Vagina MuseumMay 12, 2023
Let's have a wet and wild, gushy Friday and explore a question we get asked a lot: what's the deal with squirting? Is it just pee? Or is it something else, more similar to semen?
Show threadVagina MuseumMay 12, 2023

Squirting is a phenomenon where fluid is released before or during orgasm. From self-reports, anywhere between 10% and 70% have experienced it.

The first scientific report on the phenomenon came from 16th century physician Laevinius Lemnius, reporting a case of a woman who "draws forth the man's seed and casts her own with it". In the 19th and early 20th centuries by physicians such as Freud it was often treated as pathological, related to hysteria or lesbianism.

Show threadVagina MuseumMay 12, 2023
Squirting isn't very well-researched. Partly due to patriarchal biases, but also because it is very difficult to study. Squirting research either requires very accurate self-reporting, or research participants who are capable of orgasming in strict laboratory settings.
Show threadVagina MuseumMay 12, 2023

What research there is suggests that there are three distinct phenomena going on. These are termed female ejaculation, squirting, and coital incontinence.

Female ejaculation is the release of a small amount of a thick, milky fluid from the paraurethral glands, a pair of glands on either side of the urethra.

Coital incontinence is leaking urine during penetrative sex, and is often linked to other forms of stress incontinence.

And as for squirting... it's complicated.

Show threadVagina Museum

Squirting is typically defined as release of a thinner fluid through the urethra. Much of the research into squirting has focused on what, precisely, is in the fluid and where it comes from.

The liquid released in squirting appears to come from the bladder, and some of it is urine. However, a lot of the time this fluid also includes prostate-specific antigen. This same antigen is also found in fluid released from the paraurethral glands in female ejaculation, and not in urine.

May 12, 2023 at 12:56pmWeb
Show threadVagina MuseumMay 12, 2023

A 2007 study by Wimpissinger and colleagues found that the liquid released in squirting has a lower level of creatinine than one would expect in normal urine, meaning that the urine-like characteristics of squirting are diluted.

In a 2015 study by Salama and colleagues, ultrasound research identified that the bladder was empty at the beginning of sexual stimulation, filled up noticeably before orgasm, then emptied again.

Show threadVagina MuseumMay 12, 2023

However, other studies have identified that squirting is entirely urine. It seems to depend on methodology, and it really is incredibly difficult to research the phenomenon in a controlled setting!

Pee or not, squirting can be differentiated from coital incontinence in that it usually isn't related to stress incontinence and only happens at around orgasm.

Show threadVagina MuseumMay 12, 2023

The conflation of squirting and peeing has led to some legal decisions on censorship, most notably in the UK, which banned porn showing squirting in 2014.

The British Board of Film Classification's reason for this was that they believed based on "expert evidence" that female ejaculation and squirting didn't exist, so therefore all films depicting it were showing urinating - which was already banned in the UK.

Show threadVagina MuseumMay 12, 2023
The British Board of Film Classification then later rowed back and said they had no opinion on whether or not squirting exists, but they had decided that every instance of on-camera squirting was in fact urination so were banning it anyway.
Show threadVagina MuseumMay 12, 2023
We've talked a lot about the chemical composition of squirting, but we're neglecting the important thing here: what it means to those who experience it. It's a common phenomenon which some people feel ashamed of, while others celebrate it. It's absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, nor is it nothing to worry about if your body doesn't react that way - whatever happens for you, it's perfectly normal!
Show threadMerle, Queen of Crime, Prince of BirdsMay 12, 2023
@vagina_museum
And that's the important takeaway!
Show thread420May 12, 2023
@vagina_museum what’s the chemical compound?
Show threadTirialMay 12, 2023
@vagina_museum … but why are golden showers banned? That seems like a pretty tame thing to ban. I mean, it's not my kink, but to those who enjoy it, why not let them enjoy the hell out of it?
Show threadtheneMay 12, 2023
@vagina_museum i believe it was earlier than this, I remember reading the Feminists Against Censorship response to the decision in around 2007 and I think it was several years old at the time
Show threadgoneMay 12, 2023
@vagina_museum oh, so we're just going to sit on that name and look the other way? Wimpissinger: nominative determinism in vaginal research.
Show threadFvH 🦣May 12, 2023
@vagina_museum Wimpissinger? Tell me more.
Show threadSandy JohnsonMay 12, 2023
@vagina_museum There is no gland or organ in the pelvic region that holds female ejaculate. Of course it is urine. Maybe diluted but mostly urine.
Show threadJoshua A.C. NewmanMay 12, 2023
@SandyJohnson @vagina_museum One fun thing you can do is read the thread.