One of the exciting and mysterious topics in sexuality is female ejaculation. As early as 1950, when Dr. Grafenberg described the G-spot (an area in the vagina about 3 cm from the opening and pointing towards the belly button), he wrote: "During orgasm, large amounts of fluid are expelled through the urethra, but the fluid does not have the characteristics of urine." However, in the years following, sex researchers Alfred Kinsey, William Masters, and Virginia Johnson emphasized that the source of female orgasm was actually the clitoris. In doing so, they reduced the importance of the vagina for pleasure and downplayed the significance of the G-spot. In fact, Dr. Kinsey even claimed that the vagina was an opening that lacked sensitivity - "insensitive orifice" - and that it was unfortunate that women were frustrated by their inability to have vaginal orgasms since biologically it was impossible for them to have! And so began a battle between the clitoris and the vagina as the source of female orgasm. This battle lasted for many years, during which the discussion of the fluid that Dr. Grafenberg described - (which bursts from the vagina during orgasm) -remained on the sidelines. In the 1980s, Masters and Johnson even argued that squirting was a common myth. However, during this time, more and more reports began to accumulate in scientific (and non-scientific..) journals about the phenomenon of female ejaculation or squirting, which slowly but surely gained recognition (perhaps also due to the availability of video and pornographic material). Slowly but surely, the subject entered the mainstream, but it remains mysterious to this day. The purpose of this post is to bring clarity to the subject of female ejaculation or squirting and to say what is known and what is still unknown. Please note, the scientific description of the phenomenon may destroy some of the magic for you. Continue at your own risk!
Image: Cookie_studio freepik
In the past, there was a lot of confusion in the terms to describe the various fluids that are expelled from the vulva during sex. So now let's clarify the terms (according to (1)). After this clarification I'll answer where the liquid comes from, what causes it to be expelled, and what is the feeling. I'll also mention male squirting! (yup.) (For those in a hurry, what you're looking for is under the term "Squirting").
Terms used to describe different fluids that are expelled during sex "Ejaculation" - this term is borrowed from men to describe a small amount of white fluid (typically less than 10 ml, which is less than 2 teaspoons) that is expelled by some women during sex. The fluid contains a protein called PSA, which is also secreted by the male prostate gland in semen. The presence of PSA in this female fluid has led to the view that this fluid is equivalent to male ejaculate, hence the term "ejaculation", which is associated with male ejaculation. This fluid comes from the Skene's gland (also known as the paraurethral gland or the female prostate). The Skene's gland are tubular glands located along the female urethra and they connect to both the urethra and to the vulva. Only about half of women have the Skene's gland and it is unclear whether their presence has any advantage or importance. In summary, it is a small amount of white fluid that is ejaculated from the Skene's gland.
For those who like it deeper: PSA, the protein found in the fluid of the Skene's gland and in men's prostate fluid, stands for Prostatic-Specific Antigen. It is a protein that breaks down the gel in which the sperm is found when it is in the male. Breaking down the gel allows the sperm to move because it is difficult for them to swim in this gel. The activation of the PSA that breaks down the gel is controlled by the level of potassium in the environment: there is a lot of potassium in the seminal fluid that prevents the PSA from functioning. In the vagina however, there is much less potassium, and then the PSA is activated, breaks down the gel, and allows the sperm to swim. 2. Urine leakage (Coital incontinence). When there is a medical problem in the sphincter muscle (I'll explain this term latter) or in the nerves on it, there is leakage of urine. It is expected that this will happen not only in sexual relations and the liquid will have the color, taste and smell of urine. 3. Lubricating fluids There are several sources of wetting fluids designed to reduce injury: A) Fluids that leave the blood vessels and are called transudate. This is the main source of the wetness. It happens more during sexual arousal. B) Fluids secreted from Bartholin's glands: two glands in the lower part of the vulva. The secretion from them is monitored by the Pudendal nerve. These are small glands and the fluid that comes out of them is less than 10 ml. 4. Squirting or Gushing. When we talk about female ejaculation, we usually mean this. Here we are dealing with a very large amount of fluid, hundreds of milliliters (!) and even over a liter!! This is the fluid that Dr. Grafenberg described. Where does this liquid come from?
