Squirting is the expulsion of a relatively large volume of dilute fluid through the urethra during sexual arousal or orgasm. It is not the same thing as female ejaculation, even though the two terms are often used interchangeably in casual conversation and in pornography. Female ejaculation involves a small amount of thick, whitish secretion from the Skene’s glands (sometimes called the female prostate), while squirting involves a much larger quantity of clear fluid that is chemically closer to very dilute urine. Both can happen at the same time in the same person, which is part of why the confusion persists.
Two Different Fluids, Two Different Sources
Researchers did not formally separate squirting from female ejaculation until around 2011. Before that, every fluid released during orgasm was lumped under the single label “female ejaculation.” A narrative review of the research literature now defines female ejaculation as the secretion of a few milliliters of thick, milky fluid from the Skene’s glands during orgasm, containing prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Squirting, by contrast, is the transurethral expulsion of a much larger volume of fluid containing urea, creatinine, and uric acid, the same markers found in urine but in altered concentrations.1PubMed. Differential diagnostics of female “sexual” fluids: a narrative review A separate narrative review puts the volume threshold at roughly ten milliliters or more for squirting, versus just a few milliliters of thick fluid for ejaculation.2PubMed. Female ejaculation and squirting as similar but completely different phenomena: A narrative review of current research
The biochemical evidence is straightforward. In a study of seven women, researchers collected urine samples before arousal, the squirted fluid itself, and urine again afterward. All three samples showed comparable levels of urea, creatinine, and uric acid. However, PSA was absent from the pre-arousal urine in six of seven participants, yet it showed up in the squirted fluid and post-squirting urine of five of seven participants.3PubMed. Nature and origin of “squirting” in female sexuality That PSA signature is the calling card of Skene’s gland secretion. So while the bulk of squirted fluid looks like dilute urine, there is often a small contribution from the glands responsible for true female ejaculation mixed in. The two phenomena can overlap in a single event.
What the Ultrasound Shows
One of the clearest pieces of evidence about where squirting fluid comes from is real-time bladder imaging. In the same study that analyzed the biochemistry, researchers performed pelvic ultrasounds at three points: after women emptied their bladders, just before squirting, and immediately after. The scans showed that during sexual arousal, the bladder filled noticeably, even though the women had urinated right before the session. After squirting, the bladder was empty again.4The Journal of Sexual Medicine. Nature and Origin of “Squirting” in Female Sexuality A systematic review and meta-analysis of imaging studies confirmed this pattern across multiple investigations: real-time ultrasound consistently showed bladder filling during arousal and complete emptying at the moment of squirting.5The Journal of Sexual Medicine. Female Ejaculation, Squirting, and Coital Incontinence: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Biochemical, Imaging, and Urodynamic Diagnostic Criteria
This rapid bladder filling is unusual and still not fully explained. The kidneys would normally take much longer to produce that volume of urine. One hypothesis is that sexual arousal alters kidney filtration rates or bladder signaling in ways researchers haven’t fully mapped yet. Regardless of the mechanism behind the filling, the imaging data make it clear that the bladder is the primary reservoir for the fluid expelled during squirting.
The Skene’s Glands and True Female Ejaculation
The Skene’s glands, located on either side of the urethra, are sometimes called the female prostate because they share developmental origins and some functional similarities with the male prostate. Under electron microscopy, these glands contain tall secretory cells with features characteristic of active, productive tissue. They show both types of cellular secretion mechanisms and have a structure that mirrors the mature male prostate.6PubMed. Ultrastructure of the normal adult human female prostate gland (Skene’s gland) These glands produce the PSA-containing fluid that constitutes genuine female ejaculation.
Not everyone’s Skene’s glands are the same size or have the same number of openings. A study examining 300 women found that the glands typically had one to three openings on each side of the urethra. But among seven women who reported regularly ejaculating fluid with orgasm, the number of gland openings was notably higher: four to seven on each side.7The Journal of Sexual Medicine. Plasticity of the Skene’s Gland in Women Who Report Fluid Ejaculation With Orgasm Older anatomical research confirms that the paraurethral ducts are not constant in number or location from person to person. They can form extensive networks around the urethra and sometimes extend close to the bladder.8American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The detailed anatomy of the paraurethral ducts in the adult human female This natural variation in anatomy likely contributes to why some people produce noticeable ejaculate, others squirt large volumes, and still others experience neither.
