Squirting happens when fluid is expelled from the urethra during sexual arousal or orgasm. It’s a real physiological response, and roughly half of women report experiencing it at least once. Despite its prevalence, the science behind it has only recently started catching up, and what researchers have found is more nuanced than most people expect.
What Actually Happens in the Body
During sexual stimulation, blood flow increases to the tissues surrounding the urethra, including a pair of small structures called the Skene’s glands. These glands sit on either side of the urethral opening and develop from the same embryonic cells that become the prostate in males. For that reason, they’re sometimes called the “female prostate.”
As arousal builds, the Skene’s glands swell and begin secreting fluid. This fluid contains proteins similar to those found in male semen, including one called prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a marker closely associated with prostate tissue. At the same time, the bladder can rapidly fill with dilute fluid during arousal, even if it was recently emptied. When certain muscles contract during orgasm or intense stimulation, one or both of these fluid sources can be expelled through the urethra.
Squirting and Ejaculation Are Two Different Things
Scientists now treat squirting and female ejaculation as related but distinct events, and understanding the difference clears up a lot of confusion.
Female ejaculation is a small secretion, typically just a few milliliters of thick, milky fluid. It comes from the Skene’s glands and is rich in PSA. Many women may not even notice it because the volume is so small.
Squirting involves a much larger release, often 10 milliliters or more of clear, watery fluid. This fluid comes from the bladder and is chemically similar to very dilute urine. It contains urea, creatinine, and uric acid at concentrations comparable to urine, but in most women tested, it also contains trace amounts of PSA, suggesting the Skene’s glands contribute to the mix.
A landmark 2015 study using ultrasound imaging confirmed that participants’ bladders filled noticeably during arousal, even after they had urinated just before the session. After squirting, their bladders were empty again. The fluid, while originating from the bladder, isn’t simply “peeing.” It accumulates rapidly during sexual stimulation in a way that normal urine production doesn’t, and the presence of PSA confirms that glandular secretions are part of the picture.
What Triggers the Response
Squirting is most commonly associated with stimulation of the front wall of the vagina, the area people often refer to as the G-spot. Current research suggests this isn’t actually a single distinct structure. Instead, stimulating the front vaginal wall puts pressure on a cluster of tissues called the clitourethrovaginal complex: the internal portions of the clitoris, the urethra, and the surrounding glands all sit close together in this area. Pressure on the front vaginal wall stimulates all of them simultaneously.
That combined stimulation appears to be what triggers both the glandular secretion and the bladder release. It also explains why the sensation often feels different from clitoral orgasm alone. Some women experience squirting alongside orgasm, while others report it happening separately from climax, during a buildup of intense pressure.
How Common Is It
A Swedish cross-sectional study of over 1,500 women found that 58% reported personal experience with ejaculation or squirting at some point. That figure aligns with earlier survey data placing the number around 54%. Some women experience it regularly, others only once or twice, and a small percentage weren’t sure whether it had happened.
The wide variation likely comes down to anatomy. Skene’s glands vary significantly in size from person to person, and some women have very small or even undetectable glands. Women with larger, more developed glandular tissue may be more likely to produce noticeable fluid. Arousal level, the type of stimulation, pelvic floor muscle tone, and how relaxed someone feels also play a role. It’s not something every body does, and not experiencing it is completely normal.
Why the “Is It Urine?” Debate Persists
The chemical overlap between squirting fluid and urine is real, and it’s the reason this question keeps coming up. The fluid does come from the bladder, and it does contain the same waste products found in urine. But calling it “just urine” misses important context. The fluid accumulates unusually fast during arousal, often contains PSA from the Skene’s glands, and is typically more dilute than normal urine. The process is driven by sexual response, not by the kidneys simply doing their routine job.
Researchers still don’t fully agree on how to classify it. Some argue squirting is fundamentally a urinary event that happens to coincide with sexual arousal. Others point to the glandular contribution and the unique conditions under which the fluid forms as evidence that it’s a distinct sexual response. The honest answer is that it’s a mix: bladder fluid modified by the context of arousal, combined with glandular secretions in varying amounts depending on the individual.
The Skene’s Glands and Everyday Health
Outside of sexual function, the Skene’s glands serve a more mundane purpose. They secrete a substance that lubricates the urethral opening during urination and contains antimicrobial properties that help prevent urinary tract infections. When these glands become blocked or infected, they can form cysts or abscesses near the urethral opening, though this is relatively uncommon. Their dual role in both urinary and sexual health is part of why the anatomy of this area has been so difficult to study cleanly: everything is interconnected in a very small space.