Flexibility Equals Sex Ability

Barney: There are currently no positions available.
Nora: I'm a yoga instructor. Every position is available.

— How I Met Your Mother, "Shelter Island"

That character must be a gymnast, or a ballet dancer, or maybe a cheerleader, or even a Yoga teacher. Look at how they bend and flex. They must be incredible in bed, right?

Being flexible is frequently a factor in attractiveness, and is often taken to strongly imply that somebody has extremely good sexual skills. It may even be used as a family-friendly way of indicating the latter.

While this is commonly a trope about women, it can also be applied to men. While the flexibility may be part of the character's profession, it may just be that they work out and keep themselves limber.

Related to All Guys Want Cheerleaders, as their flexibility may be one element of their attractiveness, but this is not the only reason why guys may want cheerleaders. Related to Inherently Attractive Profession, where gymnasts (or other professions involving flexibility) may be considered attractive due to that flexibility, but this trope applies to any flexible character regardless of profession.

Differs from Power Perversion Potential in that this can be just about normal human flexibility, although the tropes can overlap in the case of the Rubber Man. While a Contortionist may end up with this trope as well, this trope is specifically about attractiveness and implied sexual ability instead of the flexibility itself.

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Examples

Anime and Manga

• When Lupin and Fujiko are about to have sex the first time, Fujiko informs him that she's double-jointed.

Comic Books

• Mister Fantastic, as a Rubber Man, is known for his flexibility...and the effects it can have on his sex life.
• Nightwing: Born a Circus Brat, Dick Grayson is an extremely skilled acrobat who's known for his flexibility and agility. He also happens to be one of DC Comics most famous womanizers, with his lover Cheyenne even describing him as a Sex God, as sleeping with him is strenuously exhausting due to his athletics.
• Plastic Man is also known for his Power Perversion Potential uses of his Rubber Man abilities, and has a wife and child to show for it.
• Like his fellow Rubber Men, The Elongated Man can stretch and bend any part of his body, and is very Happily Married.

Fan Works

• The Joy of Stretch by SpyHunter29 is a Persona 5 Royal fanfiction, where the main character and Kasumi (a.k.a. Sumire) Yoshizawa, a rhythmic gymnast, go on a date to a love hotel. She leads him in many flexible positions that are so stimulating, they very nearly summon their Personas upon reaching their final climax.
• The Naked Jedi: Intimate relations are handled by an Agility-based Coordination check, the difficulty set by the partner's Presence-based Cool skill.
• Triptych Continuum: The Continuum iteration of Lyra Heartstrings is stated to be double-jointed across nearly the whole of her body, capable of contorting herself in ways that would seriously injure most ponies. The hints that she lets out about the applications of this talent leave many ponies very frustrated that she is firmly monogamous.

Film — Animation

• Implied in The Incredibles, when Elastigirl stretches her body around Mr. Incredible and flirtily tells him to be more "flexible." He visibly loses his train of thought, and then asks if she's doing anything later.

Film — Live-Action

• In Across the Universe (2007), after the gang is reunited with Prudence at Mr. Kite's circus, she cheerfully introduces her new girlfriend Rita, then suggestively notes that she's a contortionist.
• The Dark Knight: Part of Bruce Wayne's fake Millionaire Playboy cover story for disappearing for a few days to kidnap a money launderer from Hong Kong is to very publicly invite an entire Russian ballet troupe for a trip on his yacht. While he obviously skips out on the outing, his butler is more than happy to keep the women company.
• Discussed in Fantastic Four (2005). Johnny Storm gives an interview to a female reporter, who suggestively asks whether it's true that Mister Fantastic can stretch any part of his anatomy. Johnny retorts, "I've always found him to be a little limp", to the reporter's amusement (and Reed's chagrin).
• Gayby: Jenn is a yoga instructor, which comes into play during her sex with Louis when they get into a variety of exciting physical positions.
• The Naked Gun: Frank asks Ed about Frank's ex and how she's doing with her new guy; Ed tells him the guy's an Olympic gymnast and it's the best sex she's ever had.
• Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis: Mimi distracts the guards by asking if they've ever gotten their freak on with a triple-jointed Sagittarian gymnast.
• Nomi Malone from Showgirls is able to bring Zack to climax quickly with her wriggliness. The first time is a lap dance that's almost Right Through His Pants, and the second time is in his pool, thrashing madly amidst Anatomically Impossible Sex. Nomi is a pliant li'l minx.
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine: Fred falls in love after one night with someone; when asked why, he says, "She's a gymnast".

