Spooning
Meaning
Spooning is a way of cuddling that requires a minimum of two participants.
Both are usually in a lying position, and they are always facing the same way. The participants are close together, ones front pushing against the others back.
The posterior person will usually have their arms around the person in the front.
This position is called “spooning”.
The person in the back is often referred to as the “big spoon”, and the person in front is the “little spoon”. Often the man is the big spoon, and the woman is the small spoon, but the roles are not fixed.
via MEME
Origin
The term is called “spooning” because of the way that spoons fit perfectly into each other when placed parallelly on top of each other. They almost seem to be hugging one another.
The big spoon must be in the back, because he cannot comfortably fit into the small spoon if the roles were opposite.
It was first seen as a term on Usenet in 1994.
Spread and Usage
While the cuddling position is generally not defined as a sexual activity, “spooning” can also be referred to as a sexual position.
Some refer to it as “passive foreplay”, as having the woman’s butt pushing against the man’s genitals will, in many cases, lead to sex.
Others have a less positive view on the romantic endeavour, as it seems to be extremely comfortable for the little spoon, but not for the big spoon whose ‘hands fall asleep’ and get ‘hair in their face’.
External References
- Habitat – Is it better to be the big spoon or the little spoon?
- Dictionary.com – spooning