Female Ejaculation Is Called What

Female Ejaculation Is Called What

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Ashley Mateo has over a decade's worth of experience covering fitness, health, travel, and more for publications including the WSJ, Men's Journal, Women's Health, and more.

Female ejaculation has something of a mythical reputation when it comes to sexual health topics. Everyone has questions: Can a vagina actually ejaculate like a penis? If it can, is that even normal? And what comes out, anyway? To get answers, we reached out to sex experts, who separated the myths from the facts.

Put simply, "vaginal ejaculation is the expulsion of fluid through the urethra during sexual arousal (but not necessarily orgasm)," New York–based sex educator Corinne Kai tells Health .

Does that mean vaginas can ejaculate? Well, that is why the phenomenon is colloquially known as squirting. But "what women define as 'ejaculation' varies widely, and there is no accepted scientific standard for qualifying as female ejaculation by the volume or speed of the expulsion," Nicole Prause, PhD, a sex researcher at UCLA, tells Health .

So while one person might experience more of a forceful stream of liquid, another might feel a gushing sensation. "The fluid amount tends to range between 30 and 150 milliliters," says Kai, which can be just a drop of liquid or so much that you soak your bedsheets. "Sometimes people don't even realize they ejaculated until they move and see a wet spot, while others can feel when it's happening," she adds. "It depends on your body."

The first major study that looked into squirting back in 2014 determined the liquid was actually pee. Yep, "the fluid comes from the bladder," says Prause. Researchers found urea, creatinine, and uric acid concentrations—all major components of urine—in the excretions of all seven study participants. (Keep in mind that's a tiny sample size, and it's hardly considered representative of half the world's population).

But the ejaculate is also not pee. "Many have argued that squirting isn't real and that people who experience this just need to go to the bathroom before sex," says Kai. "It is released through your urethra, but it's been found to resemble enzymes found in male prostate fluid. " The male prostate gland sits between the bladder and penis and secretes fluid to help nourish sperm.

While the liquid may contain small amounts of urine, additional research suggests that the milky white fluid comes from the Skene's glands, which are "tucked inside the wall of your vagina near the urethra sponge, right at the G-spot," says Kai. "The location explains why sensations along this erogenous zone have been associated with vaginal ejaculation."

Male ejaculate delivers sperm to the female reproductive system, and procreation depends on it. But scientists aren't quite sure of the purpose of the Skene's glands, which are also known as the female prostate. Nor do they understand the reason women ejaculate.

"There have been many studies done about whether or not vaginal ejaculation is related to the menstrual cycle or pregnancy, but none have been proven," says Kai. "However, some researchers have found that vaginal ejaculation could provide a secretion that could protect against UTIs or even contain antimicrobial components like zinc."

If you believe the multitude of squirting videos that exist on porn websites, it certainly seems so. "I suspect that 'female ejaculation' is portrayed as a way to suggest that the female performers are actually turned on," says Prause. Thanks to their availability on porn sites, female ejaculation has become somewhat of a novelty—and also something many women think they should be able to do.

Yet only 10 to 50 percent of women experience "involuntary ejaculation," according to the International Society for Sexual Medicine. Because "we don't know how this expulsion is triggered, it's impossible to know at this time whether some women may be more or less prone to experience it," says Prause.

So despite what porn would have you believe, not every person with a vagina can or will experience ejaculation. "Sex researchers [believe] that G-spot stimulation increases the probability of being able to experience ejaculation, and sex coaches have said that it can be learned," says Kai. "It's likely that the sensation before vaginal ejaculation holds people back from releasing their muscles and allowing it to happen. It can feel like you have to pee right before vaginal ejaculation, which is linked to a lot of shame or embarrassment in people not wanting to pee on their partners."

If you have never ejaculated but want to give it a try, it certainly can't hurt. At the very least, you'll get a lot of pleasure out all the G-spot stimulation, and if you are able to ejaculate, it might be a turn-on for you (or your partner). But as novel as the idea of squirting may seem, remember this: No research has linked female ejaculation to better sex. Your pleasure in bed definitely doesn't depend on your ability to ejaculate or not.

