Squirting is the expulsion of fluid from the urethra during sexual arousal or orgasm. It’s a normal physiological response, not a sign of a medical problem, and the fluid itself is a mix of diluted urine and secretions from glands near the urethra. The volume can range from about half an ounce to around 3 ounces, and the fluid is typically thin and clear.
Squirting is often confused with female ejaculation, and the two frequently happen at the same time, but they’re distinct processes with different fluid compositions and volumes.
Squirting vs. Female Ejaculation
These terms get used interchangeably, but they describe two different things. Female ejaculation produces a small amount of thick, whitish fluid, usually less than a quarter teaspoon. This fluid comes from the Skene’s glands, two tiny ducts located on either side of the urethra. These glands develop from the same embryonic tissue as the male prostate, which is why they’re sometimes called the “female prostate.” The fluid they produce contains prostate-specific antigen (PSA), the same protein marker found in male ejaculate.
Squirting, by contrast, produces a much larger volume of thin, clear fluid that comes from the bladder and exits through the urethra. Chemically, it’s a hybrid. It contains components similar to diluted urine, but it also frequently contains PSA and other markers from the Skene’s glands. So while it passes through the same pathway as urine, it’s not simply urine. Both squirting and female ejaculation can happen simultaneously during orgasm, which is part of why they’ve been so difficult to study separately.
Where the Fluid Comes From
The Skene’s glands sit just inside the vaginal opening, flanking the urethra. They’re nearly impossible to see with the naked eye, but the tissue surrounding them swells during sexual arousal. These glands secrete fluid during stimulation that serves a dual purpose: lubricating the urethral opening and producing the milky component of female ejaculate. Lab analysis of this secretion shows it contains PSA, fructose, glucose, and citric acid, all of which are also found in male prostatic fluid. The glucose concentration is notably higher than in urine, though still 10 to 15 times lower than what’s found in male ejaculate.
The larger, watery component of squirting originates in the bladder. Ultrasound studies have shown the bladder filling rapidly during arousal and emptying at the moment of orgasm or peak stimulation. The fluid that comes out, however, is biochemically altered compared to a normal urine sample collected earlier. It’s more diluted and contains those Skene’s gland secretions mixed in.
What Triggers It
Squirting is most commonly associated with stimulation of the front vaginal wall, the area sometimes called the G-spot. This region sits directly over the Skene’s glands and the surrounding erectile tissue. In one early case study, the subject reported experiencing orgasms from clitoral stimulation but only experienced fluid expulsion when the front vaginal wall was stimulated directly. The tissue around the urethral opening visibly swelled, changed color from pink to a deeper burgundy, and became prominent in the seconds before orgasm.
That said, some people experience squirting from clitoral stimulation alone, or from a combination of both. The response varies significantly from person to person, and not everyone experiences it at all. There’s no reliable data on exactly how common it is, partly because studies rely on self-reporting and partly because the definitions have been inconsistent across research.
Why It’s Not Urinary Incontinence
For a long time, the medical assumption was that fluid released during sex was simply involuntary urine leakage, a condition called coital incontinence. That’s a real diagnosis, and it does affect some people, particularly those with pelvic floor weakness. But the International Continence Society now distinguishes between the two. Coital incontinence is an involuntary loss of urine, typically triggered by physical pressure on the bladder during penetration. It’s associated with stress urinary incontinence and can happen at any point during sex, not necessarily at orgasm.
Squirting and female ejaculation, by contrast, are tied to arousal and orgasm. The fluid contains biochemical markers that urine alone doesn’t, and the timing corresponds to peak sexual response rather than to physical pressure. The distinction matters because one is a normal sexual response and the other may warrant evaluation for pelvic floor issues. If you’re unsure which you’re experiencing, the key difference is timing and context: fluid released specifically at or near orgasm, especially with arousal-related buildup, is far more likely to be squirting than incontinence.
What Science Still Doesn’t Fully Agree On
The biochemical makeup of squirting fluid remains genuinely contested in the research community. Some studies emphasize its similarity to urine. Others highlight the consistent presence of prostatic markers that urine doesn’t contain. Part of the difficulty is that the Skene’s glands vary in size from person to person, and some people may have more developed glandular tissue than others, which could influence both the composition and volume of the fluid. The research base is also small. Most studies involve fewer than a dozen participants, making broad conclusions difficult.
What is well established: squirting is a real physiological event, the fluid is not identical to urine even when it shares some components, and the Skene’s glands play a clear role in producing at least part of what’s expelled. It’s a normal part of sexual response for those who experience it, and its absence is equally normal for those who don’t.