There is nothing but the bladder that can expel such an amount of fluid. Indeed, although the liquid is clear and odorless, laboratory tests show that the liquid contains traces of urine. How similar the liquid is to urine varies between different studies.
This is a sensitive issue because urine is considered taboo while squirting is considered attractive and in addition, although traces of urine are found in the laboratory, people and researchers report a clear liquid, tasteless and odorless, which means it is perceived as very different from urine. Therefore people have a hard time accepting that the fluid is coming from the bladder. (Try it: dilute your urine 5 times and check if it tastes, smells, and look like urine!). I will now describe 2 articles that show that the ejaculation fluid comes from the bladder (there are more such articles):
In a study from 2001 (2), they invited women who were squirters to the lab and connected a catheter to their urethra and thus collected all the fluid that came out of the urethra into a bag. Other liquids could come out of the vulva unhindered. They received sexual stimulation until squirting. In all of them, the fluid reached the bag through the catheter and the bag was filled (50-900 ml of liquid). This shows that the fluid came out of the urethra. They noted that some of the women also had tiny amounts of the white liquid - the one from first section - that came out into the vulva. The researchers also tested the fluid collected in the bag and compared it to the urine of the same women. They found biochemical traces of urine diluted about 4-5 times.
In addition, in 2015 (3), it was shown by ultrasound that the empty bladder fills during sexual stimulation and is empty again after squirting: the researchers invited women who squirt to the lab. They asked them to pee, did ultrasound imaging and then the women began sexual stimulation (self or from the partner) until they said that they would soon squirt. The researcher did a second ultrasound imaging after which the stimulation continued until squirting, after the squirting they did a third ultrasound imaging. In the imaging they saw that the bladder was empty at first (after they peed), when they felt close to squirting the bladder was full and after squirting it was empty again. Also, no other structure appeared on the photo as we would expect if there was an additional and unknown gland that was the source of the squirt. It is impossible to miss a gland that contains a volume of almost a liter.
To summarize: I think it is safe to say that the fluid is coming from the bladder.
So we know the fluid is coming from the bladder. It is still unknown what causes the fluid to accumulate in the bladder during sexual stimulation, what is the mechanism responsible for its release and under what conditions it happens (it does not always involve orgasm). I will continue now with 3 hypotheses about 'where does the fluid come from in the bladder' and with 4 hypotheses about "what causes the fluid to come out". Then I will describe male squirting (!) and finally I will write about the subjective experience of squirting itself. Let's start!
4.1 What causes fluid to accumulate in the bladder during sexual stimulation?
4.1.1 First hypothesis (my own): oxytocin causes the kidneys to remove more water from the blood and this water reaches the bladder. In general, the fluid in the bladder always comes from the kidneys that filter the blood. The body determines how much water leaves the kidneys and becoming urine depending on the environmental conditions. Sometimes you have to keep the water in your blood and sometimes you don't. The control of how much water the kidneys remove from the blood into the urine is done by a hormone called vasopressin (also called ADH). Vasopressin is an antidiuretic hormone that causes the kidneys to remove less water from the blood into the urine.
What does all this have to do with sex? In an interesting coincidence, vasopressin is the step-brother of the oxytocin that is released in orgasm! (5). Oxytocin and vasopressin are very similar to each other chemically and it is common to think that they do the same actions, meaning that each of them binds to - and activates - the other's receptor as well.
Oxytocin is released into the blood during sexual activity and the release reaches its peak in orgasm. It causes the contractions of the vagina, uterus and rectum as well as the contractions that allow the movement of sperm in the vas deferens (the sperm duct). It is also important in creating and maintaining the pair-bond as a result of sex and this is a big and complicated topic that I will write about another time and I've already touched upon here.
