The fluid released during squirting is primarily a diluted urine-like liquid that rapidly fills the bladder during sexual arousal and is expelled involuntarily, often mixed with a small amount of secretions from glands near the urethra. It’s mostly clear, watery, and far more diluted than regular urine, which is why it typically has little color or strong odor. Understanding what this fluid actually contains requires separating two things that often get lumped together: squirting and female ejaculation.
Squirting and Ejaculation Are Two Different Things
Scientists now distinguish between squirting and female ejaculation as separate physical events, even though they can happen at the same time. Squirting is the release of a larger volume of thin, watery, mostly clear fluid. Female ejaculation is a much smaller amount of thick, milky white fluid, sometimes described as looking like watered-down fat-free milk. Some women experience one or the other, and some experience both simultaneously.
The volume difference is significant. Squirting can produce enough fluid to soak through sheets, with some women reporting volumes comparable to a glass of water. Female ejaculate, by contrast, is a very small quantity that you might barely notice.
What’s in the Fluid
Squirting fluid has the chemical profile of very diluted urine. Lab analyses find urea, creatinine, and uric acid in it, all markers found in urine, but at much lower concentrations than a normal trip to the bathroom would produce. The fluid is thin, mostly colorless, and often has little to no smell. This dilution is key to why it doesn’t look, feel, or smell like peeing.
Female ejaculate has a completely different makeup. It contains high levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a protein also found in male semen. This protein comes from the Skene’s glands, two small structures located on either side of the urethral opening that function as a kind of female prostate. The fluid they produce is thick and milky, biochemically comparable to some components of male semen rather than to urine.
In most cases of squirting, both fluids mix together. The large volume of diluted bladder fluid combines with a small contribution of prostatic secretions from the Skene’s glands, so PSA is often detectable even in the larger, watery squirting fluid.
Where the Fluid Comes From
A key ultrasound study tracked what happens inside the body before, during, and after squirting. Researchers had seven women empty their bladders completely, confirmed by ultrasound. Then, during sexual stimulation, a second scan showed the bladder had noticeably refilled. After squirting, a third scan showed the bladder was empty again. The bladder fills rapidly during arousal and empties during the expulsion, which is why squirting produces such a large volume of fluid in a short time.
The Skene’s glands contribute the second component. During arousal, these glands swell with increased blood flow and secrete a mucus-like substance. They sit right alongside the urethra, so their secretions mix with whatever exits through it. The Skene’s glands also play a role outside of sexual activity: they produce lubricating fluid that protects the urethral opening and helps prevent urinary tract infections.
The Physical Mechanism
Squirting involves a coordinated sequence of involuntary muscle and glandular activity. The pelvic floor muscles contract intensely during arousal and orgasm, creating pressure around the urethra and bladder. At the same time, the bladder fills with fluid, and that pressure eventually overwhelms the urethral sphincter (the muscle that normally keeps the bladder closed). The result is an involuntary release of fluid through the urethra.
Brain imaging research shows activation of reward and pleasure circuits during this process, along with involvement of both involuntary and voluntary muscle control systems. This is part of why squirting often feels closely tied to orgasm but isn’t identical to it. Some women squirt without orgasm, and many orgasm without squirting.
How Common Squirting Is
Squirting is far more common than older research suggested. A U.S. probability sample of women ages 18 to 93 found that about 40% had squirted at least once in their lifetime, with a median frequency of three to five times. A Swedish study found even higher numbers, with 58% of participants reporting they had experienced ejaculation or squirting, with higher rates among non-heterosexual women.
These numbers challenge the long-standing view that squirting is rare or unusual. The wide variation in how much fluid is produced, whether it’s noticed at all, and whether it happens consistently likely explains why estimates varied so much in earlier, smaller studies. Some women produce a barely noticeable amount, while others produce enough to be immediately obvious.
Why the Fluid Isn’t the Same as Urinating
The most common concern people have is whether squirting is simply peeing. The answer is nuanced. The fluid does come from the bladder and shares some chemical markers with urine, but it’s significantly more diluted and is produced through a different physiological process. The bladder fills rapidly during arousal in a way that doesn’t happen during normal urinary function, and the expulsion is triggered by sexual stimulation and pelvic floor contractions rather than a full-bladder signal.
The presence of PSA from the Skene’s glands further distinguishes it. This protein, which is not found in urine, is detectable in most squirting fluid samples. Some researchers have proposed that PSA in female ejaculate may even have a reproductive function, potentially enhancing sperm motility by helping dissolve the gel-like consistency of semen after it’s deposited. That hypothesis is still being explored, but it underscores that the glandular contribution to squirting fluid is biologically distinct from anything involved in urination.