Sydney Sweeney made a bit of mess of herself as the character Cassie on the HBO Max series “Euphoria.” During an episode aired earlier this year, Cassie, who is an adult content star, proceeded to pour ice cream onto her body. That demonstrated something that’s been called “sploshing” and is otherwise known as “Wet and Messy” or WAM. It’s a sex fetish that has made quite a splash on social media as well.

Sploshing is the spraying, splashing or smearing of some kind of wet and messy substance on to a person. The term may look a bit like a typo. But it emerged from the name of the publication that was popular amongst the WAM fetish crowd in the 1990s—known as Splosh! Magazine .

The WAM substance is often some kind of food item such as ice cream, whipped cream, cream cheese frosting, mayonnaise, barbecue sauce, hot sauce, oatmeal, baked beans, salad dressing or porridge. It doesn’t have to be edible, though. Lotions, oils and paint are common options too. It by definition just can’t be a body fluid—because that would be entering a whole different realm of stuff.

Now, there’s currently no international governing body that determines what specifically does and does not constitute sploshing. Some other activities like mud wrestling and lotion play may cross over with sploshing to some degree. For example, it’s not completely clear whether something like accidentally backing into a salad bar during sex and then getting covered in dressing as a result may qualify.

But one thing’s for sure, if a WAM substance is involved and the intent is to pour it on someone, it can be sploshing regardless of whether the person is naked or fully clothed. The person doesn’t even have to be engaged in any kind of sex act at the time either. In fact, many examples of sploshing include people wearing very elaborate outfits such as white suits or dresses and simply getting more and more messy substances doused on them.

What Is The Potential Appeal Of Sploshing

OK, we’ve covered what sploshing is. What then might be the appeal of it? What might make the resulting laundry and cleaning bill worth it? Well, one stated appeal is multi-sensory stimulation. Visually, it can turn someone into a Jackson Pollock-like painting. That’s why brightly colored substances are often favored.

Touch can be a big part of it, too, as the substances tend to be sticky and slimy. And a person might like the feel or temperature of the substance. Hearing may come into play as the substances can make sounds when they hit skin or clothes. Smell can play a role, as well, if, for example, you are turning a person into a gigantic Cinnabon. And edible substances can involve taste should they end up in your or the other person’s mouth.

Another stated appeal is the make-a-mess, rule-breaking feel to it. It can be akin to seeing something well organized and then wanting to disrupt it. That can be why sploshing can just involve fully clothed people who at no time get naked or engage in any other sexual acts.

Then there’s the fact that sex in general can be quite messy and be about letting go of inhibitions. Sex is not exactly a neat freak activity. It can involve a lot of stuff that would be icky or awkward in any other setting such as bearing facial expressions that may it look like you are about to sneeze or just received a fruitcake as a gift.. Sploshing can in essence be an extension of such messiness.

Finally, depending on how it is done, sploshing can be about dominating or even humiliating the sploshed. And that may appeal to those who are into things like BDSM. Of course, not everyone would be OK with this aspect of sploshing, which brings up the next point…

Make Sure The Other Person Is OK With ‘Sploshing’

Naturally, as should be the case with practically anything that involves someone else, you want to get the other person’s consent before sploshing away. Suddenly pouring hot sauce on the other person’s head during your first date at a restaurant, for example, is likely not to go over very well. That can apply at any stage of a relationship. Just because you’ve already been intimate with someone doesn’t mean that you can simply play the song “Cake By The Ocean” and start covering that person with frosting without permission.

You never know how people might react even when you think there’s no harm. It could, for example, trigger memories of a bad experience such as a very nasty previous encounter with a chocolate eclair. If you do want to splosh, either discuss the possibility with your partner first or gradually work up to sploshing over time with active communication of your intents along the way. For example, you might want to see how they are with a very small amount of the substance on their body before proceeding.

If you do want to splosh, be clear about the reasons. Someone may be fine with sploshing as long as it’s done simply out of playfulness. Doing it for humiliation is another story. Again, as I’ve written many times in “ A Funny Bone to Pick ” for Psychology Today , active open and frank bidirectional communication is the key to any relationship.

What Are Other Risks Of Sploshing

Be careful about what WAM substances you are using, too. Beware of anything that can be irritating or toxic. Even normally edible substances can be problematic for some. Peanut butter, for example, is not a great thing use on someone with a peanut allergy.

And be aware of where different substances can and can’t go. For example, certain types of paint may be OK on clothing but not on skin. Similarly, certain lotions that may be OK on the skin could end up ruining clothing. Also, keep in mind your surroundings and how they may be damaged by sploshing. On the Great Bed of Ware at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, for example, is probably not a great place to be sploshing.

Like the Great Bed of Ware, some parts of the body should be off limits to practically all WAM substances. Avoid the eyes, ears and nose as well as any open wounds. Don’t put anything in the mouth that isn’t edible. And limit what you put around the genitals to substances that have actually been deemed safe for the genitals.

Clearly, sploshing is not for everyone. But’s it’s not necessarily a no-no sex trend like the “honey packet” one I covered in Forbes previously. It’s not like the “warm sex” trend either where there’s practically no real risk at all. Instead, it falls somewhere in between.

If you and another adult do want to add a splash of sploshing into your sex lives, then why not, as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone? Just make sure that you take the aforementioned precautions, lest things become a bit too messy.