What is Soaking?

I’ve been teaching sex ed for over 15 years and I first learned about soaking 4 years ago! What is soaking, you ask?

Soaking is a term used in some religious communities. It refers to vaginal sex without any movement; think → a penis enters a vagina and that’s it. No movement. The genitals ‘soak.’ Now there’s nothing wrong with soaking! However, the vast majority of folks who engage in soaking → don’t think it’s sex.

Whether or not young adults are actually engaging in soaking, as there has been some disputes about its accuracy, it has taken off on social media to become a common sex ed topic. So let’s talk about soaking. Now that you know what it is - how come folks participating in soaking believe it’s not sex? 🤔

Soaking stems from a lack of medically-accurate sex education. And this can have serious consequences, putting one’s health at risk.

When having any sex talk, I teach parents to lead with the medically-accurate information first. This gives kids the knowledge necessary to take care of their body and reproductive health. Once they understand the medically-accurate information, you can then share your own personal, cultural, or religious beliefs about that sex topic. Let me show you what I mean using soaking as an example.