Squirting is the release of fluid from the bladder during sexual arousal or orgasm. It’s a normal part of some people’s sexual response, not a sign of a medical problem, and it happens to a significant number of women. Studies estimate that anywhere from 10 to 54% of women experience some form of fluid release during sex, though the wide range reflects how differently researchers define and measure it.
What Actually Happens in the Body
During sexual arousal, blood flow increases to the genital area, and structures around the urethra swell. Two small glands called Skene’s glands, located at the lower end of the urethra, respond to this increased blood flow by producing fluid. These glands develop from the same embryonic tissue that becomes the prostate in males, which is why they’re sometimes called the “female prostate.” They produce a milky, mucus-like substance that contains proteins similar to those found in male ejaculate.
At the same time, the bladder can fill rapidly during arousal. A 2014 French study using ultrasound imaging on women who could squirt showed their bladders were full just before the moment of squirting and empty directly afterward. A later Japanese study confirmed this more definitively: researchers injected blue dye into the bladders of five volunteers, then collected the squirted fluid. In every case, the liquid came out blue, confirming it originates from the bladder.
Importantly, all the women in that study had normal bladder control. Squirting is not urinary incontinence. It appears to be a distinct reflex that occurs during intense arousal or orgasm.
Squirting and Ejaculation Are Different Things
The terms “squirting” and “female ejaculation” are often used interchangeably, but researchers now consider them separate phenomena that can occur independently or at the same time.
- Female ejaculation is a small amount of thick, whitish fluid released from the Skene’s glands. It contains high levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), glucose, and fructose, and it doesn’t gush out. Most people wouldn’t notice it without looking for it.
- Squirting is a higher-volume release of dilute fluid from the bladder. It contains urea, creatinine, and uric acid (the same waste products filtered by the kidneys), but in lower concentrations than normal urine. There’s still debate about whether it’s identical to urine or a more diluted version of it.
Both can happen during the same sexual experience, which is why the squirted fluid sometimes contains trace amounts of PSA from the Skene’s glands mixed in with the bladder fluid.
How Common It Is
The estimates vary significantly depending on the study. Survey-based research puts the range at 10 to 54% of women reporting some form of ejaculation or squirting during sex. In one controlled study from 1984, researchers had 27 women attempt to squirt in a clinical setting, and 37% were able to. That number likely underestimates real-world prevalence, since a lab environment isn’t exactly conducive to arousal.
Some women squirt consistently, others experience it once or twice in their lives, and many never do. Research from Sweden found that some women learned to squirt with practice, while others described it as involuntary. Neither pattern is more “normal” than the other.
What It Feels Like
Women describe the sensation in very different ways. For some, it accompanies an especially intense orgasm and feels like a pleasurable release, followed by deep relaxation. Others find it underwhelming or even distracting. In interviews with 28 Swedish women who could squirt, responses ranged from “highly pleasurable” to “overrated” to “embarrassing.”
The physical sensation often includes a building pressure, similar to feeling like you need to urinate, followed by a release. This similarity to the urge to pee is one reason many women instinctively clench up and prevent it from happening, not realizing what it is.
Why It Can Feel Confusing
Many women report surprise, fear, or confusion the first time it happens, largely because they had no prior knowledge of it. Research from the International Society for Sexual Medicine found that women often turned to pornography or social media for information, sources that tend to portray squirting in exaggerated or unrealistic ways. This created a double bind: women who squirted involuntarily felt embarrassed, while women who didn’t felt pressure to perform.
Cultural context plays a role too. In Rwanda, squirting is openly celebrated as a sign of deep sexual satisfaction, and knowledge about it is passed between generations. In many Western countries, it carries more stigma, which can turn a neutral bodily function into a source of anxiety.
The reality is simpler than the cultural noise around it. Squirting is a physiological response that some bodies have during arousal. It doesn’t indicate better or worse sex, it isn’t something to achieve or avoid, and it has no health implications. Women in studies who reported the most positive experiences with squirting were generally the ones who understood what was happening and didn’t attach performance expectations to it.