And where does it come from – the vagina? Or is it simply pee? Finally, all is revealed. Scientists have biochemically analysed the fluid from a squirting orgasm.
A milky spurt, a watery gush – there were puzzling differences in the descriptions of ‘female ejaculation’, say Mexican biologist Alberto Rubio-Casillas and Italian sexology professor Emmanuele Jannini. So they set out to lay the controversy to rest.
They tracked down a 43-year-old volunteer who could produce both types of fluid when she climaxed. She agreed to provide some very intimate samples in the lab. And the analysis showed the two fluids were indeed entirely different.
Semen
In what the authors call “real female ejaculation”, a milky fluid is produced from the female prostate, also known as Skene’s gland. This is a spot inside the fold of the labia, at the front of the vagina, near the urethral opening.
Biochemically this fluid can be compared to male semen, say the researchers. And a similar amount comes out – up to a teaspoonful. By checking it for vaginal bacteria, they proved it doesn’t come from the vagina.
Pee
Then there’s the clear liquid produced in what can be spectacular squirting or gushing. It isn’t yellow and it doesn’t smell like pee.
Yet the fluid comes out both through and around the urethra. And tests revealed it did contain uric acid and other chemicals found in urine. Which means that although some may hotly deny it, the squirting fluid must come from the bladder, the scientists say, and it’s actually very dilute pee.
Gushing
Squirting is usually linked to stimulating the G-spot, a spongy area about five centimetres inside the vagina on the front wall. But it can also happen through tapping or slapping the vulva, as in the central African lovemaking technique kunyaza.
At orgasm more than half a litre of fluid can come gushing out, according to Rwandan kunyaza specialist Nsekuye Bizimana – though Rubio-Casillas and Jannini stick to a more modest maximum of 125 millilitres.
Ultrasound
The findings of the biochemical analysis of this fluid don’t necessarily mean that women who squirt simply can’t hold in their pee at the crucial moment, the researchers say. So how and why exactly does it happen?
Unfortunately Rubio-Cassillas and Jannini still aren’t providing any answers. They’re now doing more research using video urodynamic testing – x-rays and ultrasound scans – to zoom in on the squirting climax.
Have you got experience of squirting orgasms? We'd love to hear.