Examples of popular positions (9)
I believe the answer is:
instances
'examples' is the definition.
(I know this)
'popular positions' is the wordplay.
'popular' becomes 'in' ('in' can mean trendy).
'positions' becomes 'stances' (stance is a kind of position).
'in'+'stances'='INSTANCES'
'of' is the link.
(Other definitions for instances that I've seen before include "Incessant (anag)" , "Examples, illustrations" .)