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What the heck is "squirting"? Can all women do it? Doctors tackle all your big questions
Women's bodies can be a mystery—even to science. Researchers are still debating the existence of the G-spot. And a similar argument has long raged over the phenomenon of female ejaculation.
Fortunately, a half dozen recent studies have helped clear away the fog surrounding “squirting.” Here's what you should know.
What many women think of as “ejaculating" is actually just "coital incontinence," scientists say. Translation: Some women pee during orgasm. (But that's not all—see What Actually Happens During a Female Orgasm .)
One French research team used ultrasound technology and chemical analysis to monitor both the bladders and secretions of women who claimed to “squirt” during orgasm.
The chemical analysis showed the gushing liquid was mostly urine, and the ultrasounds revealed the women’s bladders were less full after orgasm.
But that’s not the whole story, says Florian Wimpissinger, M.D., a urologist at Rudolfstiftung Hospital in Austria who has studied the “female prostate” and ejaculation.
Dr. Wimpissinger says some women do lose control of their bowels during sex—and this is probably the case when a woman “squirts” fluid during orgasm.
Others may simply release a ton of lubricating fluid in the middle of intercourse. This, coupled with especially strong contractions of the muscles in the walls of the vagina, could lead to a larger-than-average amount of discharge, additional research has shown.
But neither of those things is a true female ejaculation, Dr. Wimpissinger says.
His research has shown a small number of women—fewer than 10 percent, according to his own clinical experience—expel another type of fluid. He says this ejaculate is similar in chemical composition to prostate plasma, which is the stuff a guy releases, along with sperm, during orgasm.
There are small glands, located near the opening of a woman’s urethra, that seem to be the source of the ejaculate, Dr. Wimpissinger explains.
Although these used to be called “Skene’s glands,” he says their placement and function have led most researchers to refer to them simply as the female prostate. (Think you know a woman's genitals? Not so fast. Check out The Truth Behind Common Vagina Myths .)
Another new study from the Czech Republic also backs up Dr. Wimpissinger's assertion that the fluid expelled during a true female ejaculation isn’t the type of gush depicted in pornography.
On the high end, the Czech researchers put the amount of fluid released at 1.5 ounces—not exactly a deluge.
More research from Italy concludes: “Real female ejaculation is the release of a very scanty, thick, and whitish ﬂuid from the female prostate.”
Squirting, on the other hand, is “the expulsion of a diluted ﬂuid from the urinary bladder,” the Italian study authors say.
In his opinion, Dr. Wimpissinger says the epic monsoons of porn fame are “fake”—probably fluid pumped into the actress’s vagina to simulate the loss of bowel control people mistakenly refer to as ejaculation. (See 5 More Things That Only Happen in Porn .)
This is where things remain hazy, Dr. Wimpissinger says. While pleasurable stimulation and a woman’s ability to “let go” during sex could play a role, he says it’s not at all clear whether those factors are enough to trigger true female ejaculation.
“We know of some tribes in Africa where all women are able to ejaculate,” he says.
He also adds that some tantric sex gurus claim to be able to train women to ejaculate—a boast he can’t support or deny. Other sex researchers say certain positions or G-spot stimulation may increase the chances of making a woman expel fluid.
But there’s no research that suggests women need to ejaculate to experience great pleasure during sex.
“In my opinion, female ejaculation depends greatly on anatomical variation,” Dr. Wimpissinger says. Basically, just as some women enjoy certain sex positions and maneuvers more than others, and some may just be built for ejaculation.
“There are still a lot of open questions,” he adds.

© ScienceAlert US LLC. All rights reserved.

