It's no secret that the vagina is one impressive part of the human body. Just the fact that it can delivery a baby, alone, then collapse back into shape, is pretty noteworthy. And you probably have heard, at least, that the vagina can also squirt. But the thing with squirting is that there's a lot of misinformation surrounding it. Thanks to porn which — wait for it — is made for entertainment purposes and not sexual education, squirting is depicted as something a woman experiences when she has some mind-blowing orgasm thanks to her partner. Then the squirt is this long intense stream, as if she has a hose tucked into her vagina. This, of course, is not necessarily the case in the real world.
"Some women feel they are inadequate if they can’t squirt, and there are
already enough sex myths that reduce a woman’s pleasure to a male
metric," OB/GYN and author of the forthcoming book The Vagina Bible, Dr.
Jen Gunter, tells Bustle. "A good sexual encounter is not about optics
that make a man (it’s usually a man in this scenario) feel as if he has
achieved something. A good sexual encounter is about pleasure. As long
as you are having an orgasm or two, who cares about anything else?"
Because squirting is still misunderstood by many people, here are five
things about it to help you understand what it is and what it isn't.
1. Squirting And Female Ejaculation Are Not The Same
"There is a difference between squirting, or gushing, as it’s sometime
called," Lovehoney sexpert Annabelle Knight, tells Bustle. "Female
ejaculate is a creamy discharge produced during arousal and can be
emitted when a woman squirts, which is why the two often get confused.
Female ejaculate is scientifically known as PSA (prostatic‐specific
antigen), which is produced by the Skene glands."
The Skene glands are the female version of the prostate and is basically what is most commonly known as the G-spot.
2. No, It's Not Pee
If you watch squirting in porn, the rate at which the fluid comes out
looks like a very powerful stream of urine. But, according to Knight,
that's not the case.
"The general consensus is that squirting isn’t concentrated urine at
all, but rather a mixture of various elements, one of which is urea,"
Knight says. "Which is most probably where the idea the liquid produced
when a woman squirts is urine."
In other words, no, you didn't just piss all over your partner if you squirted.
3. But There Is An Element Of Urine In It
But, because the fluid is coming from the bladder, it's only natural that there would be an element of urine — urea — in it.
According to a 2014 study by the International Society for Sexual
Medicine, not only are there a variety of elements that makeup the
fluid, but the empty bladders in the study's participants filled up with
liquid during sexual arousal, then their bladders appeared to be empty
again after squirting.
"When you squirt [it's] a combination of several chemical including
urea, creatinine, uric acid, and prostatic‐specific antigen," Knight
says. "So it’s a very watered down version of urine." But again, still
not quite pee.
4. You May Have Already Squirted And Not Even Realized It
"Contrary to what you see in porn, most women do not imitate a broken
fire hydrant when they squirt," Knight say. "The amount you squirt is
dependent on so many factors; chiefly your body, how aroused you are,
and the type of stimulation you’ve received."
According to Knight, some women produce little more than an eggcup full
that could even be mistaken as regular, natural lubrication. So, yes,
you may have squirted multiple times in your life already and not even
known it.
5. Technically, Anyone Can Learn To Squirt
According to Knight, with the right amount of deep stimulation of the
G-spot, squirting can happen for the majority of people with G-sports.
But she notes that it takes time and practice, as well as pressure
against that one spot.
"I’d use a specialized toy for this job, as they’re specifically
designed to target your G-spot, meaning a lot of the guesswork is done
for you," Knight says. "I’d recommend the Lovehoney Perfect Curve.
However, there are some women that can squirt without G-spot
stimulation, so the wheres, whys, and hows are still up for debate."
Your main aim during sex doesn't have to be squirting — similar to an
orgasm, if you're too focused and not relaxed enough, it might be harder
to make happen. But whether you squirt frequently or not at all, it
doesn't say anything about your sex life.