Some women release fluid on orgasm.

For the past 50 years, this issue has been controversial.

The latest studies show that whether women release fluid on orgasm or not, it's normal.

Some women enjoy releasing fluid on orgasm. Others feel mortified that they’ve wet the bed. And some women who don’t release fluid worry that they’re abnormal. Some partners of squirters feel fine about it. Others fret. And some partners of non-squirting women wonder why they don’t. This issue may cause considerable anxiety. Those who feel stressed should feel comforted by recent studies. They show that whatever happens is normal.

Reports of women releasing fluid on orgasm date back 2,000 years. Western physicians largely ignored the phenomenon until the 1970s, when it became quite controversial.

Western sexologists first took this issue seriously in 1982, when eminent sex researchers coauthored a bestselling book, The G Spot and Other Recent Discoveries About Human Sexuality. It argued that pressing on the vagina’s front wall (the G-spot) triggered release of up to a teaspoon of milky fluid, which they called “female ejaculation.” They said it originated in the tiny Skene’s glands that surround the opening of women’s urethras.

Scottish gynecologist Alexander Skene discovered the glands in 1880. He called them the female prostate and noted that they produce fluid, which he called analogous to prostate fluid. Doctors ignored him. A century later, Skene’s opinion was validated when fluid from his namesake glands was shown to contain prostate-specific antigen (PSA), which is produced only by prostate tissue.

After the book appeared, many women reported ejaculating. Some were into it. Others felt distressed about “peeing” at climax.

Then pioneering sex researchers William Masters, M.D., and Virginia Johnson weighed in, declaring that women did not release fluid on orgasm, that any fluid was simply copious vaginal self-lubrication. Their pronouncement boosted many women’s distress. The experts say it doesn’t happen, but it happens to me!

Meanwhile, contrary to the Masters and Johnson claim, some researchers and many women continued to insist that some women release fluid on orgasm. A small amount, up to a teaspoon, continues to be called female ejaculate. But some women release more, up to a half-cup.

Pornography producers jumped on this. They called it "squirting." Some porn videos show what purports to be copious squirting. That may be the case...or it might be water injected into the vagina off-camera and then released with cameras rolling.

Female ejaculation and squirting raise questions. Are the two fluids the same? What’s in them? How are they produced? And how do women and their partners feel about this? Recent research provides new insights.

The Same? Or Different?

Japanese researchers studied women who said they squirted on orgasm. They suspected the fluid was a mixture of urine, vaginal lubrication, and Skene’s glands secretions. To check, they inserted catheters into the women’s bladders and drained all urine from them. Then they injected salt water (saline) dyed blue. Subsequently, the women enjoyed solo or partner sex until they had orgasms and squirted. The researchers collected the expelled fluid, which was all blue. It came from their bladders, but was more dilute than urine. In most of the women, the fluid tested positive for PSA. It was a mixture of urine, vaginal lubrication, and Skene’s glands secretions.

French researchers repeated this study, with similar results. The fluid came from the bladder. In 86 percent of the women, it contained PSA from Skene’s gland secretions.

So, the two fluids are similar but different based on their urine content. Female ejaculate contains a little urine, and squirted fluid more. Many women produce one or the other, and some release no fluid at all.

Which Women? How Do They React?

Indiana University researchers used social media to recruit 4,270 women, aged 18 to 93 (median 48), who formed a reasonably representative sample of U.S. women. Those who recalled ejaculating or squirting: 41 percent. Among them, 20 percent squirted on every orgasm, 28 percent often, and 35 percent sometimes.

One-third of squirting women (34 percent) called the experience “very pleasurable.” Half (52 percent) said it was “somewhat pleasurable.” Fourteen percent didn’t like it. Forty percent of squirters said it happened spontaneously at orgasm. The rest said it resulted from hard rubbing of the clitoris, the G-spot, or both. Some added that sex toys and conscious muscle relaxation also helped them squirt.

The women had concerns. Many feared they were urinating (42 percent). Others hated wetting the bed (28 percent) or feeling they’d lost bladder control (17 percent). One in 20 (5 percent) said squirting caused discomfort.

Swedish researchers used social media to recruit 1,568 Swedish women, aged 18 to 69, for an online survey. Three-quarters were aware of ejaculating/squirting from friends, the media, and/or pornography. Those who had ever squirted: 58 percent. Their two most frequent reactions: shock and shame (28 percent) or feeling delighted (27 percent). How their partners felt: positive (86 percent), neutral (10 percent), or negative (3 percent).

A Spanish study produced similar results. Many of the Spanish women learned of squirting from pornography. They felt surprised when they experienced it, which, for many, caused feelings of fear, shame, and uncertainty about their bodies.

Here’s the only universally accurate generalization about sex. Everyone is sexually unique. Of course, there are patterns, but the more sexologists study sex, the more diversity they find, for example, ejaculating/squirting or not. It’s normal to produce a little female ejaculate. It’s normal to squirt larger amounts of fluid. And it’s normal not to produce any fluid. No matter what happens, there’s no reason to feel alarmed or ashamed.

Incidentally, partners of women who ejaculate/squirt may not like to ingest a bit of it, but doing so is not harmful. Women who would like to minimize squirting should urinate before lovemaking. Women who squirt but don’t want to wet the bed should make love on towels.

Arias-Castillo, L et al. “The Complexity of Female Orgasm and Ejaculation,” Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics (2023) 308:427. Doi: 10.1007/s00404-022-06810-y.

Hensel, DJ et al. “Vaginal Squirting: Experiences, Discoveries, and Strategies in a U.S. Probability Sample of Women 18-93,” Journal of Sex Research (2024) 61:529. DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2023.2243939.

Inoue, M et al. “Enhanced Visualization of Female Squirting,” International Journal of Urology (2022) 29:1368. Doi: 10.1111/iju.15004.

Ladas, AK et al. The G Spot: And Other Recent Discoveries About Human Sexuality. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 1982.

Pafs, J et al. “Women’s Experiences of Female Ejaculation and/or Squirting: A Swedish Cross-sectional Study,” Sexual Medicine (2024) Doi: 10.1093/sexmed/qfae081.

Pastor, L and R. Chmel. “Female Ejaculation and Squirting Are Similar But Completely Different Phenomena: A Narrative Review of Current Research,” Clinical Anatomy (2022) 35:616 Doi: 10.1002/ca.23879.

Pastor, L and R. Chmel. “Differential Diagnosis of Female Sexual Fluids: A Narrative Review,” International Urogynecology Journal (2018) 29:621. Doi: 10.1007/s00192-017-3527-9.

Rueda-Ruzafa, L et al. “Experiences of Young Women in the Practice of Squirting: A Descriptive Qualitative Study,” Journal of Sexual Medicine (2024) 21:691. Doi: 10.1093/jsxmed/qdae065.

Salama, S et al. “Nature and Origin of ‘Squirting’ in Female Sexuality,” Journal of Sexual Medicine (2015) 12:661. Doi: 10.1111/jsm.12799.

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