Words by: Angel Tully
Artwork by: Ilanda Tran 

“Lay back and think of England.”

That was the phrase my English teacher once described the act of sex in the ‘olden days’ as, something that mothers would tell their daughters to just endure for the sake of reproduction — she was British.

Her comment always stuck with me, mostly for its comedic value in 21st century Australia, but also because it just goes to show how far we’ve come to publicly recognise female sexuality even in the most private settings.

Female sexuality is accepted so much so that popular culture has affectionately named the former lay-back-and-think-of-England position as a “Pillow Princess”. Whilst the term has some negative connotations about women who prefer the non-reciprocal style of love-making, it is still a step up from sacrificing our cooch for our country — a win for feminism!!

So what does it really mean to be a pillow princess? To me, it means two things.

It means that we finally live in a world where the female body can be pleasured and worshipped with no expectation of providing something in return. It means that the classic missionary position can celebrate women as royalty, however spoilt, rather than as victims of marital obligation.

It also means I get to lay back and enjoy myself without lifting a finger, pun intended, whilst my boyfriend does all the hard work. Honestly I feel a tiny bit bad for the knights in shining armour who have to carry their starfish lovers to the finish line with absolutely no support. But at the end of the day, we still both get our cake (and eat it too 😉 ), so who has time to worry about the details, right girlies?

Don’t get me wrong, a couple of crazy acrobatic positions to shake things up sometimes are so fun, but alas I am also a creature of habit. And laying myself down to do the bare minimum is where I truly thrive — a pillow professional, if you will.

You see, my weakness is a good old guy in charge… in the bedroom. A bit anti-feminist of me I suppose. Thus, I justify my shortcoming to myself by sitting back to reap the fruits of a man’s sexual labour and contributing literally nothing but a cute face, the true glory of an individual as privileged as a pillow princess.

For all you queens out there straddling your high horses, we see you. Dare I say we pillow princesses aspire to ascend from the comfort of our bedsheets and reign at your level one day too. But until then, I’ll continue to lay back and get the royal treatment I deserve, in the name of female sexual liberation everywhere, from the comforts of my memory foam, silk-covered pillow.