Some popular news sources have stated that soaking serves as a purported loophole to the LDS Church's sexual code of conduct, called the
law of chastity, which says that all sexual activity outside of a
heterosexual marriage is a
sin,[2][11][12] and further bars
masturbation for church members.[13][14][15] The LDS Church teaches that "it is wrong to touch the private[...] parts of another person's body even if clothed" outside of a
monogamous heterosexual
marriage.[16][17][18] Some news sources directly state that the LDS Church and its adherents do not believe soaking is a loophole to the church's code of sexual conduct.[19]
One source stated it was difficult to know how common it was due to the secrecy and
shame around sex in the LDS Church,[2] and
underreporting due to the
social-desirability bias is a common issue even among anonymous
surveys of many
stigmatized sexual behaviors.[20][21] Articles state it is usually Latter-day Saint
teenagers and unmarried students at
church-sponsored universities who participate in the practice. They also state students are concerned that
confessing to or getting caught having pre- or extra-marital sex is against those
universities' codes of conduct and can get them expelled.[3][22][8] An interviewee stated that star basketball player
Brandon Davies was expelled from the
basketball team of the LDS Church's largest university
Brigham Young University (BYU) for soaking.[3][23] One source said the term started as "dick soak" on an internet forum in 2009, and morphed to simply "soaking" by 2011, and gained wider use in 2019.[4]
Two
satirical social media accounts, the BYU Virginity Club[37] and the BYU Slut Club,[38] have both disavowed the practice.[39][40] One author noted that soaking does not prevent the spread of
sexually transmitted infection and may still result in pregnancy.[3] One interviewee stated it was "a dangerous form of misinformation being used to manipulate naive girls in college dorms."[41]
Related practices
Practices described in the following sources as related to soaking include jump humping, provo pushing, and durfing:
Jump humping – Soaking is sometimes 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 (according to TikTokers ExmoLex and FuneralPotatoSlut, and a BYU student interviewee on Barstool Sports).[11][25][12] The external source of motion allegedly absolves the soaking couple from responsibility for any
genital movement.[1][2][42]
Provo pushing – The "jump hump" assistant has been termed the "bed jumper" or "Provo pusher" (after
Provo, Utah, home of BYU).[1] Other definitions of "provo push" refer to it as clothed or unclothed,
non-penetrative dry humping or sexual frottage between church members.[43][44]
Durfing – Dry humping between church members is also called "durfing".[22]
^"Chapter 3: Missionary Conduct". Missionary Standards for Disciple of Jesus Christ.
LDS Church. November 2019.
Archived from the original on November 21, 2019 – via
Internet Archive. You should avoid any thought or action that would separate you from the Spirit of God. This includes but is not limited to adultery; fornication; same-sex activity; oral sex; arousing sexual feelings; inappropriate touching; sending or receiving messages, images, or videos that are immoral or sexual in nature; masturbation; and viewing or using pornography.
^King, Bruce M. (April 1, 2022).
"The Influence of Social Desirability on Sexual Behavior Surveys: A Review". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 51 (3).
Springer Science: 1495–1501.
doi:
10.1007/s10508-021-02197-0.
ISSN1573-2800.
PMC8917098.
PMID35142972 – via
ResearchGate.net. However, indirect evidence indicates that under-reporting (e.g., of a number of sexual partners, receptive anal intercourse, condom use) is common. Among the general population, several studies have now reported that even with anonymous responding, there are significant correlations between a variety of self-reported sexual behaviors (e.g., use of condoms, sexual fantasies, exposure to pornography, penis size) and social desirability, with evidence that extreme under- or over-reporting is as common as is found in other fields.