Golden showers are up there on the list of most-joked-about kinks, but for all those jabs, watersports — or erotic acts involving urine — are incredibly popular. One 2020 survey found nearly 20% of lesbians and 40% of gay men have fantasized about piss play, yet it’s often misunderstood and misrepresented.
Known colloquially as “piss play” and more formally as “urophilia,” watersports are a broad umbrella term for any sex act involving pee, from peeing on someone or getting peed on to swallowing pee. Though it’s a common kink, some of the most popular representations of piss play in media, such as in Sex and The City or Netflix’s You, frame it as inherently negative, which is just not true! Like other kinks, piss play can be full of pleasure, as long as you communicate with your partner and tune into what your desires are.
Below, we answer your burning questions: What are golden showers? Why do people like them so much? And how can I safely explore the world of pee fetishes?
What are golden showers? What are watersports?
Though golden showers refer to a type of watersport, not all watersports are golden showers. Watersports is a catch-all term that refers to any sexual or erotic activities involving pee, while golden showers refers to a specific act under that umbrella. There are several other phrases that people use to describe erotic acts involving pee, such as pee/piss play, piss kink, and pee fetish.
“Golden showers are a type of watersport, where one person urinates on another person,” sex and pleasure educator Luna Matatas tells Them. “Other types of watersports could involve drinking pee, wetting oneself, urinating during penetration, or behavior control around urination (e.g. asking permission to pee as part of a power dynamic or roleplay).”
Despite common misconceptions, squirting is not considered watersports, because squirt is not strictly urine. Zoe Ligon, CEO of Spectrum Boutique and sex educator, says part of the reason why squirting and piss play are so entangled in public conception has to do with how porn is regulated and restricted. Many adult content platforms don’t allow urine videos and will ban individual creators for putting any up. Because our sex education in the U.S. — or lack thereof — is deeply shaped by porn, peeing and squirting often get conflated.
“In order to get around content bans and filters, a lot of porn content with pee is simply called a squirting video. Sometimes people are just pissing and pretending it is squirt for the sake of following the rules, and sometimes people are squirting.”
What does a pee fetish and golden shower entail?
Golden showers might be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about piss kinks, but because watersports and piss play cover such a broad swath of erotic activities, there’s no one way to answer this question. People are into erotic urination in plenty of ways: Some folks want to be peed on, or to pee on their partner. Others want to wet themselves, drink pee, or hold their urine for an extended period of time. That last one can lead to complications like UTIs, kidney stones, and pain, so please be mindful!
There’s also plenty of potential interplay with other kinks. Watersports can be a great activity for people into humiliation, control, or voyeurism, according to Ligon.
“There are infinite ways you can incorporate pee into sexual play,” Ligon says. “For some, it can be a humiliation kink, for others, they may just enjoy the sensations of the buildup and release in the bladder, or the actual sensation of pee in, on, and around them. I don’t think there is one typical way!”
Ligon says common depictions of piss kinks in porn include people peeing in their clothes and peeing during another sexual act like penetration or clitoral stimulation. But, as we all know, porn is different from real life, and disentangling your conception of what piss play is versus what watersports look like in porn can open a whole new world of connection and pleasure.
“Focusing on the activity of watersports alone leaves out opportunities to connect through other aspects of the fantasy, for example power exchange or sensuality,” Matatas says.
For those wondering how to better understand what you’re looking to get out of pee play, Matatas recommends starting slow and in a place “where you don’t have to worry about mess — like the shower.”
Are golden showers safe?
Golden showers are a relatively safe sex act, but urine is a bodily fluid, so be aware that any bacteria in the urethra can be passed from person to person. While most STIs like HIV can’t be transmitted via piss play, it’s always a good idea to get tested regularly, and to be mindful of possible discomfort and bacterial infections like yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis.
“Piss isn’t going to kill you, but use common sense,” Ligon says. “For example, peeing into a vagina (yes, people fantasize about this) can throw off the pH and cause irritation or infection. Peeing into the ass is safer in this regard, but is definitely not a beginner sex act.”
External urination carries a lower risk of transmission, but Ligon says, “as with any fluid exchange, having a safer sex conversation, getting regularly tested, and talking to your partner about their sexual health is the best way to be more informed.”
And if you consume pee or get peed on, be mindful that it can sometimes lead to bodily discomfort. “You may get an upset stomach if consuming it, and your skin may be slightly irritated by it depending on how sensitive your skin is,” Ligon says.
And as with all other sex acts, communicating with your partners is of utmost importance. Plus, remember to stay hydrated.
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