But if oxytocin works like vasopressin, we would expect oxytocin to bind to vasopressin receptors in the kidneys, which would cause water retention in the blood and the diversion of less water into the urine (because vasopressin inhibits urination). That is, the bladder will not be filled. Exactly the opposite of what actually happens! By the way, men also have the same paradox: after ejaculation, it is necessary to urinate, which means the bladder is full.
“Only the paradox comes anywhere near to comprehending the fullness of life", Carl Jung
How can we solve this paradox? I suggest that the chemical similarity between oxytocin and vasopressin allows oxytocin to bind the vasopressin receptors in the kidneys but not to activate them as vasopressin does (because it is not similar enough). That is, the oxytocin takes the place of vasopressin on the receptor and thus does not allow vasopressin to bind them and act in the kidneys. As a result, vsopressin, which reduces the removal of water from the blood in the kidneys, can't function. Therefore more water leaves the blood for the bladder. This may explain the paradox. Indeed, a recent work supports my idea by showing that in rats Oxytocin increases the amount of water the kidneys send to the bladder (6). Even in the brain, although it is common to think that vasopressin and oxytocin have the same effect, in response to stress and fear, these two substances lead to opposite results and it is not clear exactly how this is (7). This suggests a competitive interaction between them as I'm suggesting here. However, there are receptors to oxytocin in the kidneys which may cause water removal from the blood without competitive interaction with the Vasopressin receptor. In any case, there can be a difference between what happens in the brain and the kidneys because the vasopressin receptor in the kidneys is of a different type than the vasopressin receptor found in the brain.
4.1.2 Second hypothesis: faster flow of the fluid that has already left the kidneys to the bladder. It is possible that the oxytocin contracts the muscles along the (long!) tube that carries urine from the kidneys to the bladder and thus causes the bladder to fill. However, then we would get a squirt of undiluted urine, that is, a liquid with the color, taste and smell of urine, so this is a less likely possibility in my opinion. 4.1.3 Third hypothesis: local absorption. It is possible that the fluid does not come from the kidneys but is a local absorption into the bladder of fluids that have left the blood vessels in the area. I will explain: during sexual stimulation, the blood vessels in the genitals expand (due to the activation of parasympathetic nerves that relax the muscle cells around the arteries) so much more blood flows to the genitals. Some of the blood fluids leave the blood vessels and create the wetness. It is possible that some of the fluid that comes out of the blood vessels is absorbed into the bladder, perhaps with the help of lymph ducts. The lymph cleans the tissues and spills into the blood, I don't know about lymph that reaches the urinary bladder. (An alternative mechanism of local drainage of wetness to the bladder not through putative lymph ducts is even less likely to me because it requires the movement of fluids through the muscle that surrounds the bladder and through the membranes of the bladder itself that prevent the urine from leaking out). I think that local absorption of wetness is not the main mechanism (if at all) of filling the bladder, because when examining the squirt fluid of women who peed before sexual stimulation according to this model, we would expect a much higher dilution of urine components compared to what is actually found. In addition, it is hard for me to think that such a mechanism can explain an amount of almost a liter, and I am not familiar with such lymph structure. Although I think it's less likely it is still a possibility.
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4.2 One way or another, the sexual stimulation causes the bladder to fill. But what causes the liquid to come out of the bladder?
The fluid that accumulates in the bladder cannot leave it because there is an annular muscle that closes the tube that exits the bladder. In fact, these are two muscles, each of which closes the tube and each of which is supervised by a different nervous system: One muscle, the internal sphincter, is controlled by the autonomic system, meaning it is involuntary. The other muscle, the external sphincter, is controlled by the voluntary (somatic) nervous system. This is the muscle you relax to pee. In men the two muscles are separated and in women they are integrated into one muscle which is more delicate than in the male.
In men, the internal sphincter remains closed during sexual activity all the time so that urine does not come out and so that the sperm comes out and doesn't go into the bladder. When the external sphincter opens, the sperm bursts out and this phase is monitored by the sympathetic and somatic system (see my post on male ejaculation here).