Literature

• In Dan Brown's Angels & Demons, CERN physicist Vittoria Vetra is also an accomplished yoga practitioner. The book ends with her asking protagonist Robert Langdon if he has ever had a religious experience, and when he says no, she adds, "You've never been to bed with a yoga master, have you?", before initiating coitus. This aspect of her character is absent from The Film of the Book.
• Belisarius Series: Virgin Indian princess Shakuntala actually ends up surprising her husband on their wedding night by turning out to be an innate Sex Goddess, which is mostly attributed to her nimbleness and flexibility.
• A very macabre example in the Dean Koontz novel The Face. When planning an elaborate kidnapping, the anarchist Corky gets help from a man who wants revenge on one of Corky's contacts for seducing and possibly murdering his ex-girlfriend, a porn star noted for her extraordinary flexibility. Corky privately wonders if the murderer took advantage of her talents to bury her remains in a tiny box.
• I Shall Wear Midnight: The Duchess is revealed to have been a dancing girl who married an aristocrat rather than the Blue Blood she claims to be. This is brought up by someone who knew her back then asking if she can still kick a man's hat off his head.

Live-Action TV

• Bones: In "The Body in the Bag", Sweets and Booth have to watch a woman's sex tape to look for clues about a murder and Sweets comments on how flexible she is, earning him an odd look from Booth.
• Cougar Town: In "Into The Great Wide Open", Jules tries to prove her sexual prowess to her younger boyfriend by doing a sex move which involves her placing her leg on his shoulder. She ends up hurting herself in the process.
• The Crazy Ex-Girlfriend number "I'm So Good At Yoga". Rebecca feels threatened and jealous of her old flame Josh's new girlfriend Valencia, a conventionally attractive yoga teacher, and shows up to her yoga class to examine her. She imagines Valencia in a Bollywood-style number singing about how her flexibility and skill at yoga lets her kiss her own genitals, makes anal sex painless, and gives her easy vaginal orgasms.
• The Drew Carey Show: In "Drew and The Activist", Drew hooks up with a woman named Rachel. When they have sex, Drew asks her, "Do you have any bones at all?".
• The Durrells: In one episode, Chivalrous Pervert Larry Durrel hooks up with Elena, a circus acrobat. At the end of the episode, when observing the two saying a passionate farewell, Larry's mother dryly comments:
  Louisa: We [women] try to be fascinating and lovely, but all men want is a girlfriend who is really bendy.
• Friends:
  • In "The One Where Everybody Finds Out" when Phoebe learns Chandler and Monica are together. She messes with Chandler by pretending to seduce him, and seduction chicken ensues.
    Chandler: I'm so glad we're going to have all the sex!
    Phoebe: You should be. I'm very bendy!
  • Referenced in "The One With Joeys Porsche" when Monica mentions "the age when you stop being able to put your legs behind your head."
    Phoebe: Oh, I can still do that!
    Monica: How are you still single?
• Game of Thrones: One of the recurring prostitutes in Littlefinger's brothel is played by British contortionist Pixie Le Knot and is frequently seen in impressively flexible poses as part of her beckoning customers to choose her for her "services." Tyrion Lannister introduces her as "...one of four women in the world who can perform a proper Meereenese Knot."
• The Golden Girls: Implied in "Three on a Couch" when Blanche introduces herself to the psychologist by flirtily informing him that she's double-jointed.
• Hellcats: Cheerleader co-captain Alice brags to her friends about giving her boyfriend "nasty acrobatic sex in positions that you can't even draw".

