What is it? Female/Vaginal Ejaculation
“It felt addictive, like I had to let go. I was scared at first, I didn’t know what was coming – was it wee? I’m also shocked that I could do it twice, even three times. It’s like once the switch was on – it was on.”
We’re talking about vaginal ejaculation.
Some prefer to stick with the term gushing or squirting, but for the sake of this article we’re going with vaginal ejaculation.
I’ve done a lot of reading and incidental ‘field work’ on vaginal ejaculation and, still, I am baffled by the lack of definitive answers despite all the information. But, when it comes down to it, perhaps this is reflective of the nature of the thing — because there really is no black and white.
What we do know is that vaginal ejaculation has been documented throughout history in sex texts and other anatomical research, but the first official research was carried out by Dr. Beverly Whipple and Dr. John Perry who concluded that during intense sexual excitement, or as orgasm approaches, some vaginas produce a clear, alkaline fluid. This fluid is not urine — though it may contain traces of it — and can vary from a few drops to about a quarter of a cup (Rebecca Chalker, The Clitoral Truth).
I’m going to try and explain what we know as simply as possible:
a person with a vagina can ejaculate without climaxing.
I use the term climax, because orgasm as a term itself is also not black and white. Sometimes a whole sexual experience from the first kiss to the final exhale can feel like an orgasm. In other words, an orgasm is subjective — it’s up to each person to determine how they feel and if they feel like they had an orgasm. We reframe sex in this way in order TO RELIEVE THE PRESSURE OF ORGASM. Have you ever just been in bed with someone when they get all annoyed that you won’t ‘cum’ – well, let me just re-iterate, that ain’t helping. And yet, on the other hand, like a friend said the other day – “God damn, sometimes I just want a good fuck and an orgasm”.
Anyway, back to ejaculation – there can be fluid without orgasm.
Essentially, people with a vagina have a urethra and surrounding the urethra is a sponge. This is where the fluid comes from. The urethral sponge has been identified as having prostatic-like glands embedded within it. When the vagina (read: some vaginas, not all vaginas) is pleasured in a way that stimulates these glands, fluid is excreted and squirted out through the urethra. (In banter with my friends, I like to call this “milking the sponge”.) These glands can be felt through the vaginal wall and are often termed the G-spot, or even the prostate. Unsurprisingly, as Rebecca Chalker points out, the urethra’s sexual functions and complexities are extremely under-researched.
News just in!
Like, literally — I just read this in a journal article entitled ‘Biochemistry of Female Ejaculation’ (and I acknowledge the cis-normativity) which suggests that two different fluids are released. One containing more uric acid concentration – this fluid will come from the bladder and is probably the expulsion that is affected by how hydrated you are. The other type of expulsion is said to be more ‘ejaculate’ like in consistency and visually is similar to semen.
If you’d like to know more about this research please watch our video on vaginal ejaculation.
If you are interested in ejaculation and doing it, you can teach yourself by enhancing sexual response and strengthening pelvic floor muscles.
And remember, beauty is in the individuality and the journey.
Celebrate your sexuality.