In order for the squirt fluid to break out of the bladder, this muscle needs to open. How does it happen during sexual stimulation? again, I will go through all the possibilities, some of them are less likely, I am still writing them to explain why they are less likely. The most likely are 4.2.3 and 4.2.4.
4.2.1. Physical pressure on the muscle (for example through a stimulation technique at the G-spot area) that opens it.
The bladder is right in front of the G-zone. (yes, it's more of a zone than a spot, and not all researchers agree on its existence but that's for another post). The idea is that pushing at the G-zone presses the annular muscle and thus causes it to open. But such a mechanism of opening a tense muscle through a press is not known, so it is less likely.
If this is the mechanism after all, since it is very mechanical and local it could explain a burst that feels forced. Squirting is not necessarily part of an orgasm! (more on that latter). On the other hand, the release - even if not part of an orgasm - can feel... liberating (physically and emotionally, for example, liberation from judgments) and with ultimate acceptance and devotion.
4.2.2. Voluntary release (like peeing) - A voluntary opening of the sphincter would cause everything in the bladder to burst out. But squirting describes an involuntary situation. An outside observer cannot tell whether the squirting was voluntary or not, but the women themselves know and they describe an involuntary phenomenon and many times they are surprised by it themselves.
4.2.3. An uncontrolled nerve command causes an autonomous (uncontrolled) opening of the sphincter.
When we pee, a nerve command, that can be voluntary or involuntary, relaxes the sphincter muscle and also contracts the detrusor muscle that surrounds the bladder and these pushes the urine out.
(A fun fact for biology-lovers: the muscles of the body are divided into smooth muscles that are not voluntary and striated muscles that are voluntary. Interestingly, the detrusor muscle is the only smooth muscle in the body that is also under voluntary control).
Normally, the nervous system - without us being aware of it - constantly prevents the detrusor muscle from contracting. That is, there is constantly a suppression of urination that depends on the nervous system not letting the detrusor muscle contract. (Therefore at the moment of brain-death the neural inhibition does not exist, the muscle contracts and pee comes out. Death was never so attractive, right?).
I'll explain now how we voluntary control peeing in order to explain latter hot squirting can happen in an involuntary fashion. Voluntary control over peeing is both opening of the sphincter muscle and allowing the detrusor muscle to contract. The voluntary decision happens in the frontal parts of the cerebral cortex. (The cerebral cortex is the conscious part of the brain and the front part of the cerebral cortex is the main difference between humans and monkeys). Once the decision to pee has been made in the frontal cerebral cortex the neural inhibition on the detrusor muscle contraction is removed. (Regarding decision, brain research and a free choice see my post here). But in certain situations it can happen involuntarily (detrusor overactivity): in a situation of extreme fear, it happens that "one does in one's pants", the same mechanism may also work in a situation of extreme sexual excitement. It is possible that hypoactivity in the frontal cortex causes the removal of neural inhibition. Although it seems that during orgasm there is more activity (9), but after it there may be hypoactivity. (The needed experiment is to scan the brain activity of women who squirt and to test if there's reduction in frontal cortex activity when they squirt). Additionally, there are some non-emotional pathologies in which there's removal of cortical suppression on the detrusor: this happens in Parkinson's and Multiple Sclerosis. Lastly, coughing can also cause this: Cough-induced Detrusor Overactivity - describes a medical condition in which coughing causes the detrusor muscle to contract. It is not clear why and it is possible that orgasm also causes this. 4.2.4 Contraction of the bladder as a result of an involuntary hormonal command.
I previously mentioned the hormone oxytocin, a hormone that is released in both women and men during orgasm and actually causes contractions of the vagina, the uterus, the vas deferens (the sperm duct), and the anus. In addition, oxytocin also acts on the Detrusor muscle that surrounds the urinary bladder. If oxytocin causes the contraction of the Detrusor muscle it would contract the urinary bladder and voilà, we have an explanation for the squirting effect. However, this topic has been scarcely researched, and the findings so far contradict each other.
4.2.4 Physical pressure in the G-spot area or cyclic reflexive contractions there creates suction pressure (like a pump) from the urethra on the bladder and causes it to open.
