So… what exactly is squirting? And is it common?

Ejaculatory orgasms, like female pleasure in general, are shrouded in mystery, partly due to science’s gender bias…so definitive answers are rare.

Let’s clear up some of the most common misinformation about squirting and female ejaculation.

How often do you squirt?

Apparently, I’m in the third of women who say they’ve experienced “squirting,” a term often used interchangeably with “female ejaculation.” Most say it’s only happened once or twice. In a recent survey, 72% of women who said they didn’t squirt regularly or never said they wanted to. For me, it happens every time I climax if I’m alone (because it’s easier to relax) and maybe 30% of the time with a man. Bottom line: Every woman is different.

How much liquid is produced?

Beverley Whipple, American sex guru and co-author of the original G-spot book, says the amount of fluid released is typically about “half a full coffee cup.” Other experts say some women can produce a liter of fluid at any given time in their body!

Is female ejaculate actually urine?

Until the 1980s, any doctor who knew about female ejaculation assumed it was urine. As a “treatment,” they recommended exercises to strengthen the pelvic muscles. In 1982, the aforementioned G-spot book suggested that the fluid was not urine, but rather “juice” secreted by the Skene’s glands, tiny structures that drain into the urethra and are thought to be the female equivalent of the prostate, although their size and shape differ greatly and their exact function is unclear.

In 2007, Viennese researcher Dr Florian Wimpissinger (his real name) confirmed this hypothesis by finding that the ejaculate of two women he had studied was chemically different from that of urine. In particular, it contained more prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP), more prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and also some glucose.

Ok, so what exactly is squirting?

Double answer. This is where it gets interesting.

Do:Some women secrete fluid from the urethra when they reach orgasm. This may be a small amount of milky white fluid that is technically female ejaculate.

Do:Other women report “squirting” a much larger amount of fluid, enough to actually wet the bed.

To study the nature and origin of the fluid, French gynecologist Samuel Salama and his colleagues studied seven women who reported producing large amounts of fluid at the time of orgasm. After confirming that their bladders were completely empty by ultrasound, the women masturbated alone or with a partner until they were close to orgasm, which took 25 to 60 minutes.

As crazy as it may sound, a second pelvic ultrasound was performed just before the women orgasmed. The squirted fluid was then collected and a final ultrasound was performed. Even though the women had urinated just before the stimulation began, the second ultrasound showed that their bladders had completely filled up again! Each woman’s final ultrasound showed an empty bladder, meaning that the squirted fluid during orgasm came from the bladder. Salama is also investigating whether the kidneys work faster to produce urine during sexual stimulation, and if so, why.

With me so far?

The fluid samples were then analyzed: while the fluids from two women were chemically no different from their urine, the other five contained a small amount of good old PSA present in the fluid they had squirted – an enzyme not detected in their initial urine sample, but which is part of “real” female ejaculate.

The takeaway here is that there are apparently two unique fluids, with two unique sources, one of which contains urine, yes. So while most people think of squirting and female ejaculation as one and the same thing, researchers consider them to be two separate phenomena. While squirting is the larger jet of fluid that shoots out of the urethra, female ejaculation is a much smaller amount of fluid that occurs in the vagina; it is viscous and can be compared to saliva. Some women secrete both, while others secrete only one or the other, or neither.

Whatever the chemical composition of this phenomenal nectar, if you make it and enjoy it, savor it! And if you haven’t yet, don’t think it’s a matter of life and death. It’s not!

But how does squirting happen?

Female ejaculation appears to be triggered by G-spot stimulation. Recent research suggests that this area is more aptly described as the clitoral-ethro-vaginal (CUV) complex, because it includes your clitoris, urethra, and the anterior wall of the vagina. It’s all connected, baby.

While the scientific evidence is very murky in this wet and wild realm, Dr. Madeleine Castellanos, author of Wanting to Want, says that if you’re sufficiently aroused, all of your tissues swell, putting more pressure on your urethra and pushing it slightly forward. Shifting the stimulation between the bladder and urethra in this way can make urination easier and, at the same time, feel incredible. Feeling truly relaxed can combine with all of these factors and sometimes lead to female ejaculation. Orgasms are as much in the mind as anywhere else, as many of us know.

Can you learn to make yourself squirt?

Although Salama believes that all women are capable of squirting “if their partner knows what they’re doing,” I’m not a fan of this statement that puts pressure on women, but also on men, who are known to add the ability to make a girl squirt to their list of markers of virility.

Squirting may seem like a confusing oxymoron to some. Personally, I firmly believe that such an expansion of the female pleasure dome is cause for celebration, so several of my pet peeves are easily triggered in these discussions:

• Detractors who think it’s a good use of their limited time on earth to openly question the legitimacy of female ejaculation choose to ask what makes a girl squirt, and whether she’s not actually urinating. To which I respond: so what if it’s pee?

• Women who feel inadequate simply because they haven’t experienced that particular type of orgasm, neither better nor worse than any other. Just different.

• Women who feel anxious or ashamed about ejaculating and think it’s gross (perhaps because they’ve been told it’s urine and that urine and sex shouldn’t mix).

While there’s no guarantee that you can learn how to squirt on your own, there are plenty of videos and articles online on the subject, most of them geared toward guys who want to make their girls squirt. But in my experience, if you can’t do it yourself, it’s hard for someone else to do it for you. Plus, sometimes just trying can get in the way.

However, here are some very useful tips!