For as much as we’ve normalized female pleasure, squirting is often still met with wide eyes and whispers, coveted in some circles and stigmatized in others. But the truth is, squirting isn’t abnormal or rare, nor is it necessarily the end-all, be-all of sexual happenings. It’s just a uniquely pleasurable experience for plenty of people with vulvas.
The misconceptions around squirting mostly stem from a lack of conclusive research on the topic—which may not shock you, since we’re talking about (1) sex and (2) female anatomy. “I always say we know more about the surface of Mars than we do about what’s really going on in women’s bodies,” Nan Wise, PhD, cognitive neuroscientist, AASECT-certified sex therapist, and author of Why Good Sex Matters, tells SELF. As a result, she says it’s hard to claim that every person with a vulva can learn how to squirt.
A 2023 study suggests 40% of adult women report ever having squirted during sex, most of them experiencing the phenomenon for the first time in their mid-20s. But a lot of experts believe it’s possible for all women, even if it comes more naturally to some.
As for what that liquid actually is, where it originates, and what makes it spray? Read on to learn what some very innovative science is beginning to reveal about squirting, plus how to make your next sex-counter wetter n’ wilder.
Common myths versus facts about squirting
Myth 1: Squirting is the same thing as female ejaculation.
Though squirting is often referred to as the female form of ejaculation, a 2022 research review revealed that this is a bit of a misconception. Technically, “female ejaculate” consists of less than 10 milliliters of fluid (roughly two teaspoons) that looks like “watered-down milk,” Dr. Wise says. Whereas squirting is the release of more than 10 milliliters—and often much more—of fluid that can shoot, spray, or gush into the air, like your own personal hot spring, or just drip or dribble out.
Another key distinction: Female ejaculate is thought to come from the glandular tissue wrapping around the urethra (the tube where you pee from)—which, depending on whom you ask, is called either the paraurethral glands, Skene’s glands, “female” prostate, or, as Dr. Wise and other sex researchers now suggest, just the prostate. This tissue likely plays a similar role to a “male” prostate, as an analysis of female ejaculate found that it contains many of the same components as semen, minus the sperm.
