History Main / LieBackAndThinkOfEngland

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* ''LightNovel/RecordOfGrancrestWar'': Milza Kuces demands Marrine Kriesche sleep with him as the price of his support, which he casts as a test of whether she truly has the resolve to unite the lands of Atlatan under her banner. She accepts, but she definitely doesn't enjoy it and is only doing it to further her conquest: not only is she a virgin, but her thoughts are still with her estranged TrueLove Alexis Doucet. This is contrasted in the same episode with Theo and Siluca becoming the OfficialCouple elsewhere.
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* ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' has "Lie back and think of Torchwood" in the episode "Countrycide" while Owen tends to Gwen's gunshot wound.

** In their mockery of ''Film/TheStarfighters'', one of the many, ''many'' jokes made over the endless StockFootage of midair refuelling in the movie was "just lie back and think of England's airspace."
** For ''Film/AgentForHARM'', a Russian woman deals with our sleazy middle-aged "hero" Adam Chance, prompting Mike to say, "She's thinking of England, France, the entire European community, the Middle East..."

* Used jokingly by Franklin on ''Series/BabylonFive''. When Ivanova learns that an alien diplomat will only seal a potential alliance through sex with her, he suggests, "You could put a bag over his head and do it for Babylon 5!"

--> '''Arthur:''' Touch me and I'll scream.

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Compare BritishStuffiness and StiffUpperLip, related to the same national stereotypes. Contrast ThinkUnsexyThoughts. For the trope about wives "putting up with" sex they don't actually want, see MaritalRapeLicense. See also AwfulWeddedLife for when '''nothing''' about being in a relationship is enjoyable.

* Averted when Cora begins a conversation with Mary before her wedding on ''Series/DowntonAbbey'', as she tells her daughter that "it really is terrible fun!"

* In the ''Literature/AubreyMaturin'' series, Sophie may have been brought up to follow this trope, despite Jack's best efforts to encourage her to enjoy their marital relations. Then again, Jack approaches sex with the same cheerful energy with which he approaches boarding actions, and his idea of foreplay is getting drunk at dinner. Sophie has good reason to not enjoy sex with her husband.

-->-- ''[[http://www.snopes.com/weddings/newlywed/advice.asp Instruction and Advice for the Young Bride]] [[LongTitle on the Conduct and Procedure of the Intimate and Personal Relationships of the Marriage State for the Greater Spiritual Sanctity of this Blessed Sacrament and the Glory of God]].''[[note]]Not authentic in the slightest -- but funny.[[/note]]

The phrase seems to have originated in one Lady Hillingdon's journal, where she wrote in 1912 that "When I hear his steps outside my door I lie down on my bed, open my legs and think of England." However, the journal itself has never been found, so it's uncertain how reliable this attribution is. It's possible the phrase was invented as a joke on the assumption that Victorian and Edwardian ladies were prudish in the extreme. Keep in mind, though, that in this time period it wasn't unheard of for a woman of a high class to have to choose between marrying a strange man many years her senior who had no interest in pleasing her, and suffering serious societal repercussions including being possibly left penniless when her parents died. In other words, lying back and thinking of England may have been the best of bad options. Additionally, Lady Hillingdon (if she was indeed the author) was in her fifties when she wrote this, and so may have had problems -- many now treatable -- which rendered sex no longer enjoyable for her. Finally, contrary to CommonKnowledge, it's got nothing to do with Queen Victoria, who had died eleven years earlier and who was ''very'' HappilyMarried.

[[AllWomenArePrudes For women]], sex is a chore, a duty that must be endured. [[CriticalResearchFailure God knows they don't enjoy the sex act]]. Feigning headaches, stomachaches and menses can only postpone the dreaded inevitable. Then it's time to grit your teeth, hike your skirt, "lie back and think of England".

* Mentioned in the ''ComicBook/{{Thor}}'' fanfic Between Worlds, during a flashback showing Loki taking a young noblewoman to bed. She invokes this (replace England with Asgard), thinking that he will not let her enjoy the experience. [[spoiler: She's wrong.]]

''[[OrphanedPunchline "I think I'll paint the ceiling beige... Yeah, beige, to match the curtains."]]''

