Female ejaculation

thumb|There is substantial evidence that the [[Skene's gland is the source of female ejaculation.]]

Female ejaculation is characterized as an expulsion of fluid from the Skene's gland at the lower end of the urethra during or before an orgasm. It is also known colloquially as squirting or gushing, although research indicates that female ejaculation and squirting are different phenomena, squirting being attributed to a sudden expulsion of liquid that partly comes from the bladder and contains urine.

Female ejaculation is physiologically distinct from coital incontinence, with which it is sometimes confused.

There have been few studies on female ejaculation. A failure to adopt common definitions and research methodology by the scientific community has been the primary contributor to this lack of experimental data. Research has suffered from highly selected participants, narrow case studies, or very small sample sizes, and consequently has yet to produce significant results. Much of the research into the composition of the fluid focuses on determining whether it is, or contains, urine. It is common for any secretion that exits the vagina, and for fluid that exits the urethra, during sexual activity to be referred to as female ejaculate, which has led to significant confusion in the literature. Other studies find anywhere from 10 to 69%, depending on the definitions and methods used.

The suggestion that women can expel fluid from their genital area as part of sexual arousal has been described by women's health writer Rebecca Chalker as "one of the most hotly debated questions in modern sexology".

Western literature

16th to 18th century

In the 16th century, the Dutch physician Laevinius Lemnius, referred to how a woman "draws forth the man's seed and casts her own with it". In the 17th century, François Mauriceau described glands at the female urethral meatus that "pour out great quantities of saline liquor during coition, which increases the heat and enjoyment of women". This century saw an increasing understanding of female sexual anatomy and function, in particular the work of the Bartholin family in Denmark.

De Graaf

In the 17th century, the Dutch anatomist Reinier de Graaf wrote an influential treatise on the reproductive organs Concerning the Generative Organs of Women which is much cited in the literature on this topic. De Graaf discussed the original controversy but supported the Aristotelian view. He identified the source as the glandular structures and ducts surrounding the urethra.

He identified [XIII:212] the various controversies regarding the ejaculate and its origin, but stated he believed that this fluid "which rushes out with such impetus during venereal combat or libidinous imagining" was derived from a number of sources, including the vagina, urinary tract, cervix and uterus. He appears to identify Skene's ducts, when he writes [XIII: 213] "those [ducts] which are visible around the orifice of the neck of the vagina and the outlet of the urinary passage receive their fluid from the female 'parastatae', or rather the thick membranous body around the urinary passage." However he appears not to distinguish between the lubrication of the perineum during arousal and an orgasmic ejaculate when he refers to liquid "which in libidinous women often rushes out at the mere sight of a handsome man." Further on [XIII:214] he refers to "liquid as usually comes from the pudenda in one gush." However, his prime purpose was to distinguish between generative fluid and pleasurable fluid, in his stand on the Aristotelian semen controversy.

19th century

Krafft-Ebing's study of sexual perversion, Psychopathia Sexualis (1886), describes female ejaculation under the heading "Congenital Sexual Inversion in Women" as a perversion related to neurasthenia and homosexuality.

It is also described by Freud in pathological terms in his study of Dora (1905), where he relates it to hysteria.

However, women's writing of that time portrayed this in more positive terms. Thus we find Almeda Sperry writing to Emma Goldman in 1918, about the "rhythmic spurt of your love juices". Anatomical knowledge was also advanced by Alexander Skene's description of para-urethral or periurethral glands (glands around the urethra) in 1880, which have been variously claimed to be one source of the fluids in the ejaculate, and now commonly referred to as the Skene's glands.

20th century

Early 20th-century understanding

Female ejaculation is mentioned as normal in early 20th century 'marriage manuals', such as Ideal Marriage: Its Physiology and Technique (1926) by Theodoor Hendrik van de Velde, in which the author acknowledged women's varied experiences.

In 1948, Huffman, an American gynaecologist, published his studies of the prostatic tissue in women together with a historical account and detailed drawings. These clearly showed the difference between the original glands identified by Skene at the urinary meatus, and the more proximal collections of glandular tissue emptying directly into the urethra.

Most of the interest had focused on the substance and structure rather than function of the glands. A more definitive contemporary account of ejaculation appeared shortly after, in 1950, with the publication of an essay by Gräfenberg based on his observations of women during orgasm.

However this paper made little impact, and was dismissed in the major sexological writings of that time, such as Kinsey (1953) and Masters and Johnson (1966), equating this "erroneous belief" with urinary stress incontinence⁠‌although clearly Kinsey was familiar with the phenomenon, commenting that (p. 612):

as were Masters and Johnson ten years later, who observed (pp 79–80):

(emphasis in original) yet dismissed it (p. 135) – "female ejaculation is an erroneous but widespread concept", and even twenty years later in 1982, they repeated the statement that it was erroneous (p. 69–70) and the result of "urinary stress incontinence".

