16 Mormon missionary positions you should try

The Missionary Sex Positions Are Practical and Subversive

Sex and the Latter-Day Saint photograhter Neil DaCosta spoke about his 2012 photo series, discussing its message, the process and why it's still getting so much attention. Prop 8, the hateful bill that rendered same sex marriage illegal in California from 2008 until it was overturned in June of 2013, got a boost from Mormon backers, and DaCosta's work speaks to that.

"From my understanding, the Church (Mormon and Catholic combined) pumped a lot of money/effort into Prop 8. They were able to call upon their members to do so," DaCosta said. "There is no way the opponents of such measures have the number of people/funding/unity to fight those resources. I personally think that is why it passed. So we wanted to be able to contribute (with the photo project), knowing we didn’t have the numbers."

"Did our contribution matter, ultimately? I doubt it, but I would like to think it might have been a gateway to bigger conversation between families/colleagues/friends," DaCosta said. "[Our models, Elders Kimball and Searcy] did an amazing job; they took our direction perfectly and spent hours getting into these, sometimes, physically challenging positions."

The LDS Handbook clearly reads, "Sexual relations are proper only between a man and a woman who are legally and lawfully wedded as husband and wife. Any other sexual relations, including those between persons of the same gender, are sinful and undermine the divinely created institution of the family. The Church accordingly affirms defining marriage as the legal and lawful union between a man and a woman."

DaCosta's series turns that idea on its head. Check out the 16 Mormon Missionary Sex Positions You Should Try.

The Missionary Position

"We released this project during the 2012 presidential race. Since then, it has been a snowball effect of states changing their policies on same sex marriages ... but there is still a long way to go."

Congress of Crow

"We [wanted to] come up with a solution, creatively, to counteract [pro-Prop 8] views."

Pounding the Spot

"My favorites are the ones where our missionaries are looking into each other’s eyes. But when I would ask them to look longingly into each other’s eyes, I could only get one photo before the whole room burst into laughter. So those photos are a good keepsake for me for how much fun we had that ridiculous day."

Fitter In

"Obviously, non-church members love the series. We receive words of encouragement from a lot of people, gay and straight."

Supported Congress

"We did receive a few hate mails from Mormons, but not as many as you would think."

Drawing the Bow

"What I took away from the overall response is that although the doctrines of the past condone certain things, the younger generations don’t necessarily agree with them anymore."

Phoenix Red Cave

"The third collaborator on the project, Shelby, was raised Mormon (has since parted ways) and he had some great input on how the Mormon youth’s brain works with all the outside influence."

Fitting the Sock

"I can only hope that a current missionary that has not come out (who is facing internal struggles greater than I can fathom) might see this project and get some reassurance that not everyone has the same beliefs as their church."

Congress of Elephant

"I wish I could claim these names, but they were all from various Kama Sutra books. We initially thought about trying to integrate Mormon references into the names, but the existing names were too good to begin with."

Yawning Position

"For the stiff positioning and slack-faces, we wanted to play off of the conformity/conditioning the Mormon Church imposes on their youth. If everything is done by the book, very little is left up to free will."

Pressing Twining

"The stark background was all [art director] Sara’s idea. I had imagined shooting these in a bedroom setting, but she convinced me otherwise. And I am glad of it."

Bicycle Position

"[I hope people feel] humor and maybe a sense of awe in the hypocrisy of some indoctrinated beliefs."

Second Posture

"We have had a few ex-Mormons who are gay contact us about how much they enjoyed this project (the name tags in the photos were from a gay friend who had completed his mission)."

Sixth Posture

"I am just trying to be a decent human being. The hard part is trying not to instill too much of my own beliefs into a project. When beliefs are preached, it cuts off the opposition — preaching to the choir. That is why we used an actual quote from the LDS Handbook as our 'artist statement.' Instead of being told something outright, it allows viewers to make their own interpretations of the series."

Mare and Swing

Hanging Bow

"If I can combine my photographic talents with something that may make a difference in people’s lives (even if it is only to a select few people), then all the better."

More information

For more information about Neil and his work, visit his website.

And you can view the complete photo series at mormonmissionarypositions.com.