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* Stolas from ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'' is a rare male example; as he was forcibly engaged to [[RichBitch Stella]] since he was a ''pre-teen'' to birth Octavia as a precautionary heir to the Goetia family name, this has lead to him leading a generally unhappy and lonely life until [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Blitzo]] comes along.
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[[AllWomenArePrudes For women]], sex is a chore, a duty that must be endured. [[CriticalResearchFailure God knows they don't enjoy the sex act.]] Feigning headaches, stomachaches and menses can only postpone the dreaded inevitable. Then it's time to grit your teeth, hike your skirt, "lie back and think of England".

* Punned by Music/{{Skyclad}} as "[[PoliticallyCorrectHistory Think Back And Lie Of England]]".

* In ''VideoGame/NiNoKuniWrathOfTheWhiteWitch'', Drippy tells Abul to "lie back and think of Al Mamoon" when Oliver needs to take a piece of his heart to fix the Cowlipha's lack of restraint.

->''"To the sensitive young woman who has had the benefits of proper upbringing, the wedding day is, ironically, both the happiest and most terrifying day of her life. On the positive side, there is the wedding itself, in which the bride is the central attraction in a beautiful and inspiring ceremony, symbolizing her triumph in securing a male to provide for all her needs for the rest of her life. On the negative side, there is the wedding night, during which the bride must pay the piper, so to speak, by facing for the first time the [[BlatantLies terrible experience]] of sex."''

* ''Fanfic/RocketshipVoyager''. Captain Janeway gets into an argument with Chakotay over why he turned rebel for the Maquis. Chakotay brings up an incident where Janeway mutinied against a captain who wanted to use his female crewmembers as a colony's BabyFactory and snarks, "Shouldn't you girls have just closed your eyes and thought of the Tri-World Federation?"

* In ''Literature/ABrothersPrice,'' Jerin fears that he may have to do this, as he dreads being married to the [[ExoticExtendedMarriage daughters]] of the neighbouring Brindle family. Eventually, [[spoiler: he marries a group of sisters (one of whom was raped by her previous husband) and does something that looks suspiciously like a "mount him and think of England" variant of this. They do cuddle affectionately, though.]]

** Ever on the lookout for new ways to antagonize his son-in-law Arthur, Leodagan gets him to participate in a clan tradition after pacifying rebels: the victorious leader must rape the defeated chief's eldest daughter (Arthur is understandably disgusted but Leodagan threatens to secede if the king refuses to honor his allies' traditions). So Arthur enters and explains to the girl that he's willing to act as though he'd raped her, but it turns out the girl is the chief's second-eldest daughter who was very much looking forward to it (Arthur being known as one of the few men in Britain who bathes and has romantic ideals), to the point that she'd persuaded her sister to switch places. As Arthur continues to refuse to do the deed after they come to an agreement (he'll make her one of his official mistresses and she'll live at Kaamelott), she ends up threatening to rape ''him'' at swordpoint.

[[AllWomenArePrudes For women]], sex is a chore, a duty that must be endured. [[CriticalResearchFailure God knows they don't enjoy the sex act.]] Feigning headaches, stomachaches and menses can only postpone the dreaded inevitable. Then it's time to grit your teeth, hike your skirt, lie back and think of England.

[[AllWomenArePrudes For women]], sex is a chore, a duty that must be endured. [[CriticalResearchFailure God knows they don't enjoy the sex act.]] Feigning headaches, stomachaches and menses can only postpone the dreaded inevitable. Then it's time to grit your teeth, hike your skirt, [[TitleDrop Lie Back and Think of England]].

* ''Literature/TheWarAgainstTheChtorr''. [=McCarthy=] is so nervous about making love to ColonelBadass 'Liz' Tirelli that to get him to lighten up she strips naked, wraps herself in the American flag, and orders him to make love for his country. The next day [=McCarthy=] is miffed when the colonel reverts to her usual IceQueen demeanor in public, only to crack up laughing on seeing she's wearing a tiny flag pin.

* In ''Film/{{Feast}}'', part of Tuffy's job description ([[SexualExtortion if she wants to keep her job as a waitress at Bossman's bar, which she need to support her son]]), is servicing Bossman. When the time comes for her to take a "meeting", she just bends over his desk and has a smoke, waiting for it to be over.