In the case of rhythmic physical press at the G-spot, the press contracts the urinary tube, and after each press there is an expansion of it that creates a 'pump' that may suck fluid from the bladder. On the next press, the liquid will squirt out. The next expansion will cause more pumping and God forbid.
The same 'pumping' could results from rhythmic reflexive contractions of muscles along the urethrae similar to the ones men have. Indeed, in women, part of the sphincter muscle surrounds both the vagina and the urethra and is called: Urethrovaginal sphincter. Therefore, when the vagina contracts or expands, the urethra may too. This means that involuntary contraction-release series in the vagina would create a series of contractions in the urethra that can create a pump on the bladder that ultimately overcomes the action of the rest of the sphincter muscle.
Indeed, there are findings that show that in women, unlike men, the sphincter muscles can open and close during orgasm and thus cause a series of squirting. The neural control mechanism is unknown.
A pump mechanism has been described in a man who squirts (yes, you read that right!) and I will describe it later. In men this happens with an autonomic reflex where rhythmic contractions of the prostate cause suction pressure on the muscle that closes the bladder.
To summarize section 4.2.4, I've described two possible mechanism that results in a pump-like pressure on the bladder which like in men would lead to the opening of the sphincter and then squirting. The first mechanism may feel more forced while the second may occur in association with an orgasm.
Which of these possibilities takes place and when is unknown. The liquid can come out of the vulva in a spurt and can come out in a spouting or bubbling. This indicates at least two mechanisms of eruption. It is possible that when the detrusor muscle contracts (4.2.3), the fluid comes out in a spurt, while when the sphincter only opens (4.2.4), the fluid comes out in a spouting, also depending on the internal pressure in the bladder.
I explained earlier that the fluid comes out of the urethra and not from the vagina. But there is a medical condition called Hypospadia in which the urethra ends in the vagina instead of the vulva and then both the urine and the squirting fluid will come out of the vagina.
There is a parallel situation in men in which the baby is born when the urethra ends and exits along the penis instead of at the end.
The prevalence of hypospadias in men is 0.5% and in women the prevalence is unclear: In general, the literature states that this is very, very rare in women without giving numbers, but there are urologists who believe that it is actually an even higher percentage than men! Can this explain the feeling of women and men that the fluid comes out of the vagina? It does not seem to me so because this situation usually does not come down to just the location the opening of the urethra. Usually girls born this way have urine leakage, have a "split" clitoris and a slightly unusual appearance of the vulva.
In summary: it is known that the fluid comes from the bladder. But there is much speculation as to how the fluid reaches the bladder and what is the mechanism of the release. I will now continue with male squirting and then I will write about the feeling itself.
Male squirting (like in women)
Recently, a medical scientific journal of urologists described a case of a man with a squirting similar to the female squirting: after ejaculation, he remained erect and continued to receive sexual stimulation from a 'research assistant' (!?!). After a short time he came to squirt a large amount of liquid which chemically - like women's squirting - included components of urine even though it looked clear (8). His experience at the time of squirting was that of another orgasm. In ultrasound imaging, they saw that his squirting was caused by a series of about 20 contractions of the prostate and pelvic floor muscles that lasted for a minute. During that time the squirting happened. In this way, a pump was created that exerted suction pressure on the bladder and caused the sphincter muscles to open. In science, this is the only case that has been described, but the authors of the article point out that the phenomenon is known in the world of porn, where there is actually a genre of male squirting.
Abuse of female squirting
Female squirting has become the holy grail in recent years. Women want to experience it to mark another goal and men want their partners to experience it so that they feel men. That is, purposefulness and ego instead of pleasure and connection. Part of this is due to the mistaken belief that female squirting is always accompanied by orgasm or at least great pleasure. In fact, squirting can be accompanied by pleasure and euphoria but it can also be forced and technical and separated from the orgasm.
In general, the orgasm is a cerebral experience that is accompanied by contractions of muscles (at the genitals and rectum). Usually these two happen together, but these are separate processes that can occur independently. The contractions are a reflex that can happen at the level of the spinal cord without involvement of the brain (see my post here) so with no euphoria.
