Standing face-to-face (leg raised)

M/F · Vaginal penetration · Standing

Posed figure

Keypoint template

PenetratingReceivingCOCO-17 template · schematic, not to scale

Attributes

Position family
One-on-one
Primary act
Vaginal penetration
Partner arrangement
Standing
Penetration type
Vaginal
Facing
Face to face
Dynamics
Thrusting
Support / surface
Standing, unsupported
Participant count
Two
Composition code
M/F
Source medium
Both
Physical difficulty
Moderate
Prevalence in adult media
Common
Intensity tier (compliance)
Explicit

Common camera framing

Side profileWide / full body

Description: Upright face-to-face penetration only works once the angle is opened, and the raised leg is what opens it: both partners stand facing each other while the receiving partner lifts one leg and hooks it over the penetrating partner's hip. The stance leaves the receiving partner balanced on a single foot, so the penetrating partner's arms take part of the load, gripping the raised thigh or wrapping the waist. Thrusting stays shallow compared with horizontal positions but the full-length body contact compensates.

Variations: The raised leg held at the knee or at the ankle; a wall behind either partner for stability; a height mismatch corrected with a step under the shorter partner.

On camera: The raised-leg line is the frame itself; a shower and on-location staple, shot in profile or wide to keep both standing bodies whole.

AI design considerations: Two upright facing figures with one hooked leg bridging them. The lifted knee's height sets the read; keep the standing leg planted and vertical or the pose loses balance credibility.

Historical provenance

Where this position appears in historical sex manuals, erotic art & literature · full timeline →

  • Sthita (the steadied congress)Indian (Gupta era)

    Kama SutraVatsyayana · c. 3rd century CE

    Standing against a wall or pillar.

  • Utthita-bandha (standing class)Indian (late medieval)

    Ananga RangaKalyanamalla · 15th–16th century CE

  • Khajuraho & Konark temple sculptureChandela and Eastern Ganga sculptors · c. 950–1250 CE

    The upright embracing couples that anchor the temple friezes.

Depicted in the historical record

Museum-attested works showing this arrangement · full timeline →

  • Torii Kiyonaga, Sode no Maki ("Handscroll for the Sleeve")Shunga

    c. 1785 · MFA Boston & British Museum

Also known asstanding embraceone leg upflamingo
Kama Sutra: Sthita (the steadied, standing)

Related positions

Part of the Erotic Pose Catalog open dataset · CC BY 4.0 · keypoints are idealised COCO-17 templates.