Syntribation: Hands-Free Masturbation & Orgasm Technique

Syntribation is a type of masturbation where you rub your thighs together, practiced almost exclusively by women. This syntribation guide will teach you the origins of syntribation and how to syntribate by yourself and with a partner.

What Is Syntribation?

Maybe you’ve never heard the word “syntribation” before or maybe you’ve tried this type of masturbation without realizing it has a name!

Squeezing your core & thighs – Folks often find that squeezing their legs together feels good in a sexual way. Usually, it’s done while lying or sitting down when your legs are closed or crossed. After squeezing your legs together, you clench the muscles in your core and thighs, hopefully leading to orgasm.

Read: How to orgasm easily during sex & masturbation.

Pressure + movement = pleasure – Engaging your core and thighs like this can indirectly stimulate your vulva and clitoris through muscle movement and pressure. As you’re also drawing blood to your genitals, they may become engorged and sensitive, making it even easier to enjoy syntribation.

Origin of syntribation – Syntribation likely comes from the words that mean rubbing (trib) together (syn) and masturbation, even though most people don’t literally rub their thighs together. The oldest mention of “syntribation” we could find is a 2005 entry on Urban Dictionary, which describes rubbing thighs together rather than clenching muscles [1].

However, the act itself was mentioned nearly 30 years earlier by Shere Hite in her 1976 publication about women’s sexuality. Hite found that 3% of women masturbated this way, which she called Type IV [2].

Illustrated guide: How To Masturbate (For Women): 7 Step Orgasmic Guide

Plus, many women talk about syntribation online without using the word.. probably because they haven’t heard it (yet).

Why People Like Syntribation

Hands free – Syntribation is fun because it’s hands free masturbation, and you can do it without others noticing. If you’re into taboo or public sex, syntibration might scratch an itch.

Too sensitive – It’s also a good option if you’re too sensitive to enjoy direct clitoral stimulation from fingering yourself, a sex toy, or mouth. Alternatively, if you’re not that sensitive, syntribation can provide a lot of pressure.

Period? – You might stick to squeezing your thighs together for cleaner hands free masturbation when you have your period.

Guys like it too – While syntribation is more commonly discussed by folks with vulvas, it can still feel good if you have a penis.

How to Syntribate Alone

Syntribation is more often done solo than other types of masturbation, and we’ve got some ideas for giving yourself a great thigh job.

Legs Squeezed Together

Squeezing your legs together to orgasm is the easiest way to syntribate. Try it while in bed, watching TV, or working at your desk.

Legs Crossed

You can try syntribation while crossing one leg over the other. It may provide more stimulation because crossing your legs condenses the muscles in your genital area together. Plus, the pressure of one leg over the other can feel good in a different way than keeping your legs straight and parallel.

Different Positions

You don’t usually need to do anything special when syntribating. Many of the women in Hite’s report described lying down to syntribate, but you can do it while sitting, too.

If you’re especially skilled, give it a try while standing! Of course, it might be hard to get it right if you’re not in the ideal position.

Clenching Variations

One of the easiest ways to switch things up when syntribating is by changing how you flex your muscles. You can experiment with short or slow squeezes–or a combination of both. Try tensing your muscles and holding that position for as long as possible.

When it comes to squeezing, you can:

• Press one thigh against your other thigh
• Press both thighs up toward your clitoris/vulva

Related: The 21 different types of normal & abnormal vaginas.

Syntribation While Using a Sex Toy

Sex toys can add to syntribation in several ways:

• Place a toy, such as a soft vibrator, between your legs and against your clitoris while doing it.
• Hold a strong wand massager against your mons pubis or clitoris if you can access it.
• Use the strength of your kegel muscles to hold a toy like a dildo inside yourself while syntribating.
• Lie facedown on a vibrator while you do it.

With an Object

The Hite Report offers another option for syntribation: using a pillow, blanket, sheet or even old teddy bear between your thighs.

Sometimes people simply hold something between their legs while squeezing their muscles. It can also involve more active thigh grinding or dry humping of the object between your leg.

Clothing

Syntribation can feel different with different clothing. For example, tight panties or the seam of your jeans might feel enjoyable. Or you might like to do it in an A-line skirt, a loose dress, or while wearing nothing at all.

What you wear might not make a difference when you syntribate, but it doesn’t hurt to experiment.

Incorporating Syntribation with Other Techniques

Clitoral stimulation – use your fingers while clenching your thigh muscles. This might not work if you have bigger thighs. Grinding your thighs against an object for more direct clitoral stimulation.

Full guide: 9 clitoral stimulation techniques for deeply pleasurable orgasm during sex & masturbation.

Anal masturbation – try anal fingering or a toy like a probe, anal beads, or prostate massager (prostate massage tips).

Nipple and breast play – rub, pinch, and cup your breasts as feels good. Add nipple suckers or clamps if you like.

Bondage – tie your thighs together (or have a partner do it for you). Tie something like a pillow against your genitals.

Go deeper: Start with light bondage then try some of these 17 bondage sex positions.

Syntribation with a Partner

Can you syntribate with a partner? Yes, if you get creative!

Mutual Masturbation

If you’ve trained yourself to only orgasm by squeezing your thighs together, then penetration and typical partnered activities may not feel as satisfying. Instead, you can engage in mutual masturbation, where you touch yourselves… but together. Mutually masturbating can be a ton of fun.

9 tips for kinky mutual masturbation.

Syntribating in Public

Because it’s so discreet, syntribation is possible in a variety of settings. You can do it while at work or school with no one noticing. Your daily commute and the doctor’s office also offer opportunities for clenching your thighs for sexual pleasure.

It can be super hot to do something sexual in public. That’s most of the appeal of vibrating panties, after all.

But.. anything you do secretly in public technically violates others’ consent, so you may want to think twice about squeezing your thighs on the bus.

Related: Tips for sex outside.

Syntribation During Sex

It’s not always easy to syntribate during sex. You need a position where you can keep your legs close together. Spooning, Prone Bone or the Jockey position are three options that let you squeeze your thighs. You can also try something like Back Seat Driver or Side Saddle sex position.

But it will still feel a little different from solo syntribation.

We’ve got over 100 sex positions to try, and one of them might check all your boxes!

Syntribation during oral sex

If the partner performing oral sex is comfortable with it, the receiving partner can syntribate against/around their head! In other words, the receiving partner can squeeze their legs together around their head.

Just be careful not to hurt your partner!

Learn: How to give a great blow job (27 tips) and how to eat her out like a god (34 tips).

Potential Syntribation Problems

Can only orgasm in a very specific way – One of the biggest potential problems of syntribation is that you might become so used to experiencing pleasure this way that it becomes difficult to enjoy pleasure from other types of stimulation. This can be a problem when playing with a partner, especially during intercourse because it’s so different from what you know and like.

Motionless partner? – While no partnered activity can truly replicate syntribation, a partner can help. For example, they might stay still while between your legs. Alternatively, they can stimulate the rest of your body while you syntribate.

Retrain your body – Alternatively, you may need to retrain your body to appreciate other types of stimulation, including penetration, rubbing, or vibrations. To do this, you should stop syntribating while using other forms of stimulation to get aroused and, hopefully, orgasm. It can take weeks for this to pay off, and some people say they can never have an orgasm any other way. But you won’t know until you try.

Plus, plenty of people enjoy syntribation and other types of masturbation.

Now that you know how to give yourself a thigh job, you can experiment with syntribation. Whether in public or private, it can be fun to try a new type of masturbation. Know that it’s common to struggle to get off in other ways when you’re used to rubbing your thighs against each other, however.