The other day, as I was scrolling through Tumblr, I came across a question about squirting; whether it was a real thing and what it actually was.
The person said it was a real thing, gave a couple references with the disclaimer that they were all gender-insensitive, and said that when you squirt, it’s urine.
Which made me pause.
Because I was pretty sure that I remembered my University professor talking about squirting, and saying that it was NOT urine.
So I figured, if I’m going to research this anyways, I might as well write a post about it.
First of all, I have got to agree with that Tumblr user: gendered language is rampant when you try to find resources on this topic. So please, be warned if you click the links in the blog post.
Secondly, WOW was it hard to find references from good sources! Because squirting is considered a “fad” right now, there are a lot of magazines and random reddit pages dedicated to it. None of these have actual sources, just personal experiences.
Not to discount personal experience. That is super important. It tells us that squirting is a thing that happens, to more people than “a few”. It is normal and nothing to be ashamed of.
However, unless those people have a degree in Biochemistry or at the very least, know how to test the contents of the fluid that is emitted, those personal experiences do not tell us anything about what the fluid is composed of.
The first place I looked was on Dr Lindsey Doe’s Sexplanations channel. She had done a video on squirting, and that was helpful in a way. Taking a look at the transcript, here is the key moment:
I hear about the Skene’s Gland, that there’s an identified organ from which the fluid exits the body. It’s considered a para-urethral tissue, meaning it’s around the urethra, which is why fluid content is two percent urine: proximity. Ejaculation is also comprised of – oh we don’t know exactly – why is that.
Great! I feel a surge (pun intended) of validation. However, she doesn’t include her sources in the video.
So I dove back into the research pool.
The first article I found was…not very helpful. It essentially said that the ejaculate was urine.
Okay…
I clicked on the link within that article, and it is to Wiley Online Library, a textbook resource. Great, I think. This will be a valid source.
This particular source is a study done with ultrasounds before, during, and after sexual stimulation. It showed that the bladder was empty before, filled during, and was empty after the emission.
I’m starting to doubt my memory of the professor’s lecture.
I change tactics. I now research the Skene’s gland. Hopefully that won’t draw in the articles that are all about the “fad” of squirting.
I get a definition, firstly. (Modified to eliminate gendered language)
The Skene’s (paraurethral) gland is the histologic homologue to the […] prostate. […] This gland is formed by tubuloalveolar adenomers surrounded by connective tissue and smooth muscle fibers.
Okay. That doesn’t help with much, other than it exists.
Next I read a really interesting study that explains how the Skene’s gland morphs – the more you use it, the easier it is to use it and the more openings there are, essentially.
Great. But that doesn’t explain why that study found the the bladder appeared to be full when they did a pelvic ultrasound.
So I decided that I wanted to see a picture of the Skene’s gland. Where was it EXACTLY? And more importantly, could it swell with fluid to make it seem like the bladder was full?
Do you know how many diagrams of the genital system don’t even bother to label the Skene’s gland?
A lot.
I found a couple that were properly labelled. Click for images of the vulva and interior shots.
The Skene’s gland is found around the urethra, between it and the vaginal wall. Colloquially, you might know it as the G-Spot.
So now I know exactly where it is. But I still have no idea if it can swell with fluid or if it mimic a full bladder. And I’m out of resources.
Unfortunately, not a lot of research has been done on this, as it has only recently been discovered. I can tell you a couple things, though:
- With the proximity of the Skene’s gland openings to the urethra, leftover urine would most definitely be in any samples collected from the Skene’s emissions.
- The fluid emitted from the Skene’s gland contains PSA – prostate-specific antigen – the same biochemical component found in prostates.
- Not all people with vulvas have this gland, and even if they do, they might not have many openings for the emissions.
- More research is desperately needed for this. The lack of valid sources on this topic was discouraging.
So I’m going to have to leave this topic here. I can’t say with absolute certainty why that study showed a full bladder with a pelvic ultrasound, but I have a hypothesis that it was the Skene’s gland masquerading as a bladder. Anyone want to prove me wrong?
References
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzngn1ZPr4k
https://nerdfighteria.info/v/lzngn1ZPr4k/
http://www.thesexmd.com/squirting-really/
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jsm.12799
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12201043
https://www.jsm.jsexmed.org/article/S1743-6095(16)30629-4/fulltext
https://medwrite.biz/61478_skenes_gland_diagram_skenes_gland_diagram/
http://www.actforlibraries.org/the-skenes-gland/
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