Some women and their sexual partners have experienced a release of fluid at or near the point of orgasm that they say intensifies their sexual experience. Many women embrace it as a positive and pleasurable part of their sexual response – especially if their partners do too. Others wonder if they are going to pee and either hold back their orgasm or are embarrassed if they let go. What are the facts about this still mysterious phenomenon known as female ejaculation?

Does it really exist?

There has been much debate in the scientific literature, as well as the general press, as to the nature and origin of fluid expelled by some women at or near the point of orgasm. There is no doubt in my mind, based on research findings, that female ejaculation is real. Independent, blind studies of female ejaculate confirm that the substance is similar to male ejaculate in two ways:

1) It contains PSA (prostatic specific antigen) and prostatic acid phosphatase, primarily found in the prostate gland.

2) It is not urine as the levels of urea and creatinine, the two main ingredients of urine, are very low in female ejaculate. The latest science identifies the source of female ejaculation officially as the female prostate, previously referred to by many as Skenes ducts.

The volume of ejaculate that is released from the female prostate during an orgasm can be anywhere from 3 to 16 ccs, which is about a teaspoon’s worth. The ejaculate may be clear or more like skim milk in color. It is composed partially of glucose and fructose (forms of sugar) so it can also be sweet to taste, although the flavor can vary with the time of the month.

You may be wondering why, if there is only a teaspoon-full of ejaculate released at any one time, in how-to and other adult videos, they show a huge amount of fluid being ejaculated by some of the women. These videos, such as the famous How to Female Ejaculate, portray women releasing up to a liter of fluid from their urethras. It turns out that this fluid comes from the bladder, not the female prostate, though it also has been shown to have lower amounts of the ingredients found in darker yellow, stronger smelling urine.

Since the majority of the scientific community defines female ejaculation as coming from the female prostate, the general agreement is that the fluid in these adult videos is really urine. However, many women who experience the release of great amount of fluids with their orgasms rejoice over the experience, call it female ejaculation, and argue that women’s experiences should not be limited by definitions borrowed from men’s.

Is it normal?

Some women feel shame, doubt, or embarrassment because of their ability to ejaculate. Many can tell painful stories of broken relationships because of the assumption or suspicion on the part of a woman or her partner that she is experiencing urinary incontinence (peeing) during sex or may be infected with an STD. Many people need to hear from an expert that, yes, this is actually quite a normal experience.

Female ejaculation, even narrowly defined, is a natural occurrence and perfectly normal for an estimated 10 – 80% of women. It has been theorized based on a small sample of women whose post-orgasmic fluids were analyzed for PSA that most or nearly all women ejaculate with orgasm but to different degrees. Many are not even aware of it, which is why there is such great variation in the numbers. What does this mean? It simply means that female ejaculation is probably more common than we think. Its nothing to worry about — in fact; it may well be something to celebrate.