How To Have Sex In The Water

Underwater sex poses a fair number of technical challenges, but people still fantasise about it. Blame movies such as Romeo + Juliet and Wild Things. If you’re intent on fulfilling your underwater fantasy, here’s how to do it well.

Art by Sam Woolley/GMG

Find Leverage

One of the trickiest things about having intercourse in water is trying to get enough leverage to thrust. The weightlessness of water is nice when you’re spending a lazy afternoon in the pool, but it doesn’t help when you’re trying to achieve penetration. You’ll need to find some props to give you enough leverage. Try sitting on pool stairs or hot tub seats, or holding onto a guardrail. Or stick to the shallow end, where you can both touch the bottom and hold onto the edge.

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Be Careful with Condoms

If you’re having P-in-V or P-in-A sex, and you’re not fluid-bonded (meaning you haven’t made the conscious decision to have unprotected sex), you’ll need to use a condom. Here’s where it gets complicated. Most condoms can be used in water, but getting them wet makes them more prone to slipping off. This, of course, can expose you to a risk of STIs or pregnancy. Plus, the chemicals used to keep pools clean can damage condoms. You may want to consider a polyurethane (as opposed to the traditional latex) condom if you’re having sex in a pool, as polyurethane can better withstand chemicals such as chlorine.

Hot tubs are even worse. On top of the chemical issue, the hot water can also break down a condom (the heat issue is why condom manufacturers tell you never to store your condoms in your wallet).

Due to these risks, if you aren’t fluid-bonded with your partner, you may want to skip underwater sex.

If you’re using a strap-on or a waterproof sex toy, you can sanitise the toy (follow the manufacturer’s instructions) before and after usage instead of using a condom. (Of course, you can still use a condom if you’d like.)

Use Lube

Being underwater might make your limbs nice and slippery, but it doesn’t do anything for your vagina or anus. If anything, having penetrative intercourse underwater can dry out your orifices even more. It’s counter-intuitive, I know.

If you’re just going for a quickie and are OK with a little discomfort, you might be fine. But if you’re having intercourse for a significant amount of time, you’ll need to use lube for your underwater adventures. You can’t use water-based lube, because all of the water surrounding you will wash it away. Instead, you’ll need to use something silicone-based. Don’t use oil-based lubes, as they can be a nightmare to remove from a pool.

Do Your Usual Post-Intercourse Care

Another problem with water sex is it can push chemicals and bacteria into a woman’s vagina or urethra, or a man’s urethra. This can be irritating, and – depending on the filth level of the body of water – can even lead to infection. Make sure to pee afterwards, drink a ton of water, and consider taking an over-the-counter UTI health supplement.

Hot Tubs for Quickies Only

Hot tubs can be nice because the built-in seats make it easier to get leverage. You can also use the jets to deliver some blasts of pleasure to your clitoris or anus (but please be careful not to aim the jet into your vagina. It’s rare, but you could cause an air embolism). But you run a risk of overheating if you stay in a hot tub for too long (not to mention the fact that you’re getting overheated simply by having sex). If you want to have sex in a hot tub, make it quick.

Skip Oceans and Lakes

If one of you has a vagina, the ocean is not the best place to get down. The salt can sting your most sensitive bits. Lakes can be teeming with bacteria, which can infect urethras in male and female-bodied folks.

Try the Shower or Bathtub

Most people think water sex and instantly think of a pool, hot tub or the ocean. I know the fantasy is fun, but these can be complicated places for the aforementioned reasons! You may have much more fun in your own shower or bathtub. Or try renting a nice hotel that has a killer walk-in shower room or soaking tub. You won’t have to worry about chemicals, getting caught, or trying to clean lube out of your pool.

Skip Anal

Anal sex can at times be messier than vaginal sex, so it isn’t an activity I would recommend doing in the water. A lot of people get grossed out by the “poo factor” with anal sex, but there are typically only traces of faecal material, if anything at all. It’s much cleaner than most people think. Still, it probably isn’t something you want to leave behind in your buddy’s pool.

Consider Foreplay Instead

Intercourse is difficult underwater, but intercourse isn’t the only way you can fool around with your partner. Foreplay can be equally hot. I dislike the word “foreplay” because it sounds like the activities you do before you move on to the main event – intercourse. But foreplay can be much more fun than intercourse, especially when it comes to the water. Have your partner lie on a floaty raft, with their crotch right at the edge. You can perform oral sex without the annoying cricks in your neck you can get from trying to manoeuvre on a mattress. Or try fingering each other in the water. Bring some waterproof sex toys into the water and go nuts without having to worry about leverage. There are plenty of ways to be creative.