How Common Is Squirting
Prevalence estimates vary widely depending on how the question is asked and who is being surveyed. A U.S. probability sample of women aged 18 to 93 found that about 40 percent had squirted at least once in their lifetime, with a typical frequency of three to five times total.9PubMed. Vaginal Squirting: Experiences, Discoveries, and Strategies in a U.S. Probability Sample of Women Ages 18-93 A Swedish cross-sectional study reported a higher figure: 58 percent of women said they had personally experienced ejaculation or squirting, while another 6 percent were unsure.10PubMed Central. Women’s experiences of female ejaculation and/or squirting: a Swedish cross-sectional study A third cross-sectional study found the presence of orgasm-related urethral fluid in about 69 percent of participants.11The Journal of Sexual Medicine. Prevalence and Characterization of Female Ejaculation. Cross-sectional Study
The spread in these numbers comes partly from definitions. Some surveys ask about any fluid release during orgasm, which captures both squirting and ejaculation. Others specifically describe the high-volume, dramatic expulsion that most people associate with the word “squirting.” A systematic review noted that the prevalence of female ejaculation ranges from about 10 to 54 percent across the literature, while the reported prevalence of coital incontinence (an involuntary leakage unrelated to arousal) ranges from less than 1 percent to 66 percent.12PubMed. Female ejaculation orgasm vs. coital incontinence: a systematic review These overlapping ranges highlight how messy the data can be when the phenomena themselves are not clearly distinguished in study design.
Squirting Is Not Coital Incontinence
One of the most persistent misconceptions is that squirting is simply urinary incontinence during sex. The two share some superficial similarities: both involve fluid passing through the urethra, and both can happen during orgasm. But they are clinically distinct. Coital incontinence is divided into two forms. The penetration form occurs during intercourse itself and is usually caused by stress urinary incontinence, a condition involving weakened pelvic floor support. The orgasmic form occurs at climax and involves different bladder-function issues. Both forms are considered signs of underlying urethral or bladder problems that benefit from treatment.12PubMed. Female ejaculation orgasm vs. coital incontinence: a systematic review
Squirting, on the other hand, is not associated with bladder dysfunction. A study specifically tested whether women who report squirting have detrusor overactivity, the involuntary bladder contractions that drive many forms of incontinence. None of the squirting women in the study showed detrusor overactivity, and their bladder diaries and questionnaire results were all within normal ranges.13PubMed. Do women with female ejaculation have detrusor overactivity? Researchers in this area generally consider squirting a non-pathological phenomenon, meaning it does not indicate a health problem and does not require medical treatment.14SpringerLink / Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics. The complexity of female orgasm and ejaculation If you are leaking urine during sex at times unrelated to orgasm, or if the leakage is accompanied by urgency or difficulty holding urine in daily life, that is a different story and worth discussing with a healthcare provider.
The Anatomy Behind the Sensation
Squirting is most commonly associated with stimulation of the anterior vaginal wall, the area popularly called the G-spot. The scientific picture of this area has shifted over the years. Ultrasound research has shown that during vaginal penetration, the front wall of the vagina moves downward, increasing contact between that tissue and whatever is stimulating it. This observation led to the concept of the clitourethrovaginal complex, a zone where the internal structures of the clitoris, the urethra, and the vaginal wall are all in close proximity and can be stimulated simultaneously.15PubMed Central. G-spot: Fact or Fiction?: A Systematic Review The Skene’s glands sit within this complex, which may explain why stimulation of the area can trigger both ejaculation and squirting, sometimes together.
Squirting does not require vaginal penetration, though. Some people experience it from clitoral stimulation alone, and it can occur with or without orgasm, although it typically coincides with one.16The Journal of Sexual Medicine. The squirt game. Psychosexual characteristics of women experiencing squirting: insights from a case–control study The variability in triggers is another reason the experience is hard to study in controlled conditions: the circumstances that produce it differ substantially from one person to the next.
Psychosexual Characteristics of Women Who Squirt
A case-control study comparing women who regularly squirt to a control group found several interesting differences. Women in the squirting group scored significantly higher on validated measures of sexual function overall, as well as on scales measuring desire, arousal, and lubrication individually. They also reported higher orgasm intensity scores and higher sexual self-esteem. At the same time, they scored lower on measures of body-related distress and discomfort with physical closeness.16The Journal of Sexual Medicine. The squirt game. Psychosexual characteristics of women experiencing squirting: insights from a case–control study It is worth noting that these are correlations, not proof of causation. Whether squirting makes people feel more sexually confident, or whether greater sexual comfort and arousal make squirting more likely, is impossible to tease apart from a single study.