• Hail to the Chief: On being shown a picture of Muffin, Luger's immediate response is to praise her flexibility. "She's like rubber!"
• Herman's Head. Done as a Running Gag in an episode where Herman moves into Jay's apartment, and in the skyscraper across from them, an attractive woman does her yoga exercises in the nude. "Boy, is she limber!"
• How I Met Your Mother: Barney loves this trope.
  • Barney, trying to get Ted to go out after breaking up with Robin, suggests "Female acrobats from Montreal. Super flexible."
  • Barney, trying to get straight-laced Ted to agree to have a bachelor party, tells Ted that he's lined up "three of the most physically and morally flexible exotic dancers you've ever seen." When Ted rejects the offer, Barney tells him he's still going to have his night with them anyway.
  • In "Rabbit or Duck," Barney is overwhelmed with amazingly hot dates after advertising his phone number at the Super Bowl. One of them is an Olympic gymnast who astounds Barney by putting her legs behind her neck.
  • Barney, this time trying to abstain from sex with anyone but one particular woman, is directly propositioned by a woman at Ted's wedding. He tries to wave her off, saying "There are currently no positions available" but her response of "I'm a yoga instructor. Every position is available" causes him to audibly grunt in arousal and frustration.
• Lucifer (2016): After Lucifer propositions Linda and tries to shoo Chloe out of the room, Linda adds that she does hot yoga and is "freakishly flexible", which piques Lucifer's interest.
• Mock the Week: Things You Didn't Hear at the Olympics:
  "That gymnast is so supple, if my wife could do that we'd still be together!"
• My Wife and Kids: In "The Big Bang Theory", Claire and Tony decide they are going to have sex for the first time. To that end, they both take yoga lessons believing their increased flexibility will make the experience more enjoyable.
• NCIS: During combat training in "The Bone Yard", McGee gets Distracted by the Sexy when he sees Kate doing warm-up exercises and comments on how flexible she is to Tony. Unfortunately to him, she overhears, which earns him a Groin Attack during training.
• Person of Interest. In "Super", Harold Finch hacks the webcams on a whole apartment building to surveil the occupants. One woman is doing yoga within view of the camera, which he and John Reese find Head-Tiltingly Kinky.
• Revenge: Daniel comments on this as he sees his ex Emily climb out of an elevator.
  "If I knew you were that flexible, things might have worked out."
• Scream Queens (2015): Implied as why Wes has really good sex with Cathy.
• Seinfeld: Jerry dates a Romanian gymnast, and is unsure whether to continue the relationship; he is encouraged to do so because sex with her must be amazing. Deconstructed in that the sex isn't actually that great.
  Kramer: Jerry, you stand on the threshold to the magical world of sensual delights that most men dare not dream of!
• The Vampire Diaries: In "Bring It On", Stefan attempts to talk to the newly turned vampire Elena, who's had her humanity turned off, while she's doing warm-ups. Knowing he's still attracted to her, she decides to mess with him by using him as a stretching board, throwing her leg on his shoulder to stretch her legs, and taunting him by showing off her flexibility.
• Combined with Head-Tiltingly Kinky in a Mark Warey sketch on The Wedge. Mark is showing photos on his mobile phone to his manager, who advises him to delete each one. The final photo has the phone turned on its side, and the manager pauses before requesting a copy.
  Manager: How does she—
  Mark: Gymnast.
• Whiskey Cavalier: In "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind", Standish is incredibly insecure when his Femme Fatale Spy girlfriend Tina is sent to seduce another man for a mission and he imagines her being "flexible" with him.
  Standish: All the imaginary scenarios of what Tina is doing right now are running through my head, and they're all erotic and flexible. Very flexible.

