Soaking (sexual practice)

Soaking, also known as marinating or floating, is a sexual practice of inserting the penis into the vagina but not subsequently thrusting, reportedly used by some members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).[1][2][3] It serves as a purported loophole to the Mormon denomination's law of chastity which states that all sex outside of a heterosexual marriage is a sin.[2][4] The practice had "gone viral" on TikTok and been a plot point in sitcoms in the early 2020s, but it is unknown whether Mormon couples widely use the method.[5][6]

The practice is said to sometimes be accompanied by "jump humping", in which a third person is invited to bounce on the bed (or to push up on the mattress from below) for a couple engaged in soaking, thus generating motion for them.[4][7] This allegedly absolves the soaking couple from responsibility for any genital movement.[1][2] The "jump hump" assistant has been termed the "bed jumper" or "Provo pusher" (after Provo, Utah, home of the church's largest university).[1] Other definitions of "provo push" refer to it as clothed or unclothed, non-penetrative dry humping or sexual grinding between church members.[8][9]

Some Mormons have said that soaking is an urban legend and not an actual practice by members of the LDS church.[1] Others have stated they knew church members who had soaked.[10][11][12] In 2021, a video about soaking went viral on TikTok.[7][13][11] The practice also received mentions in the television series Alpha House and Get Shorty.[3][14]