So instead of looking for an event that we take as a symbol of pleasure why don't we focus on the pleasure itself? That pleasure may sometimes arrive together with squirting and sometimes without. Does it matter?
The experience and the feeling of squirting
Several studies (9) focused on the subjective experience of squirting and it turned out that most women feel positive things from the phenomenon of squirting. They felt empowered: that they received superpowers, that they discovered new abilities of their bodies, or that they belonged to an exclusive club of only a few women who experience squirting. (In fact, it is not known exactly what percentage of women squirts. The estimate ranges from 10-50%). A feeling of wonder and amazement was common. In terms of pleasure, some of them described a supreme pleasure and different from the pleasure they had known before. For a significant number of these women, the squirting began after the end of a long and gray relationship and was perceived by them as part of a process of liberation or sexual awakening. In addition, the satisfaction of their partners from their squirting caused them satisfaction. Other women, felt indifferent about the phenomenon, sometimes they noticed it only after the end of sex when it became clear to them that the bed was wet. The gap between their experience and what they expected to experience made them wonder if what they experienced was that squirting they had heard about in the past. They said that the experience was described as excessively positive.
A third group of women had an unpleasant experience: they did not know what it was and felt ashamed and embarrassed because they thought they had peed. Another part of the women in this group, knew that it was not leakage of urine, but the feeling nevertheless reminded them peeing and therefore they did not like it. Other women in this group experienced squirting often, knew what it was about, but for them, the need to change the sheets and absorb large amounts of fluids turned sex into a project so they didn't like it either. What causes the different reactions? (or knowledge is power!) Early knowledge prevents shame and embarrassment, the partner's reaction was especially critical for women who were not familiar with the phenomenon. A partner who also did not know the phenomenon and was disgusted by it caused them to fear the squirting and feel ashamed of it, while partners who explained or were happy about the squirting made the women see the squirting as positive.
Along with that, the identification of the orgasm with squirting caused some women confusion and did not match their feeling. This is also due to lack of knowledge.
Finally, the social norm in their social circle affected their attitude towards squirting: from a desirable experience to an experience that indicates excessive sexuality. All the women felt that they did not know enough about the phenomenon, they wanted to know what the liquid was and if it had anything to do with urine. They expressed regret that the subject was not taught as part of sex education (so this is why this post is important! share it!). Some felt that the fluid was coming from the vagina, some felt that it was coming from a gland near the urethra.
Share your own experience of squirting!
Have you experienced a squirting and want to share your experience? I would love to receive your personal description and publish it here. What did you feel? euphoria? devotion? Acceptance? power? Nothing mental but something completely technical? Is it the same experience every time? How is it at different times? I want you to write your subjective experience: not to analyze but to focus on the feeling. If you decide to share with me - and with the blog readers - this intimate feeling, please write whether to post with your full name, first name or anonymously. Thanks! I would love for a bank of descriptions to develop here.
Send your sharing to: doctoramosg@gmail.com
A first description, anonymous:
"I've been experiencing this phenomenon since I was forty (I'm 65 today).
It happens during very intense stimulation and a few minutes before orgasm.
I also made sure to empty the bladder and a few minutes later, the amounts of liquid were enormous. To the extent that the sheet really gets wet, even if I place a folded towel under me.
At first the eruption is light and minor.
As the stimulation increases, the amount of fluid increases and also the way it comes out is different.
From a weak and slow flow to a sudden burst of a large amount of liquid.
It has no smell and no color.
At the same time, despite the discomfort, the orgasm is always more powerful after squirting.
I checked with the gynecologist maybe uterine prolapse and everything is fine.
On normal days I don't have a leak (except when I have a heavy cough).
The women around me did not experience the phenomenon.
Best regards"
A second description, anonymous:
"I would like to say that I have been experiencing female squirting for several years and am researching it on myself. My squirting when I am having sex with my husband has a pleasant smell and a sweet taste. When I am during the act of love with my husband and feel a tunnel of receiving knowledge - or feeling a process of curing through me - then the smell of squirting will be intense or spicy and so will the taste.
