It's estimated that roughly one third of the population experiments with some form of paraphilia at least once in their lives, with 17 percent regularly engaging in their preferred kinks. According to a study in the Journal of Sex Research, at last count there are about 549 documented variations, ranging from your standard BDSM to fantasies of being devoured by giant people and creatures. Fetishism is as American as apple pie.

Among these countless turn-ons, there is one particular entry that nearly 10 percent of men exhibit interest in: urophilia, or sexual gratification derived from urination, either on yourself or on someone else. Of course, over the past few years one particularly powerful man has arguably sullied the good name of golden showers, and some water-sports fans aren't all that happy about it. 50 Shades of Grey may have convinced a few bored housewives to pick up some sturdy binding rope from their local Home Depot, but if picturing the sitting president of the United States in a piss scenario raises the hair on the back of your neck, you aren't alone.

"I don’t think anyone wants to think about Trump in an erotic context, and he most definitely doesn’t turn people on to new kinks," Mistress Genevieve, a full-time, New Orleans–based dominatrix of 25 years, told me over e-mail. Along with her wide range of specialties—"medical play, humiliation, degradation, CBT (cock-and-ball torture, for the uninitiated), breath play, bondage and restraint"—golden showers are "pretty common." The president's alleged proclivities haven't influenced her repertoire. However, "I do imagine the thought of him in the context of someone’s fetish may have turned off a few people," she says.

Taboos, by definition, aren't usually talked about in public circles, but as with every other societal norm, we pretty much kissed all of that goodbye back in November 2016. As Robert Mueller's investigation shifts into fourth gear while Michael Cohen tells us he's prettier than court renderings let on, water sports are now part of our daily water-cooler talk. Not since Bill Clinton's love of stogies came to light have we discussed a political sex scandal as widely, and luridly, as the rumored video of Donald Trump engaged in some form of piss play with a couple of Russian sex workers in the Moscow Ritz-Carlton's infamous presidential suite.

Mistress Genevieve confesses that the occasional political headline can infiltrate her line of work, and those able to afford her standard rate of $275 an hour in a deeply red state like Louisiana aren't generally members of the #Resistance. Yet specific discussions about the rumored video haven't come up so far during dungeon sessions, which is a preference shared by even the more casual golden-shower enthusiasts.

"I don't consider it a very important political point in comparison to all the other stuff Trump has done, such as the collusion, hate speech, his fascist agenda, terrible foreign policy etc.," a frequenter of Reddit's r/goldenshowers told me in an e-mail. Although fantasizing about pee scenarios since childhood, and now looking at water-play porn "several times per week," the anonymous Redditor said he or she hasn't felt comfortable enough to broach the subject in real life with current or past relationships. "I don't know if the Trump tape will make it more taboo or ridiculed. I guess for my own sake I'd like it if it weren't as taboo, but realistically I don't see that happening. Most people don't want to be pissed on."

The Redditor added, "I guess one day perhaps I'll instead build the confidence to mention it to my partner."

If there’s a translucent golden lining to all this, it's that fetishes are no longer uniformly relegated to online confessionals and kept behind closed doors. The rumored pee tape is arguably widening the scope of our national discussion on sexuality, so there's a fair question worth asking: Should a broadening acceptance of kink culture extend to our commander-in-chief the same way it does to other practitioners? Is it wrong to kink-shame the president's potential fondness for golden showers?

"Being so abusive as he, no, I won’t defend a bully from ridicule," Miss Genevieve wrote. "Abusers thrive on secrecy and shame. I would imagine that someone as abusive as Trump is gets off on what he feels [non-consensually] demeans and humiliates others." She added, "Trump having a kink is pretty moot. Trump signing things into law that cause harm—these are the discussions."

And say the pee tape is real?

"If it is real, I'd love to see it leaked just to spite Trump," the same anonymous Redditor told me. And while Trump may make it temporarily more difficult for some golden-shower fetishists to enjoy their pastime, for others...not so much. "I do have a Trump mask I’ve used in other role play," mentioned the Mistress.

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