A Newbie’s Guide to Golden Showers

Curious taking a golden shower, or engaging in watersports with your partner? A subset of Wet and Messy (WAM) fetishism, urolagnia or urophilia refers to arousal by the thought, sight, taste or feel of urine, and it’s not as uncommon as you might think.

What is a Golden Shower?

Also known as watersports and piss play, a Golden Shower is the practice of urinating on another person for sexual pleasure. For some people, there’s a BDSM component, with people finding it humiliating (in an arousing way) to be urinated on. Others may be aroused by the fetishistic element – associating the sight, smell, feel, or taste of urine with sexual arousal. 

Why Are Some People Turned On by Urine?

Having a pee fetish or interest in piss play means that urine in erotic contexts arouses you. It doesn’t mean you get turned on every time you go to the bathroom. Here are just a few examples of what some people might find arousing about watersports:

• Watching someone pee
• Being watched while peeing
• The warm sensation of fluid
• The taste of urine
• Submission and dominance
• Humiliation or degradation
• Receiving a ‘gift’ of your partner’s body fluid in or on you
• Being ‘marked’ or ‘claimed’ by someone’s pee
• Controlling bathroom time or being controlled
• Having sex with a full bladder
• Wetting yourself or watching someone wet themselves

How Common are Golden Showers?

More so than you might think! According to experts, this particular kink is actually pretty ordinary, with online porn searches for "golden shower" (and related terms) on the rise. Recent surveys even suggest around four percent of people have a piss play fetish.

Is Piss Play Safe?

Your skin provides a natural barrier to most body fluids, including urine, so when it comes to being peed on, you’re generally safe – assuming you’re not peeing on any cuts or open wounds.

Any time you are exchanging bodily fluids, there is going to be some risk, and – despite what you may have heard – urine is only sterile if the person peeing is completely healthy. Urine can spread disease, including bacterial, fungal, and viral infections, and during a golden shower, this most commonly occurs if the recipient has an open wound.

In terms of drinking urine, or watersports where pee is introduced into a partner’s orifice, there are some risks. While drinking a small amount of urine from a healthy person is not harmful, drinking a lot of urine – especially if you’re dehydrated – can put stress on the kidneys.

Peeing inside someone (for example, into their anus or vagina) is also risky, since those body parts are absorbent. This could lead to increased absorption of electrolytes or lead to pH imbalances, and has the possibility of introducing of harmful bacteria into the vagina or the rectum via the urine.

Three Golden (Shower) Rules

This is YOUR sex life, so you make the rules, but based on the advice of those who enjoy watersports:

• DO communicate with your partner before you get started
• DO stay hydrated and drinks lots of water before engaging in piss play
• DO find a suitable space to play – preferably near a drain

Consent is the most important element of any sex act, so talk to your playmate before you get started and make sure you’re both on the same page about expectations and desires. A little planning goes a long way when it comes to watersports, so ensure you have everything you need for clean-up nearby.