Squirting is a release of fluid from the urethra during sexual arousal or orgasm, and roughly 40% of adult women in the U.S. report having experienced it at least once. It typically happens in response to G-spot or clitoral stimulation, though the exact experience varies from person to person based on anatomy, muscle control, and nerve sensitivity.
What Happens Inside the Body
The clearest picture of the mechanism comes from ultrasound studies that tracked what happens in real time. Researchers scanned seven women after they emptied their bladders, confirming the bladders were completely empty. Then, during sexual stimulation, a second scan showed the bladders had noticeably refilled. After squirting occurred, a third scan showed the bladders were empty again. This means the fluid builds up in the bladder during arousal and is expelled through the urethra when squirting happens.
This rapid bladder filling during arousal is distinct from normal urine production. The kidneys appear to accelerate fluid output during sexual excitement, and the resulting liquid is chemically different from regular urine. Analysis of squirting fluid found it contains urea (a component of urine) at around 417 mg/dL, but it also contains high levels of prostate-specific antigen, a protein produced by small glands near the urethra. The fluid is essentially a diluted, chemically altered version of urine mixed with secretions from these glands.
The Glands Behind the Fluid
Two small structures called the Skene’s glands sit on either side of the urethra. They develop from the same embryonic tissue that becomes the prostate in males, which is why they’re sometimes called the “female prostate.” During arousal, these glands produce a whitish secretion rich in prostate-specific antigen. This secretion mixes with the fluid in the bladder and urethra before expulsion.
Clinicians actually distinguish between two related but separate events. Female ejaculation, in the strict sense, refers to a small amount of thick, whitish fluid from these glands. Squirting refers to a larger volume of thinner, more diluted fluid. In practice, most people experience some combination of both at once, which is why the expelled fluid contains markers from the Skene’s glands alongside diluted urine components.
How Stimulation Triggers It
Squirting can happen with or without orgasm. It’s most commonly linked to G-spot stimulation (pressure on the front vaginal wall, which sits close to the Skene’s glands and the urethra) or clitoral stimulation, or both. The physical proximity of the G-spot area to the Skene’s glands and bladder is part of why that type of stimulation tends to produce the sensation of fluid building up.
The pelvic floor muscles play a direct role in the expulsion itself. Specifically, the pubococcygeus muscle (the same muscle you’d engage doing a Kegel) contracts during arousal and orgasm, and those contractions help push fluid out from the Skene’s glands and urethra. This is why many women describe squirting as a release or a “letting go” sensation, because tensing the pelvic floor can hold the fluid back while relaxing it allows expulsion.
A U.S. probability survey of women ages 18 to 93 found that 75% of those who had squirted used specific techniques to build up toward it rather than having it happen spontaneously. This suggests it’s partly a learned physical response involving awareness of pelvic floor tension and the timing of release.
What It Feels Like
About 60% of women who have squirted describe it as very or somewhat pleasurable. Only 20% report that squirting and orgasm always happen together, meaning the two are related but independent events. Some women squirt without orgasming, and many orgasm without squirting.
A common concern is that the sensation feels similar to needing to urinate, which makes sense given that the fluid passes through the urethra and the bladder is involved. This similarity leads some women to tense up and suppress the response. The typical advice from pelvic floor specialists is that if you feel that pressure building during arousal, relaxing the pelvic floor rather than clenching it is what allows squirting to occur.
Squirting vs. Urinary Incontinence
Leaking urine during sex, called coital incontinence, is a separate medical condition caused by urethral dysfunction or involuntary bladder contractions. It’s diagnosed through urodynamic testing and often needs treatment. Squirting, by contrast, is a normal physiological response to sexual stimulation. The key differences: coital incontinence tends to happen with penetration or pressure regardless of arousal, produces fluid that’s chemically identical to urine, and is often associated with other urinary symptoms like leaking during coughing or sneezing. Squirting happens specifically during sexual arousal, produces fluid with a distinct biochemical profile, and isn’t associated with bladder control problems at other times.
The volume of fluid varies widely. Some women produce a small amount barely noticeable on the sheets, while others report much larger quantities. Among women in the U.S. survey who had experienced squirting, the median lifetime frequency was three to five times total, suggesting that for many, it’s an occasional event rather than something that happens every time.