The Emotional Side and Partner Reactions
The experience of squirting is not universally positive. A qualitative study of young women found that emotional responses ranged from heightened arousal and excitement to feelings of humiliation and embarrassment. A partner’s reaction was one of the strongest factors shaping how women interpreted the experience. When partners responded with curiosity or acceptance, squirting tended to feel neutral or positive. When partners reacted with disgust or confusion, women were more likely to feel ashamed. The study also noted that many women’s understanding of squirting was shaped heavily by pornography, which often presents it in a highly performative, unrealistic way.17PubMed. Experiences of young women in the practice of squirting: a descriptive qualitative study
Research into how squirting plays out in sexual encounters between women and men identified four recurring patterns. Some women experienced it as a neutral bodily response that their partner accepted without drama. Others found it undesirable and were met with dismissive or negative reactions. In a third pattern, partners treated squirting as tangible proof of their own sexual skill, viewing it as an achievement or confirmation of orgasm, sometimes in ways that did not match the woman’s actual experience. In the most concerning pattern, women felt pressured or coerced into squirting to satisfy a partner’s desire for it.18SpringerLink / Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Squirting Scripts: Navigating Validation, Avoidance, Desire, and Coercion in Sexual Encounters Between Women and Men These dynamics reflect broader cultural scripts around female sexual performance and the outsized influence of pornography on expectations. Squirting is not a reliable indicator of orgasm or pleasure, and treating it as one can create pressure that undermines rather than enhances sexual experiences.
A Long History of Scientific Confusion
The phenomenon has been documented for centuries, even if the science has been slow to catch up. Ancient Chinese Taoist texts mention it starting in the fourth century, and Indian writings on sexuality discuss it independently of reproduction. In ancient Western literature, Aristotle described the emission of female fluid around 300 B.C., and Galen mentioned it in the second century. The first detailed anatomical description of the Skene’s glands came from Reinier de Graaf in the seventeenth century, who was also the first to call them the female prostate.19PubMed. The history of female ejaculation Interest largely stalled until 1952, when Ernst Gräfenberg published his paper on the role of the urethra in female orgasm, introducing the concept that would eventually be called the G-spot.
Despite this long history, the topic has been scientifically marginalized. A review of 44 publications spanning 1889 to 2019 concluded that while substantial evidence supports the existence of female ejaculation and squirting as real physiological events, debate over the composition of the fluids and the exact mechanisms involved has continued for over a century.20PubMed. Female ejaculation: An update on anatomy, history, and controversies Much of the published research uses very small sample sizes. The landmark ultrasound study that demonstrated bladder filling, for example, involved only seven participants. The field is still piecing together the basics, and large, well-funded investigations remain rare.
Why the Science Is Still Catching Up
Several factors have kept squirting research at the margins of sexual medicine. Studying it in a lab is logistically challenging: the experience is difficult to reproduce on cue, varies between individuals, and requires imaging equipment alongside biochemical analysis. Funding for sexual function research has historically been tilted heavily toward male physiology. And the cultural stigma around the topic has sometimes made it harder to recruit participants or attract serious academic attention.
The conflation of squirting with female ejaculation in both popular culture and older scientific literature has muddied the evidence further. Studies published before 2011, when the two terms started being formally distinguished, often cannot be retrospectively classified. When a 1990s paper reports “female ejaculation,” it is impossible to know whether the participants were squirting, ejaculating, or experiencing both simultaneously. This ambiguity inflates some prevalence estimates and makes it harder to draw clean conclusions about either phenomenon’s biology.
There is also real tension between the science and how squirting is perceived culturally. The finding that squirted fluid is mostly dilute urine has sometimes been weaponized to dismiss or shame people who experience it, which is a misreading of the data. The bladder produces a rapidly-generated, chemically altered fluid during arousal through a process that is involuntary and distinct from standard urination. Calling it “just peeing” ignores the physiological context and the fact that the fluid’s composition is measurably different from regular urine, with PSA present in most samples.3PubMed. Nature and origin of “squirting” in female sexuality The clinical consensus treats squirting as a normal variant of sexual response, not a disorder and not something that requires an apology.