Female Squirting

Female ejaculation or squirting is a pretty divisive issue in the sexual health world. On one side are those who believe that, just like men, women can ejaculate. On the other are those who argue that women don't ejaculate, but instead may leak a little (or a lot of) urine during sex, which they then mistake for ejaculate.

As it turns out, the truth may fall somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. In a new study, researchers had women pee, then stimulated them until they ejaculated. Pelvic ultrasound scans showed that women's bladders were at least partially full before they squirted, but empty after-indicating that the liquid originated from the bladder. Sure enough, when the researchers tested the ejaculate, two out of seven of the samples were chemically identical to urine.
 

But here's the twist: The other five samples also had something called prostatic-specific antigen (PSA), an enzyme that's produced by the Skene glands, which are often referred to as the female prostate.

So what does all this mean? "Female ejaculation is real-and it does appear to be partially urine, though it has other substances too," asserts Leah Millheiser, M.D., director of the Female Sexual Medicine Program at Stanford University Medical Center. And while the jury's still out on whether you can teach yourself how to squirt, if you're one of the 10 to 54 percent of women who already do, there's no need to feel self-conscious about it. "I tell women who experience female ejaculation and feel nervous or embarrassed about it to just tell new partners up front before sex: Hey, this is something that happens to me. It's a sign that the sex is really good!" says Millheiser. Then just lay down a towel or plastic sheets and get to business.

Female ejaculation is the expulsion of fluid by the paraurethral ducts through and around the human female urethra during or before an orgasm. It is also known colloquially as squirting or gushing, although these are considered to be different phenomena in some research publications. The exact source and nature of the fluid continue to be a topic of debate among medical professionals, which is also related to doubts over the existence of the G-spot.

In questionnaire surveys, 35-50% of women report that they have at some time experienced the gushing of fluid during orgasm. Other studies find anywhere from 10-69%, depending on the definitions and methods used. For instance Kratochvil (1994) surveyed 200 women and found that 6% reported ejaculating, an additional 13% had some experience and about 60% reported release of fluid without actual gushing. Reports on the volume of fluid expelled vary considerably starting from amounts that would be imperceptible to a woman, to mean values of 1-5 ml.
 

The suggestion that women can expel fluid from their genital area as part of sexual arousal has been described by women's health writer Rebecca Chalker as "one of the most hotly debated questions in modern sexology". Female ejaculation has been discussed in anatomical, medical, and biological literature throughout recorded history. The dichotomy between the interest devoted to female ejaculation and the basic acceptance of its male counterpart has been questioned by feminist writers.

To date, there have been no conclusive or major studies relating to female ejaculation. The largest study being an internet survey consisting of 320 participants. Much of the problem in arriving at a consensus relates to a failure to adopt generally agreed-on definitions or research methodology. Research has used highly selected individuals, case studies, or very small numbers of subjects, making generalization difficult. For instance, much of the research into the nature of the fluid focuses on determining whether it is or contains urine. There are also problems involved in the collection of specimens and issues of contamination.

Since the area of interest is para-urethral glands, it is impossible to completely separate the secretions from urine, especially considering that there may be retrograde ejaculation into the urethra towards the bladder. The best current data comes from studies where women have abstained from coitus, and where their own urine is used as a control both pre- and post-orgasm. Research has attempted to use chemicals that are excreted in the urine so that any urinary contamination can be detected. Further methodological issues include the fact that the composition of the fluid appears to vary with the menstrual cycle, and that the biochemical profile of the para-urethral tissues varies with age. Other issues relate to the sensitivity and specificity of the markers chosen. The key questions are the source of the fluid produced, and its composition.

Some aspects of the research community distinguish between female ejaculation and what is colloquially known as squirting or gushing. These terms are used by the public interchangeably, which often leads to confusion. In these research publications, it is suggested that "real" female ejaculation is the release of a very scanty, thick, and whitish fluid from the female prostate, while the "squirting" or "gushing" (shown frequently in pornography) is a different phenomenon; the expulsion of clear and abundant fluid, which has been shown to be a diluted fluid from the urinary bladder. It is suggested that much of the obscurity and the uncertainties about female ejaculation are related to mixing up these two phenomena.

Critics have maintained that ejaculation is either stress incontinence or vaginal lubrication. Research in this area has concentrated almost exclusively on attempts to prove that the ejaculate is not urine, measuring substances such as urea, creatinine, prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP), prostate specific antigen (PSA), glucose and fructose levels. Early work was contradictory; the initial study on one woman by Addiego and colleagues reported in 1981, could not be confirmed in a subsequent study on 11 women in 1983, but was confirmed in another 7 women in 1984. In 1985 a different group studied 27 women, and found only urine, suggesting that results depend critically on the methods used.

A 2007 study on two women involved ultrasound, endoscopy, and biochemical analysis of fluid. The ejaculate was compared to pre-orgasmic urine from the same woman, and also to published data on male ejaculate. In both women, higher levels of PSA, PAP, and glucose but lower levels of creatinine were found in the ejaculate than the urine. PSA levels were comparable to those in males.

Ultrasounds from a 2014 study, involving seven women who reported recurring massive fluid emission during sexual arousal, confirmed thorough bladder emptiness before stimulation, noticeable bladder filling before squirting and demonstrated that the bladder had again been emptied after squirting. Although small amounts of prostatic secretions are present in the emitted fluid the study suggests that squirting is essentially the involuntary emission of urine during sexual activity.

One very practical objection relates to the reported volumes ejaculated, since this fluid must be stored somewhere in the pelvis, of which the urinary bladder is the largest source. The actual volume of the para-urethral tissue is quite small. By comparison, male ejaculate varies from 0.2-6.6 ml (0.01-0.22 US fl oz) (95% confidence interval), with a maximum of 13 ml (0.44 US fl oz).Therefore, claims of larger amounts of ejaculate are likely to contain at least some amount of urine. The eleven specimens analyzed by Goldberg in 1983, ranged from 3-15 ml (0.1-0.5 US fl oz).
 

One source states that Skene's glands are capable of excreting 30-50 ml (1-2 US fl oz) in 30-50 seconds,but it is unclear how this was measured and has not been confirmed. One approach is to use a chemical like methylene blue so that any urinary component can be detected. Belzer showed that in one woman he studied, the dye was found in her urine, but not her orgasmic expulsion. Some studies have described the fluid as a diluted form of urine, without the presence of ammonia.
 

PAP and PSA have been identified in the para-urethral tissues, using biochemical and immunohistochemical methods, suggesting that the ejaculate is likely to arise from the ducts in these tissues, in a manner homologous to that in the male. Another marker common to the prostate/para-urethral tissue in both sexes is Human protein.

PSA occurs in urine, and is elevated in post-orgasmic samples compared to pre-orgasmic. Simultaneous collection of ejaculate also showed PSA in both urine and ejaculate in all cases, but in higher concentration in the ejaculate than in the urine.

Hope this resource sheds insight into the controversial topic of female squirting.