Female Ejaculation vs. Squirting: What’s the Difference?

Jets of Liquid are More Dramatic but That Pearlescent Drop is Ecstasy.

Every generation thinks it invented sex. What happens is that each generation grows increasingly comfortable talking about sex. When I first saw what I was told was a “Female Ejaculation” I was mega skeptical. There was a lot of clear fluid projected a long way from what I knew from experience was a very small hole. It looked like water. But boy was it dramatic! In time it came to be called “Squirting,” which was a much more accurate description. It wasn’t the description I’d read and heard called “Female Ejaculation” by my sex-positive educator friends, or experienced myself, however.

What is a Female Ejaculation and what is Squirting? Do they even exist?

The simple answer is yes, they both exist but they are nothing like one another. The former is subtle, and the latter is not. You may need a towel to mop up the Squirt. All you need to tidy up after an Ejaculation is the palm of your hand and maybe a tissue.

Much of the disbelief and confusion surrounding both pleasurable activities are due to our limited knowledge about the history of sexuality, especially women’s sexuality. Very few of us are aware that as early as 300 BC, Aristotle wrote about what we now call Squirting and during the 7^th century, poetry found within the Kāmaśāstra mentioned both the G-spot and Female Ejaculation in detail.

During the 17^th century, Reinjier De Graaf produced the first scientific study of Female Ejaculation. He also called the periurethral glands the female prostate, another first. His research was followed up in 1950 by Ernst Gräfenberg, who observed women during orgasm, which sometimes included Ejaculation. In the early 1980s, Beverly Whipple discovered a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in ejected sexual fluid that is not normally found in urine, which had previously been the popular answer to the question “What is squirt.”

Ironically, some 20^th century feminist writers insisted that Female Ejaculation was a male fantasy with no basis in reality. Part of the confusion has been due to the paucity of research on female sexuality, especially female pleasure. According to WebMD, studies that have been conducted indicate that anywhere from 10 percent to 54 percent of women have experienced the phenomena, while Wikipedia cites 35 percent to 50 percent of women who answered questionnaire surveys reporting that they had gushed fluid during orgasm. Other studies concluded that the number was somewhere between 10 percent and 69 percent. A lot depends on how one defines terms and what study methods have been used.

Because little is still known about Female Ejaculation and Squirting, many women who have expelled between a few drops and a half cup of fluid have feared that they have a medical condition and felt shame for supposedly wetting the bed. Some have been hesitant to share intimacy and, instead, have felt compelled to seek medical advice and treatment, including surgery. On the plus side, a 2013 study published in BJU International found that almost 80 percent of women and 90 percent of their partners who understood what was happening considered it good for their sex lives.

Now that we know how long it’s existed and how many women are inclined to do it, what do we mean when we use the words “Female Ejaculation” and “Squirting?” Further, if it’s something that we want to experience, how do we make it happen?

Female Ejaculation: Often called Squirting, Ejaculation is much less dramatic. It consists of a small release of milky white, pearlescent liquid that appears to emerge from the Skene’s gland at the lower end of the urethra during or right before an orgasm. Not everyone has Skene’s glands or, if they do, they can be quite small, so don’t panic if Ejaculation never or rarely happens. It’s not a race or a Bingo card. Ejaculate generally consists of a mixture of prostatic acid phosphatase, prostatic specific antigens (PSAs), glucose, and fructose, in addition to small amounts of urea and creatinine. Interestingly, PSAs are also found in semen.

Squirting: Often called Female Ejaculation, Squirting can result in a trickle or a torrent of diluted, clear fluid which appears to call the urinary bladder home. Although it does contain some urine, it also tends to include a lot of glucose and less prostatic-specific antigens (PSAs) from the Skene’s glands than Ejaculation. It is possible to Squirt, Ejaculate, and orgasm simultaneously. If the presence of some urine in the fluid concerns people who might get a face full of it, remember that urine is 91 percent to 96 percent water. Although the emitted fluid originates in the bladder, those who have tasted it say that it neither looks nor tastes like urine.

The “how” of helping a woman Squirt varies from person to person, as does their ability to Squirt multiple times over a short spread of time. Stronger Kegel muscles appear to increase the likelihood of Squirting and some women report that G-spot and urethral sponge stimulation is a big help. Contrary to popular belief, the G-spot, which is more a textured zone than a spot, is not so much a fan of being rubbed or stroked as it is of being massaged and pressed against. This stimulates both the Skene’s gland and the internal parts of the clitoris.

Both Ejaculation and Squirting can result from vaginal, clitoral, and even anal stimulation with fingers, a penis, a strap-on, or a vibrator. Whichever is chosen, the experience is intense and requires the woman to ignore signs of impending urination and ride the waves of pleasure to their moist or splashy conclusion.

Porn stars including but not limited to Cytherea, Annie Cruz, Jenna Presley, Jiz Lee, and Flower Tucci introduced sometimes over-the-top Squirting into the public realm. This has helped remove some of the stigma but has also resulted in unreasonable expectations on the part of some men, who expect geysers on demand. Men in the UK may not have this confusion to work through since the British Board of Film Classification has deemed Female Ejaculation to be urinating, which means it’s a type of golden shower and, therefore, obscene.

Ultimately, although Ejaculating and Squirting can be party pleasers for a crowd of one or more as well as deeply satisfying for the vagina-possessing one, it shouldn’t be the endgame of every or even any sexual encounter. Focus on pleasure and not achieving bucket list items. If you can do both, it’s a win-win!