Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Image
Topics: Sex Education, Sex and Relationships
William Morgan
There are few areas of human experience that are as overflowing with misinformation and misunderstanding as our sexual lives, including one perfectly normal byproduct for women across the world - squirting.
There has been no end of discourse surrounding this less-researched area of sexual health, with online discussions often descending into arguments over whether or not 'squirt is pee', or even if it is real at all.
But studies in recent years have dispelled many of these ill-conceived notions about squirting and female ejaculation, with these misconceptions existing since the phenomena's first mention in the writings of Aristotle over 2000 years ago.
Explaining to the public what female ejaculation actually is, as well as what it looks like, is no easy task, but a gynecologist recently weighed in on the public debate about squirting to dispel these misunderstanding so that women could 'explore their sexuality without shame'.
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Dr. Mehmet Bekir Şen began by explaining this ill-defined biological response, which is not experienced by every woman. A 2023 survey of American women suggested that roughly 40 percent will squirt at least once in their lives.
The doctor said: "Female ejaculation, or squirting, is a real biological phenomenon, though it's surrounded by myths. It's not entirely urine, but the expulsion of a clear fluid during intense sexual arousal. Sometimes it's completely mistaken for urine."
He also said: "Skene's glands is clear and has a different chemical composition than urine. It contains glucose, urea, creatinine, and PSA, but in very different concentrations than urine. Sometimes, this fluid may be accompanied by varying amounts of urine."
So, to settle that debate, it's not pee. Although squirt does contain small amounts of urea, also found in urine, the rest of the clear liquid has an entirely different chemical makeup.
Dr Şen explained that this female ejaculation is triggered in much the same way that male orgasms can be, through the stimulation of the female version of the male prostate, which are known as Skene's glands.
He broke down the function of this female ejaculation into three sections, 'female prostates', 'deep stimulation', and 'urethral expulsion'.
The gynecologist elaborated on the female prostate: "Skene's glands are a series of glands and ducts located around the female urethra, just behind the pubic bone. They are rich in a specific type of prostatic antigen (PSA). PSA is a protein also present in male ejaculation."
As for how this biological response can be brought on, he explained deep stimulation as: "When the G-spot (a highly vascularized area in the urethro-vaginal space) is stimulated with sufficient intensity and pressure, these glands become more active."
Which is, for almost half of women, sometimes followed by the urethral expulsion: "Skene's glands secrete a clear fluid that accumulates in small sacs and is expelled through the urethra in a jet-like manner during orgasm due to the contraction of the pelvic floor muscles."
Dr Şen finished by saying: "Not everyone experiences squirting. The intensity of stimulation, individual anatomy, and psychological relaxation are key factors.
"It is important to know that squirting is a normal and healthy sexual response and should not be confused with urinary incontinence. Unveiling this phenomenon could be important so that women can explore their sexuality without shame."