)