Female ejaculation

Female ejaculation (also known colloquially as squirting or gushing) refers to the expulsion of noticeable amounts of clear fluid by human females from the paraurethral ducts and/or urethra during orgasm. The exact source of the fluid is debated, although some researchers believe it originates from the Skene's gland.

Relation to urinary incontinence

For most of the last century, there was controversy over whether the effect existed at all, and in recent history there has been confusion between female ejaculation and urinary incontinence. However, scientific studies from the 1980s and later have demonstrated that a substance is produced which is distinct from urine, though it shares some qualities, such as alkalinity, with urine. ^[1]

Sexual stimulation

According to some, female ejaculation is mostly accomplished by stimulation of the urethral sponge (sometimes identified as the G-spot) an area purported to be near the front of the vaginal wall.^[2]^[3] More rarely, ejaculation can be accomplished through external stimulation of the clitoris alone, the internal tissue of the clitoris then contracting and stimulating the urethral tissue.^{citation needed}

Historical and scientific discussion

Female ejaculation has been discussed in anatomical, medical, and biological literature throughout recorded history. In addition to references in ancient Indian writings ^[4], the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle noted the existence of female ejaculation,^[5] and the physician Galen (2nd century) described the female prostate. However Aristotle's reference 'to swell with wetness' in describing the orgasm may be instead interpreted by some as arousal. The Italian Renaissance anatomist Renaldus Columbus referred to female ejaculate in his explanation of the function of the clitoris. In the 17th century, the Dutch anatomist Regnier de Graaf wrote a book about female anatomy and spoke of female fluid "rushing out" and "coming in one gush" during sexual excitement.^[6]

Many Indian temples including Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh), Konark Sun Temple (Orissa) and Vijayanagara temples (Karnataka) adorn carved images of female ejaculatuon.

Modern investigation

In recent centuries, female ejaculation was largely ignored by the modern medical community, until the 1982 publication of a bestselling book The G-Spot And Other Discoveries About Human Sexuality, by Ladas, Whipple, and Perry. The book discussed the question of female ejaculation and brought the concept back into discussions of women's sexuality, both in the medical community and among the general public.^{citations needed} Many Tantric gurus such as Osho and Mantak Chia among others were educating followers about the existence and the techniques to achieve female ejaculation as far back as the sixties and seventies. By the seventies and eighties notable American and British Tantric teachers were further popularising it. With the turn of the century it was depicted in porn. 'Sex and the City' perhaps brought it to the widest audience although it was represented as a lesbian phenomenon.

Lack of understanding

While many in the medical and scientific communities are now acknowledging the existence of female ejaculation, there remains a large void when it comes to solid scientific data explaining:

Nature of the fluid

Studies have been done by Beverly Whipple, John Perry, Gary Schubach, Milan Zaviacic and Cabello Santamaria, but their findings are limited. While current information offers no solid information about the source of the fluid, chemical analysis performed on the fluid has revealed that while it sometimes contains at least traces of urine, it regularly contains chemical markers unique to the prostate (whether male or female).^[1]

The latest research indicates the possibility that all women produce female ejaculate, even if they are not aware of it:

Dr. Schubach believes that "most women, the overwhelming proportion of women" are capable of ejaculation with training and practice.^[14]

Research

There have been a number of studies carried out on the fluid expelled during female ejaculation to determine the chemical makeup. Through chemical analysis the expelled fluid has been found to contain the following:

In 1988, Milan Zaviacic, M.D., Ph.D., head of the Institute of Pathology, Comenius University Bratislava, published a study of five women who were patients at a fertility department of a hospital of gynecology and obstetrics. Total samples from one of the participants and one of four samples from a second participant were collected in the laboratory. The rest were collected at the homes of the women and transported to the laboratory in ice. In four of the five cases, the samples were analyzed within three hours of collection, with the fifth subject’s specimens analyzed three months after collection. The results in all five cases showed a higher concentration of fructose in the ejaculate sample than in the urine sample.^[16]

According to studies conducted by the Universidade de São Paulo, by doctor Paulo Carvalho Fez Barroso, a probable explanation to the fact was that of the female ejaculation delivers important energy sources such as glucose and fructose to improve the semen feeding sources, thus improving too the chances of fertilization of the woman's egg.

In 1997 Dr. F Cabello Santamaria analyzed urine for PSA using Microparticle Enzyme Immunoassay and found that 75 percent of the samples showed a concentration of PSA in post-orgasmic urine samples which was not present in pre-orgasmic urine samples. The fluid collected at the point of orgasm (distinct from the urine samples) showed the presence of PSA in 100 percent of samples.^[17]

In 2002, Emanuele Jannini of L'Aquila University in Italy offered one explanation for this phenomenon, as well as for the frequent denials of its existence:

Skene's gland openings are usually the size of pinholes, and vary in size from one woman to another, to the point where they appear to be missing entirely in some women. If Skene's glands are the cause of female ejaculation, this may explain the observed absence of this phenomenon in many women.

In 2007, researchers at Rudolfstiftung Hospital-Urology, Vienna, performed high-resolution ultrasound and urethroscopy on two premenopausal women who reported orgasmic ejaculation. They verified diffuse glandular tissue around the length of the female urethra with an midline ductal opening at 6 o'clock position just inside the urethral meatus. Biochemical analysis of collected female ejaculate was found to be consistent with prostatic secretions and not urine.^[18]

In society

Medical contradictions

Misinformation about female ejaculation can lead to misdiagnosis of underlying medical conditions or wrong diagnosis where no medical condition exists.

Current studies verify that female ejaculate is expelled through the urethra yet many continue to believe that the fluid leaves the body through the vagina. Expulsion of copious amounts of fluid from the vagina is called profuse vaginal discharge and can have several different causes:

For this reason it is important that any female who experiences abnormal amounts of vaginal discharge undergo a physical examination to rule out underlying medical conditions.

In other cases, women who may not be fully educated about female ejaculation may assume themselves to be suffering from urinary stress incontinence and seek medical intervention. Treatment for urinary stress incontinence may involve the use of medications or surgery, both unnecessary and dangerous if the source of the fluid leakage is female ejaculation.

British film classification

In the United Kingdom, the British Board of Film Classification has neither confirmed nor denied the existence of the phenomenon of female ejaculation, only claiming that all examples they have seen thus far during classification have been urination during sex. Therefore, any sex videos on the UK market are allegedly yet to feature the phenomenon.^[20]

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