Urolagnia

Urolagnia, also called urophilia, is a paraphilia where sexual arousal is linked to urine or the act of urinating. The word comes from Greek roots meaning "urine" and "lust." A common slang term is "golden shower," which refers to urinating on someone for sexual pleasure, while "watersports" covers a broader range of sexual activities involving urine.

These acts can include drinking urine, bathing in it, urinating on another person or object (like in bedwetting scenarios), or soiling oneself. Some forms focus mainly on the smell of urine. Omorashi, a fetish centered on having a full bladder or watching someone else experience the discomfort of one, is sometimes grouped under urolagnia.

Frequency

A 2007 study counted members of internet discussion groups with fetish-related names; among groups about body parts or features, 9% were about body fluids, which includes but is not limited to urolagnia. Jennifer Eve Rehor of San Francisco State University notes that existing data on what she calls "unconventional" or "kink" sexual behavior is often problematic because it comes from criminal and clinical case studies. Behavior that doesn't appear in those settings—such as when people don't seek professional help—is underreported. To address this, Rehor surveyed 1,764 female participants in kink behavior (mostly tied to BDSM) in 2010–11, getting 1,580 valid responses.

She found that "urine play" was relatively uncommon, with only 36.52% of respondents reporting having done it or had it done to them. For comparison, 93.99% reported spanking or being spanked, and 61.96% reported using or being exposed to feathers or fur. Rehor's data cannot be applied to the general population, since the habits of kink participants differ, but it offers a guide to prevalence within the North American BDSM community. In Channel 4's 2017 Great British Sex Survey, watersports (meaning urolagnia) ranked ninth in popularity among sexual fetishes in the United Kingdom.

In psychiatry

In psychiatry, the DSM-III-R (1987) renamed "atypical paraphilia" to "paraphilia NOS" (not otherwise specified) and listed seven nonexhaustive examples, including urolagnia. The fifth edition of the DSM (DSM-5) uses the term "other specified paraphilic disorder" for paraphilic disorders not explicitly named, which covers urolagnia. To be diagnosable, the interest must be recurrent, intense, present for at least six months, and cause marked distress or impairment in important areas of functioning. If no specific paraphilic disorder can be identified or the clinician chooses not to specify one, the "unspecified paraphilic disorder" diagnosis may be used.

Paraphilias like urolagnia have been described as fetishes. On June 18, 2018, the World Health Organization published ICD-11, which removed fetishism as a psychiatric diagnosis. Additionally, discrimination against people with fetishes (and BDSM practitioners) is considered inconsistent with human rights principles endorsed by the United Nations and the WHO.

Physical health

Regarding physical health, the WHO has found that pathogens in urine rarely pose a health risk. However, it cautions that in areas where the parasitic flatworm Schistosoma haematobium is common, it can be transmitted from person to person through urine.

In media

In media, Larry Townsend's The Leatherman's Handbook II (1983 second edition; the 1972 first edition did not include this list) states that a yellow handkerchief symbolizes urolagnia in the handkerchief code, used mainly among gay male casual-sex seekers or BDSM practitioners in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. Wearing the handkerchief on the left indicates the top, dominant, or active partner; on the right indicates the bottom, submissive, or passive partner. However, negotiation with a prospective partner remains important because, as Townsend noted, people may wear hankies of any color "only because the idea of the hankie turns them on" or "may not even know what it means." Sex scenes by Bill Schmeling routinely feature BDSM with an emphasis on bodily fluids, including urolagnia. Another notable artist who depicted urolagnia was Touko Laaksonen ("Tom of Finland").

Notable cases include Chuck Berry, an American musician who was featured urinating on a woman in a sex tape and was sued for videotaping dozens of women in the restroom of a restaurant he owned. Havelock Ellis, a British sexologist, was reportedly impotent until age sixty, when he discovered he was aroused by the sight of a woman urinating. Albert Fish, an American serial killer also known as The Grayman and The Boogeyman, wrote letters to widows with want-ads in The New York Times, describing in detail women urinating on him, inside him, and in cups so he could drink it; he later forced children to drink urine.

R. Kelly, an American singer, was sentenced to prison for, among other things, urinating on and sexually abusing a fourteen-year-old girl in a videotape. Ashley MacIsaac, a Nova Scotian fiddler and singer, spoke in 1996 with a Maclean's interviewer about his sexual life, including his boyfriend and his taste for urolagnia; in 2003, he told an interviewer for the Montreal Mirror that he loves to have men urinate on him. Ricky Martin, a Puerto Rican singer, gave an interview...