Dan Savage’s reader asks the question in his latest column:
Dear Dan: Is “saddleback” a sex act? If not, can you define it as one? Or if it is, can you popularize it? Each time I hear about Rick Warren, I can’t get past the name of his church.
Jeffy Lube
Stephen Colbert joked on his show that “saddleback” was a sex act, but he didn’t define it. So I guess we’ll have to. Suggested definitions can be sent to saddleback@savagelove.net.
Remember, Savage also helped define the word Santorum to mean something completely different from anything former anti-gay Senator Rick Santorum would have wanted.
So what exactly is someone doing when he is “saddlebacking”…?
And how would Pastor Rick Warren feel about that…?
(Keep it as clean as possible in the comments.)





According to the urban dictionary:
1. saddleback
A position that gay men love
Ohh, I heard Neil wanted to ride Bob Saddleback..Ouch!
“Saddlebacking”:
The act of cleaning up after any sex act.
Rick Warren wouldn’t have anything to do with gay sex, so I’ll bring up this “saddleback” story:
Didn’t Jerry Hall claim that she & Mick Jagger conceived one of their kids while riding a horse together?
Oh, wait. That was “bareback” – doesn’t apply
I know this isn’t what you’re going after, but in Orange County, Saddleback is a prominent ridge in some hilly areas, which is how the church got its name, probably.
Saddlebacking is “accidentally” slipping in the wrong hole during doggie-style.
the funny thing about ’santorum’ is that, whenever i hear the word, i think of the definition provided by dan savage’s column. it’s proof that the tactic totally works – at least it does on weak-minded media sponges like me.
You keep getting friendlier every day!
Michael Russell got it! Thread over!
Saddlebacking is already a sex act, its 2guys in the dogie position (sometimes with hair pulling). Its kind of like cowboy… but with no roll play.
Michael, There’s a “wrong hole”?
Returing to the scene of a crime atop a saddle on a horse.
Dan Savage is one of my personal heroes, and I absolutely love his column and podcast
I’m sure whichever definition he picks will be pretty awesome.
And for the run-of-the-mill “oh, Hemant’s not being friendly!” comment: being friendly doesn’t mean only posting non-threatening or totally-accepting-of-everyone stories all the time. It doesn’t mean never getting mad or never taking action against injustice.
You’ve got to choose your battles, and bringing attention to the ludicrous positions of men like Santorum and Warren is a battle I think is worth fighting. The tactic has worked splendidly before, with santorum, and I think it could work with Warren as well – reminding people that despite his warm, fuzzy persona, he is a complete bigot.
SarahH … there’s a difference between getting mad/taking action against injustice and being an asshole. It’s one thing to point out that Warren’s beliefs are unacceptable and another to make fun of the name of his church. The fact that it “could work” is beside the point.