Female sexual arousal and orgasm can produce several different types of fluid, and what people colloquially call “cum” is usually one of two things: a small amount of thick, milky secretion from glands near the urethra, or a larger gush of thinner fluid sometimes called squirting. Both are normal physiological responses, and research shows they’re actually distinct phenomena with different origins.
The Different Fluids Produced During Arousal
The female body produces at least three types of fluid during sexual activity, and they come from different places. The first is vaginal lubrication, which begins during arousal. This is essentially an ultra-filtrate of blood plasma that seeps through the vaginal walls as blood flow to the area increases. It’s clear, slippery, and its main job is reducing friction.
The second is female ejaculate in the clinical sense: a small quantity (a few milliliters) of thick, whitish fluid released during orgasm. This comes from the Skene’s glands, two tiny structures located on either side of the urethra. The third is squirting, which involves a much larger volume, roughly 10 milliliters or more, of thinner, more transparent fluid. Despite often being lumped together, ejaculation and squirting have different sources, different compositions, and different mechanisms.
Where Female Ejaculate Comes From
The Skene’s glands are sometimes called the “female prostate,” and for good reason. They develop from the same embryonic cells that become the prostate gland in males. During sexual arousal, the tissue surrounding these glands swells with increased blood flow, and they begin secreting fluid that helps with lubrication. At orgasm, some people expel a milky fluid from these glands that contains proteins remarkably similar to those found in male semen, including prostate-specific antigen (PSA). This is the fluid most researchers consider true female ejaculate.
Not everyone experiences this the same way. The size of the Skene’s glands varies significantly from person to person, which likely explains why some people produce noticeable ejaculate and others don’t. A Swedish study of 1,250 women found that 58% reported experiencing ejaculation or squirting at some point, while other research puts the number closer to 41%. Either way, it’s far more common than the “rare phenomenon” framing it often gets.
How Squirting Differs From Ejaculation
Squirting produces a much larger volume of fluid and comes from a completely different source. Biochemical analysis shows that squirting fluid originates from the bladder and has a composition similar to very dilute urine, containing urea, creatinine, and uric acid. A 2015 study using ultrasound monitoring confirmed that the bladder fills noticeably during arousal and empties during the squirting event, even if the person urinated right before.
Here’s where it gets interesting: in five out of seven participants in that study, PSA (the protein from the Skene’s glands) showed up in the squirting fluid too, even though it wasn’t present in their urine sample taken before arousal. This suggests that squirting often involves a mix: mostly bladder fluid, with a small contribution from the Skene’s glands. The two phenomena can overlap, which is part of why they’ve been so confused with each other for so long.
The key differences at a glance:
- Female ejaculate: A few milliliters of thick, milky fluid from the Skene’s glands, high in PSA, released at orgasm.
- Squirting: 10 milliliters or more of thin, clear fluid from the bladder, chemically similar to dilute urine, sometimes containing traces of Skene’s gland secretions.
Why It Feels Like a Buildup of Pressure
Many people describe the sensation before ejaculation or squirting as a feeling of pressure or fullness, sometimes accompanied by a brief urge similar to needing to urinate. This makes anatomical sense. The Skene’s glands sit right next to the urethra, and the bladder fills during arousal, so the signals can feel overlapping. The release of fluid typically happens at the peak of arousal or during orgasm, and most people who experience it describe it as pleasurable rather than uncomfortable.
Stimulation of the front vaginal wall (the area often called the G-spot) is the most commonly reported trigger. This area sits directly over the Skene’s glands and the surrounding spongy tissue that engorges during arousal, which is why pressure there tends to intensify the sensation of fluid buildup.
Is Any of This a Health Concern?
No. Female ejaculation and squirting are both considered part of the normal physiological response during sexual activity. Neither indicates a medical problem. Current research classifies ejaculation as a secretory function of the Skene’s glands and squirting as an involuntary release of dilute bladder fluid, neither of which is pathological.
The one clinical distinction worth knowing is between squirting and coital incontinence, which is an unintentional loss of urine during sex related to pelvic floor conditions like stress urinary incontinence. Coital incontinence can happen during penetration (not just orgasm) and is sometimes associated with other bladder control symptoms in daily life. Squirting, by contrast, occurs specifically at the height of arousal or orgasm and isn’t linked to bladder dysfunction. Researchers have identified them as separate phenomena with different underlying mechanisms, though from the outside they can look similar.
The amount of fluid, the consistency, and whether it happens at all varies enormously from person to person and even from one sexual experience to the next. Variation in Skene’s gland size, arousal levels, hydration, and pelvic floor muscle activity all play a role. There’s no “normal” amount, and not experiencing ejaculation or squirting is just as typical as experiencing it.