The liquid released when a woman squirts is primarily dilute urine that has rapidly filled the bladder during arousal, often mixed with small amounts of prostatic secretions from the Skene’s glands. About 40% of adult women in the U.S. report having experienced squirting at least once, so it’s a common part of sexual response, not a medical concern.
The science here is more nuanced than a simple “it’s pee” or “it’s not pee” answer. Researchers now recognize two distinct fluids that can be expelled during orgasm, sometimes simultaneously, and understanding the difference clears up a lot of confusion.
Squirting and Female Ejaculation Are Different Things
Scientists distinguish between two phenomena that often get lumped together. Squirting is a transurethral gush of 10 milliliters or more of thin, transparent fluid. Female ejaculation is a secretion of just a few milliliters of thicker, whitish fluid. They come from different sources, have different compositions, and can happen separately or at the same time during orgasm.
Squirting fluid originates from the bladder and exits through the urethra. Female ejaculate, by contrast, is produced by the Skene’s glands, two small structures located on either side of the urethra. These glands are considered the female equivalent of the male prostate, and they produce some of the same proteins found in male ejaculate.
What’s Actually in the Fluid
A 2015 study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine gave the clearest picture to date. Researchers had seven women empty their bladders, then performed ultrasound scans during arousal. Even though the women had just urinated, their bladders completely refilled as they became aroused. After squirting at orgasm, a final scan showed the bladders were empty again. The fluid had come from the bladder.
Chemical analysis confirmed this. The squirted fluid contained urea, creatinine, and uric acid at concentrations comparable to urine. In two of the seven women, the squirted fluid was chemically indistinguishable from their urine. In the other five, the fluid also contained prostate-specific antigen (PSA), an enzyme produced by the Skene’s glands that was not present in their earlier urine samples. So the most accurate description is that squirting fluid is urine diluted with secretions from the Skene’s glands, in varying proportions depending on the individual.
The presence of PSA in some women’s fluid but not others may come down to anatomy. The Skene’s glands vary in size from person to person, and some researchers have suggested that secretions from these glands can travel into the bladder during arousal, mixing with the urine that accumulates there.
Why the Bladder Refills So Quickly
One of the more surprising findings is how fast the bladder fills during sexual arousal. Women in the ultrasound study had verified empty bladders before stimulation began, yet their bladders were full again by the time they approached orgasm, sometimes within minutes. The kidneys appear to ramp up urine production during arousal, rapidly filling the bladder with a more dilute fluid than typical urine. This is why the squirted liquid is usually clear or very pale and has less odor than regular urine.
At orgasm, strong contractions of the pelvic floor muscles expel this fluid through the urethra. The volume varies widely, from a small gush to a much larger release.
The Skene’s Glands and Their Role
The Skene’s glands (sometimes called the paraurethral glands) are the source of “true” female ejaculate, the smaller, thicker secretion. Because these glands are structurally similar to the male prostate, scientists refer to them as the female prostate. They produce PSA, the same enzyme found in male ejaculate that helps sperm swim by breaking down proteins in semen that would otherwise trap them.
Research suggests female ejaculatory fluids may serve a reproductive function. The secretions can raise the pH inside the vagina, shifting it from its naturally acidic range (around 2 to 5) toward a more neutral level (around 7) where sperm survive better. The PSA in the fluid may also help dissolve the coagulated portion of semen, freeing sperm to move toward the egg. These functions parallel exactly what PSA does in male ejaculate.
How It Differs From Urinary Incontinence
Squirting during orgasm is a normal physiological response, not a sign of a bladder problem. This distinction matters because some people worry that involuntary fluid release during sex means something is wrong. Researchers have formally separated squirting and female ejaculation from coital incontinence, which is an involuntary urine leak caused by a bladder or urethral disorder.
Coital incontinence typically happens during penetration rather than at orgasm, and it’s associated with conditions like stress urinary incontinence or overactive bladder. Squirting, on the other hand, occurs at or near orgasm, involves the rapid bladder-filling mechanism described above, and often includes PSA from the Skene’s glands. The two can feel similar, but they have different underlying causes. Coital incontinence may benefit from treatment; squirting does not require any.
Why It Varies So Much Between People
Not everyone squirts, and among those who do, the experience varies considerably. About 40% of U.S. adult women report having squirted at some point, with a median frequency of three to five times over their lifetime. Some women experience it regularly, others rarely or never.
Several factors likely contribute to this variation. The Skene’s glands differ in size and development from person to person, which affects how much PSA-containing fluid they produce. The degree of pelvic floor muscle contraction at orgasm influences whether fluid is expelled forcefully or not at all. And individual differences in kidney filtration rate during arousal may determine how much the bladder refills. The result is a wide spectrum: some women produce a small amount of thick, whitish ejaculate, others release a larger volume of clear fluid, and many produce a mix of both.