Female ejaculation is not the same as urine, but the full answer is more nuanced than a simple yes or no. That’s because “female ejaculation” actually refers to two distinct phenomena that get lumped together in conversation: a small release of thick, milky fluid from glands near the urethra, and a larger gush of dilute fluid commonly called “squirting.” These two events have different sources, different compositions, and different relationships to urine.
Two Different Fluids, Two Different Sources
What scientists call “true” female ejaculation involves a small amount of thick, whitish fluid released during orgasm. This fluid comes from the Skene’s glands, two small structures about the size of a blueberry that sit on either side of the urethra. These glands develop from the same embryonic tissue that becomes the prostate in males, which is why they’re sometimes called the “female prostate.” During sexual arousal, the Skene’s glands swell with increased blood flow and can release fluid through tiny openings near the urethral opening.
Biochemical analysis of this fluid shows it contains proteins similar to those found in male prostatic fluid. A study using urethroscopy and perineal ultrasound confirmed that the fluid “showed all the parameters found in prostate plasma,” in clear contrast to the values found in voided urine. Its concentrations of urea and creatinine, two waste products that are hallmarks of urine, differ from what you’d find in a urine sample. In short, this fluid is a glandular secretion, not pee.
Squirting is different. It involves a much larger volume of fluid, sometimes enough to soak through sheets, and its origin is the bladder.
What Ultrasound Studies Reveal About Squirting
A widely cited imaging study tracked what happens inside the body during squirting. Seven women who regularly experienced large-volume fluid release during sex underwent pelvic ultrasounds at three points: after fully emptying their bladders, during arousal just before squirting, and immediately after squirting.
The results were striking. After the women urinated, ultrasound confirmed their bladders were completely empty. As sexual stimulation continued, their bladders visibly refilled. After squirting occurred, the bladders were empty again. The fluid was clearly coming from the bladder.
Biochemical testing of the squirted fluid showed it was mostly dilute urine. However, in most of the women, the fluid also contained small amounts of prostatic secretions from the Skene’s glands. The researchers concluded that squirting is “essentially the involuntary emission of urine during sexual activity, although a marginal contribution of prostatic secretions to the emitted fluid often exists.” So squirting fluid is primarily urine, but it’s typically mixed with some glandular secretion and may be more dilute than regular urine.
Both Can Happen at the Same Time
One reason this topic stays confusing is that ejaculation and squirting can occur simultaneously. A systematic review of the evidence described it this way: female ejaculation manifests as either a smaller quantity of whitish secretions from the female prostate, or a larger amount of diluted and changed urine (squirting), and both phenomena may occur at once. What someone experiences as a single event during orgasm can actually be a mix of glandular fluid and bladder contents released together.
How Common Is It?
Ejaculation and squirting are far more common than many people assume. Survey data from multiple countries consistently finds that roughly 40 to 58 percent of women report having experienced one or both. A Swedish cross-sectional study found that 58% of participants had experienced ejaculation or squirting, with higher rates among non-heterosexual women. Similar numbers have been reported in studies from the United States, Canada, and Egypt.
It’s Not Incontinence
Many people who experience squirting worry that something is wrong, or feel embarrassed because they assume they’re losing bladder control. Researchers have drawn a clear line between ejaculation or squirting and coital incontinence, which is involuntary urine leakage caused by a bladder disorder. Coital incontinence involves specific urological conditions like detrusor overactivity or stress urinary incontinence, and it requires treatment. Ejaculation and squirting, by contrast, are physiological sexual responses that happen in people with normally functioning anatomy.
The distinction matters because the two look similar on the surface but have completely different causes. Coital incontinence tends to happen with penetration or physical pressure regardless of arousal, while ejaculation and squirting are tied to sexual stimulation and orgasm. If fluid release during sex is accompanied by other urinary symptoms like leaking when you cough, sneeze, or exercise, that’s worth discussing with a healthcare provider. If it only happens during sexual activity and arousal, it falls within the range of normal sexual function.
The Bottom Line on What the Fluid Is
True female ejaculation, the small volume of milky fluid from the Skene’s glands, is not urine. It’s a prostatic secretion with a distinct biochemical profile. Squirting, the larger gush of fluid, is primarily dilute urine from the bladder, often with a small contribution of prostatic secretions mixed in. Both are normal, neither is a sign of a medical problem, and they’re far more common than most people realize.