Scientists Think They Know Where Female Ejaculation Comes From, And What It's Made Of
Okay everyone, it's time to talk about female ejaculation - because it's not as mysterious as many would like to believe.
Scientists have found evidence that women who 'squirt' are expelling one of two different types of liquid - one pure urine, and the other a combination of urine and fluid from the female prostate gland.
Researchers in France back in 2015 were the first to observe the mysterious phenomenon using ultrasound scans, to discover that the ejaculate originates in a woman's bladder - and is made up mostly of urine.
The team, led by Samuel Salama, a gynaecologist at the Parly II private hospital in Le Chesnay, worked with a small sample of seven healthy women who reported "recurrent and massive fluid emission" when they were sexually stimulated. It's not uncommon for women to experience a little bit of milky white fluid leaking from their urethra at the point of climax, but the practice of 'squirting' enough liquid to fill a drinking glass is relatively rare.
"A few small studies have suggested the milky white fluid comes from Skene glands - tiny structures that drain into the urethra," wrote Helen Thomson for New Scientist at the time .
"Some in the medical community believe these glands are akin to the male prostate, although their size and shape differ greatly between women and their exact function is unknown."
Salma's team first asked the participants to submit a urine sample, and then their pelvis was scanned via an ultrasound machine to make sure there was nothing remaining in their bladders.
The women were left to either masturbate in the lab, or have sex with a partner, until they were just about to climax. This gave the researchers enough time to get their ultrasound machines at the ready.
In what must have been one of the most awkward moments of their lives, the women had scans performed on them as they were climaxing, and the expelled fluid was collected in sample bags. One last scan was taken of their pelvises afterwards to get a view of the bladder.
Oddly enough, even though the women had emptied their bladders before the big event, the scan taken just before they climaxed revealed that the bladders been completely refilled again, for no other reason than the women had been sexually stimulated.
The scan after the climax - and ejaculation - occurred showed that the volunteers' bladders were once again clear. The team published their results in The Journal of Sexual Medicine .
Soooo, does this mean the liquid that's being squirted during sex is urine? The team had already confirmed that it was coming from the bladder, so it's a good bet.
They compared the samples that had been bagged up during climax to the urine samples collected at the beginning of the study and found that in two of the seven women, the samples were both chemically identical.
In the remaining five women, the samples were slightly different.
The team found an enzyme called a prostatic-specific antigen (PSA) that was present in small amounts in these volunteers' ejaculated urine.
"PSA, produced in men by the prostate gland, is more commonly associated with male ejaculate," said Thomson at New Scientist , "where its presence helps sperm to swim. In females, says Salama, PSA is produced mainly by the Skene glands."
So when females ejaculate during an orgasm, they either release plain old urine, or urine that's been diluted by fluids from the female prostate gland.
Thomson spoke to an independent expert, Beverley Whipple, a neurophysiologist from Rutgers University in the US, who said that when we talk about female ejaculation, we should really only be referring to when PSA is released, not urine.
The remaining mysteries surrounding this phenomenon are whether or not it serves some kind of adaptive function, and why so few women are able to do it. Researchers think it could have to do with perhaps some women not producing PSA at all, or maybe the size and shape of an individual's prostate gland comes into play.
Salma thinks all women should be able to squirt "if their partner knows what they are doing", New Scientist reports.

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Verywell Health's content is for informational and educational purposes only. Our website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Ⓒ 2022 Dotdash Media, Inc. — All rights reserved

Verywell Health is part of the Dotdash Meredith publishing family.

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The term "squirting" is often used to describe the fluid that comes from the vulva during orgasm. But it's actually much more nuanced.

"Squirting" and "female ejaculation" are often used interchangeably. Controversy exists over whether they're two distinct functions. Experts lean toward the belief that they are. 1

This article looks at how squirting and female ejaculation are different, how squirting happens, what it feels like, and how to do it.

The debate is ongoing over whether squirting can be called ejaculation. Still, studies and experts have recognized some key differences between them. 2 3

Fluid believed to come from the bladder and excreted by the urethra
Can involve the release of a larger volume of fluid (up to 10 tablespoons)
Contains urea, creatinine, and uric acid, similar to diluted urine, sometimes with a small amount of prostatic-specific antigen (PSA)
Fluid believed to come from the Skene’s gland, often referred to as the "female prostate," near the urethra
Tends to be a smaller volume of fluid (up to a tablespoon)
Contains high levels of prostatic acid phosphatase, prostatic specific antigen, glucose, and fructose, but low levels of urea and creatinine (often similar to male ejaculate without the sperm)

Whether everyone with a vagina can squirt and/or ejaculate is up for debate. It's estimated that between 10% and 50% of those with female genitalia do ejaculate.

Some experts believe everyone with female anatomy has the ability to squirt. Others believe it depends on your body. That means some people may not ever be able to do it. 4

Exactly what triggers female ejaculation is still unknown. It's believed to involve clitoral and G-spot stimulation. 5

From the outside, the clitoris looks like a small "nub" covered by a hood of skin. It's at the top of the vulva, above the urethra.

Inside, the clitoris has two "legs." They run down each side of the vulva. That gives it a horseshoe-like shape. Its only known purpose is to provide pleasure.

The G-spot is harder to define. Experts aren't sure if it's an anatomical "part" or simply a sensitive area inside the vagina.

To find the G-spot, you or your partner can insert a finger a few inches into the vagina. Keep the palm up and make a "come here" gesture with the finger. You can also use a sex toy that's meant to stimulate that area.

This is pleasurable for some people. For others, it doesn't feel like anything special.

One study suggests that the G-spot may be the root of the clitoris, felt through the wall of the vagina. 5

Ejaculation is associated with orgasm. That's esp
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