Music

• Seemingly averted by Rupert Holmes' "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)", in which the narrator wants a girl who is "not into yoga"

Professional Wrestling

• Every member of The Midnight Express was a superhuman sexy machine for some supposed reason. In Stan Lane's case, it was his flexibility. Whether this made him a superior lover or not was a matter of debate.
• MsChif is generally presented as being off limits by Ring of Honor, reasons varying with the time period, but The Romantic Touch couldn't help but ignore these warnings after witnessing her displays of flexibility. In this instance, it was because her talents were being used solely for the pleasure of husband Michael Elgin.
• John Morrison would have his girlfriend Melina Perez perform stretches in front of men he intended to form alliances with, or while preceding his entrance to the ring. In one instance, this did lead her to having sex with Batista in an attempt to tire him out, but it instead had the opposite effect and lead to MNM losing their tag team title belts to him and Rey Mysterio Jr.. Incidentally, Melina's trademark ring entrance had her doing a splits on the ring apron, then leaning forward while maintaining the splits and slithering under the bottom rope. Usually in short skirts.
• Mickie James was reprimanded at a Traditional Championship Wrestling show for performing a contortionist routine for a referee, being told that she was on a "family show".
• Kimber Lee usually doesn't engage in suggestive displays of sexuality, because she usually prefers to project the image of a Proper Lady or of distinguished royalty. Nonetheless, she isn't shy about admitting to being very good at sex or implying she can get in interesting positions.
• A.J. Lee strongly disapproved of Naomi Knight and Cameron Lynn stretching themselves around the ring ropes while accompanying Bryon Saxton in the revived Florida Championship Wrestling, but Josh Matthews strongly approved of Naomi Knight and made no attempt to hide his attraction to her. Lee learned from their example and performed a contortionist routine while pursing a relationship with Primo Colon.
• Taeler Hendrix would resort to suggestive displays of her flexibility when she wasn't in the mood or position to physically harass Ring Of Honor personnel.

Tabletop Games

• GURPS: Having the Flexibility advantage explicitly gives you a bonus on "Erotic Art" rolls.

Video Games

• Love of Magic: Ceremonial magicians practice flexibility and pole-dancing as part of teasing beings from Elsewhere. Molly is especially fond of showing off her flexibility, and it's the trigger that starts the sequence that leads to her becoming a Chosen.
• In Mass Effect 2, Garrus reminisces about his military days, recalling getting into an argument with a female turian on his ship and settling it with a sparring match. "I had reach, she had flexibility." The sparring match turned into a hookup later, where his reach and her flexibility were equally useful. At this point, Female Shepard has the option to proposition Garrus herself, citing her own flexibility, which is the start of Garrus's Relationship Upgrade.

Web Animation

• Red vs. Blue: While conducting a physical exam on Sister, Doc comments positively on her flexibility, which gets the attention of Chivalrous Pervert Tucker who's listening in on the exam.

Western Animation

• American Dad!: Steve scores a date with "the girl from his wet dreams", Jeannie Winthrop, with even her dad approving of him. Unfortunately, their family dinner meeting goes sour due to Stan becoming addicted to drugs and attempting an unnatural act on Jeannie's father, resulting in Mr. Winthrop banning Steve from seeing Jeannie. As Steve leaves, Jeannie shows him the exit by bending her leg behind her neck in order to point him to the door. Shocked by her flexibility and unable to cope with the fact that he came so close to sleeping with her only to lose out, Steve faints.
• Futurama:
  • In "A Flight to Remember," Farnsworth participates in a limbo contest, which immediately leads to him hooking up with Hattie McDoogal, who remarks in a leering tone that she likes a man who's flexible. (He was actually unable to lean back to any significant extent, but apparently, at their age, the fact that he was game to even try is good enough.)
  • Also present with Hermes Conrad's rival Barbados Slim, who has Olympic gold medals in both limbo and sex.
• The Simpsons:
  • Played with in "Simpson Tall Tales". Because of the incredible size difference, Paul Bunyan's lover says she needs "a few more yoga class" for them to consummate their relationship at all.
  • Subverted in "Skinner's Sense of Snow". While watching circus acrobats and contortionists, Marge whispers to Homer that they're giving her ideas. The idea turns out to be using flexibility to clean the house easily.
• South Park: In "Quintuplets 2000", Marvin Marsh shares a room with the titular quintuplets' grandma. When she tells him that she used to be a contortionist, Marvin asks if she remembers any of her moves. He then has sex with her where she lifts her leg above her head, then wraps her limbs all around his body.

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