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Topics: News, US News, Health, Sex Education, Sex and Relationships
Kit Roberts
Topics: News, US News, Health, Sex Education, Sex and Relationships
An expert has taken a look at some of the most common misconceptions around female ejaculation.
Few things can say that someone has definitely gotten there quite like female ejaculation, which is also referred to as squirting.
There are more and more options and openness out there about female sexuality, and it's also something that more people are exploring.
And as with anything, squirting is also something which can be very subjective for different people.
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Some women might find that they need relatively little stimulation to be able to do it, while others need a lot more to reach that level.
As many women are now exploring their sexualities more openly, ensuring that the right information is out there is more important than ever, whether it's a matter of safety, letting go of inhibitions, or just trying to increase pleasure.
Happily, sex expert Heather Foord has shared some of the most common and persistent misconceptions around squirting on Mamamia.
Foord shared that while for some squirting comes very easily, sadly for others the way their body is makes it very difficult.
She explained that female ejaculation results from the Skene's glands, and the size of this can vary, as well as the various anatomical structures there.
That means that while some people's glands might make them squirt easily, for others it's very different.
Nonetheless, she was clear that this shouldn't stop anyone from trying.
This, Foord explained, is not anatomically possible.
When there is what Foord called a 'high-volume explusion', then this has to come from the urethra and not the vagina.
As we mentioned before, it originates in the Skene's glands, also called the periurethral glands, and these are also important in how the fluid is ejected, so it doesn't originate in the vagina.
The logic to this myth is something like because the muscles in the pelvic floor are weak they are unable to contain fluid when someone orgasms, but this is incorrect.
Foord explains that research points to female ejaculation coming from several factors - this is the periurethral glands we mentioned, higher blood flow, being very aroused, and contractions in your pelvic floor.
Contrary to the myth, Foord explained that people who can squirt actually show great pelvic floor strength.
To put it simply - it takes strong, responsive muscles to be able to send liquid shooting out at high pressure.
Foord explained that this is not correct at all, and the feeling is a result of how everything is arranged down there.
The vagina and clitoris are close to the bladder and urethra, and when someone becomes aroused this means that there's more blood flowing to that area.
Increased blood flow can cause the clitoris to swell and the pelvic floor to engage, she explained, and this in turn puts pressure on the bladder - hence the feeling of needing to pee.
So it is actually completely normal and not a problem.
But Foord explained that this can cause some people to tighten up because they're nervous about peeing during sex.
This is bad for pleasure, because the best state for orgasming is feeling safe and relaxed as well as turned on.
Foord explained that while squirting is obviously anatomical, it's absolutely not an issue.
Yes, when someone squirts it does come out of the urethra, but she explained that this is also the case with a penis as well, but there's no issue around that.
She wrote: "We need to stop perpetuating stigma, shame and myths around female pleasure."