I should note that these days I experience squirting without any contact at all and the amount of liquid that comes out is a phenomenon that I have no explanation for, I need 4 MINTIMIT pads sheets (MINTIMIT is a commercial absorbing sheets design for that purpose, A.G). My investigation into squirting led me to amazing and innovative discoveries that do not exist in any research and as one that research I know for sure that there are other women like me who experience female squirting during sexual contact, with vaginal orgasm and also without contact." A third description, anonymous: I have been experiencing female ejaculation for about a decade now, ever since my husband (who learned how to 'trigger' female ejaculation) led to the 'situation'. Since that moment, I 'can't stop' it, and it's not voluntary (it happens almost in every sexual act). As indicated in the text, I belong to the third group, which enjoys female ejaculation less because it often turns sex into an 'operation' (using towels, mattress protectors, I recently read about 'MINTIMIT' menstrual products, but I haven't tried them yet). In fact, the information that I lack the most today is how to stop the phenomenon. There is no information about it, and I admit that I'm too embarrassed to ask my gynecologist if there is even a medical procedure for it.
I must note that orgasm is one of the most important things for me in sex, and it's rare that I don't reach orgasm (in various ways). There is and there's no connection between squirting and orgasm. It can indeed occur shortly before the final orgasm, but the 'outburst,' as described in your post, almost always happens with the orgasm – the muscle contractions of the region. Sometimes there is squirting that continues after (expressed by a 'trickle' of fluids rather than a gush). Not always is there an outburst; sometimes there is only a 'flow,' it varies.
I feel the squirting comes from both the vagina and the urethra or the Skene's glands (or all of these). I make every effort to empty myself before sex to reduce the chance of having this urine-like fluid. I admit that sometimes the fluid does contain a little urine residue, but most of the time, it's a water-like fluid without smell and without color – transparent. Sometimes it even contains the ejaculate fluid that you mentioned in the post. In terms of the quantity of the transparent fluid, the estimate is that sometimes it's about a cup or two, if not more.
If there are studies that could help stop the phenomenon, I would appreciate it if you could please share them on your blog." A fourth description is also from an anonymous woman (Aug-2024): 'I am 35 years old and have been experiencing squirting since I was about 24. Full disclosure, I climax relatively easily, can experience a series of orgasms, and have relatively good communication with my body.
It started with my partner at the time, who watched pornography and told me about the existence of this phenomenon. I was curious whether it was fiction or a real phenomenon and decided that if it exists, I would figure it out. I did exercises on my own, focusing mainly on breathing and relaxation, and then it happened. I was in shock. It happened towards the end of that relationship and remained within the framework of masturbation and between myself.
With my next partner, who later became my husband, I shared the experience, and together we managed to make it happen during sex. Since then, it happens almost every time during sexual activity with him and during masturbation. To be honest, it has become synonymous with orgasm for me. The experience of orgasm with squirting is, for me, on a whole different level, and the feeling of release and satisfaction can stay with me for some time afterward. When it happens without ejaculation, it feels like a disappointing orgasm that didn’t live up to its potential.
I was worried that after giving birth, with stitches, it would stop, but it didn’t. However, all the preparation around sex has become more challenging because we have to deal with the wet sheets, which is the less comfortable and enjoyable part of the experience.
My squirting is like a gentle spring and can involve large amounts of fluid. It is partly controllable and partly involuntary, and I can avoid it if I want to, but it requires effort and somewhat depends on the situation.
The fluid that is released, in my experience, feels like it comes from the vagina and not from the urethra. The fluid sometimes has a smell and is mostly clear. I can squirt and then immediately urinate. The fluid is usually clear, even if the urine afterward can be more yellow. I am very curious about this phenomenon and would love to help research it and share more information about it with the world. I have a hypothesis that it is something that can be taught, a skill, and I would be happy to explore it.'"
I work hard to make high-quality, in-depth, and FREE content on the science of sexuality accessible. If you'd like to support me with a coffee (4$), I'd greatly appreciate it, and it would help me continue. Thank you in advance!
Thanks!
To Nurit Trautwein who helped me write this post and directed me to knowledge I did not know.
Leonor Gabrieli who directed me to the article about the subjective experience.
Dr. Kobi Reisman (urologist and former president of the European Association for Sexual Medicine) drew my attention to Hypospadia and shared with me his data from a survey in urology departments in the Netherlands where the rate of the phenomenon reached 7%!
Dr. Anna Padua, Gynecologist and Urologist shared her extensive knowledge with me and made many important comments on an earlier version. Some of the conversation with her I sent by mistake to my father but that's a different story.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I don't know everything - if you have anything to add please let me know.
I think this is the most comprehensive description of squirting and I would love for you to spread the word so that this knowledge reaches as many women and men as possible.
Bibliography
Recent reviews
1.1 Female ejaculation and squirting as similar but completely different phenomena: A narrative review of current research (2022) Pastor, Zlatko Chmel, Roman
1.2 Differential diagnostics of female “sexual” fluids: a narrative review (2018) Pastor, Zlatko Chmel, Roman
these two are from the same authors.
1.3 Female ejaculation: An update on anatomy, history, and controversies (2021) Felix D. Rodriguez,Amarilis Camacho,Stephen J. Bordes,Brady Gardner,Roy J. Levin,R. Shane Tubbs
1.4 The whole versus the sum of some of the parts: toward resolving the apparent controversy of clitoral versus vaginal orgasms (2016) Pfaus, James G., Quintana, Gonzalo R., Mac Cionnaith, Conall, Parada, Mayte
2. Using catheters for probing the source of squirting Urethral Expulsions During Sensual Arousal and Bladder Catheterization in Seven Human Females (2001) G. Schubac; Electronic Journal of Human Sexuality
3. Ultrasound imaging shows the bladder gets filled just before squirting and is empty after that. Nature and origin of "Squirting" in female sexuality (2015) The Journal of Sexual Medicine
4. Urinary inconsistency
Urinary leakage during coitus in women (1999) A. MORAN, P. L. DWYER, S. P. ZICCON, P.
5. Oxytocin and vasopressin during orgasm
5.1 Plasma oxytocin increases in the human sexual response (1987)
5.2. Oxytocin in the central nervous system and sexual behaviour in male rats (1987) - in rats only oxytocin increases after ejaculation
5.3 Specificity of the neuroendocrine response to orgasm during sexual arousal in men, (2003) -in men like in 5.2 6. Oxytocin decreases water retention in rats. Dissociation of natriuresis and diuresis by oxytocin molecular forms in rats (2019) PlosOne
7. Opposite effects of oxytocin and vasopressin
6.1 The Oxytocin–Vasopressin Pathway in the Context of Love and Fear (2017) Sue Carter
Dr. Carter was the first to suggest the role of oxytocin in pair-bonding. She got the idea while delivering her first son. She studied voles which became the animal model for that.
6.2 Inhibitory effect of oxytocin on corticotrope function in humans: Are vasopressin and oxytocin ying-yang neurohormones? (2001), Jean Jacques Legros
Oxytocin affects the bladder: Relaxation - Oxytocin Reduces Intravesical Pressure in Anesthetized Female Rats: Action on Oxytocin Receptors of the Urinary Bladder, (2020), Frontiers in Physiology Contraction: Contraction Evidence for oxytocin receptors in the urinary bladder of the rabbit, (1985), Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol.
8. Male squirting 7.1 Male squirting: Analysis of one case using color Doppler ultrasonograph (2018)
7.2 A media coverage of the topic
9. The feeling of squrting
A sexual superpower or a shame? Women’s diverging experiences of squirting/female ejaculation in Sweden (2021)
10. More brain activity during an orgasm
“Functional MRI of the brain during orgasm in women”,Komisaruk, Barry R. Whipple, Beverly (2005) Annual Review of Sex Research
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