Late 20th-century awareness

The topic did not receive serious attention again until a review by Josephine Lowndes Sevely and JW Bennett appeared in 1978. This latter paper, which traces the history of the controversies to that point, and a series of three papers in 1981 by Beverly Whipple and colleagues in the Journal of Sex Research, As Sevely and Bennett point out, this is "not new knowledge, but a rediscovery of lost awareness that should contribute towards reshaping our view of female sexuality". Nevertheless, the theory advanced by these authors was immediately dismissed by many other authors, such as physiologist Joseph Bohlen,

Some radical feminist writers, such as Sheila Jeffreys (1985) were also dismissive, claiming it as a figment of male fantasy:

It required the detailed anatomical work of Helen O'Connell from 1998 onwards to more properly elucidate the relationships between the different anatomical structures involved. As she observes, the female perineal urethra is embedded in the anterior vaginal wall and is surrounded by erectile tissue in all directions except posteriorly where it relates to the vaginal wall. "The distal vagina, clitoris, and urethra form an integrated entity covered superficially by the vulval skin and its epithelial features. These parts have a shared vasculature and nerve supply and during sexual stimulation respond as a unit".

Anthropological accounts

Female ejaculation appears in 20th-century anthropological works, such as Malinowski's Melanesian study, The Sexual Life of Savages (1929), and Gladwin and Sarason's Truk: Man in Paradise (1956). Malinowski states that in the language of the Trobriand Island people, a single word is used to describe ejaculation in both male and female.

In describing sexual relations amongst the Chuukese Micronesians, Gladwin and Sarason state that "Female orgasm is commonly signalled by urination".

Research

General

thumb|Vaginal fluids after ejaculation.

There have been few studies on female ejaculation. or research methodology. and that the biochemical profile of the para-urethral tissues varies with age. Other issues relate to the sensitivity and specificity of the markers chosen. The key questions are the source of the fluid produced, and its composition.

Scientific studies from the 1980s and later have demonstrated that the substance produced is distinct from urine, though it does show similarities such as alkalinity with urine. Davidson's study of 1,289 women found that the sensation of ejaculation was very similar to that of urination.

It may be important for physicians to establish whether there is in fact any incontinence in women who report ejaculation, to avoid unnecessary interventions.

Nature of different fluids

Critics have maintained that ejaculation is either stress incontinence or vaginal lubrication. measuring substances such as urea, creatinine, prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP), prostate-specific antigen (PSA), glucose and fructose levels. Early work was contradictory; the initial study on one woman by Addiego and colleagues, reported in 1981, but was confirmed in another 7 women in 1984. suggesting that results depend critically on the methods used.

A 2007 study on two women involved ultrasound, endoscopy, and biochemical analysis of fluid. The ejaculate was compared to pre-orgasmic urine from the same woman, and also to published data on male ejaculate. In both women, higher levels of PSA, PAP, and glucose but lower levels of creatinine were found in the ejaculate than the urine. PSA levels were comparable to those in males.

Ultrasounds from a 2014 study, involving seven women who reported recurring massive fluid emission during sexual arousal, confirmed thorough bladder emptiness before stimulation, noticeable bladder filling before squirting and demonstrated that the bladder had again been emptied after squirting. Although small amounts of prostatic secretions are present in the emitted fluid, the study suggests that squirting is essentially the involuntary emission of urine during sexual activity. Therefore, claims of larger amounts of ejaculate are likely to contain at least some amount of urine. The eleven specimens analyzed by Goldberg in 1983, Belzer showed that in one woman he studied, the dye was found in her urine, but not her orgasmic expulsion. Another marker common to the prostate/para-urethral tissue in both sexes is human protein 1.

PSA occurs in urine, and is elevated in post-orgasmic samples compared to pre-orgasmic. Simultaneous collection of ejaculate also showed PSA in both urine and ejaculate in all cases, but in higher concentration in the ejaculate than in the urine. Wimpissinger et al., 2007 reports the PSA level in urine in the 0.16–0.8 ng/mL range, and in female ejaculate in the 105.9–213.49 ng/mL range (two participants), more than a hundredfold difference. Regardless of the facts relating to the details of female ejaculation, the social significance of the popular accounts through the feminist health care movement has been considerable.

stimulation of the anterior vaginal wall simultaneously stimulates the para-urethral tissue (the site of the Skene's glands and ducts, and a proposed likely source of ejaculation fluid), and so has been suggested as the trigger of ejaculation. These tissues, surrounding the distal urethra, and anterior to the vagina, have a common embryological origin to the prostatic tissue in the male. states that direct experimentation fails to provide any evidence. Alzate states:

Shannon Bell argues that the debate is confused by the discussion of two separate phenomena. She comments that Alzate simply dismisses women's subjective experiences in favour of rigorous scientific proof, and is typical of male sexologists withholding the validity of experience from women. Bell's critique lies at the heart of feminist concerns about this debate, namely a tendency to "disregard, reinterpret, and overwrite women's subjective descriptions." For some, she states, it is more a matter of belief than of physiology. Bell further questions why feminists have not been more outspoken in defense of women's control over female ejaculation, pointing out that the literature frames the discussion in only five separate ways; procreation, sexual pleasure, deviance, pathology, and a scientific mystery. The book discussed female ejaculation and brought the issue back into discussions of women's sexuality both in the medical community and among the general public. This was a popular account of three papers by the authors, the previous year, at the suggestion of Alice Khan Ladas. Rebecca Chalker notes that this book was largely met with scorn, skepticism and disbelief. The chapter on 'Female Ejaculation' is largely based on anecdotal testimony, and illustrates another issue in the debate, the weight placed on anecdotes and small numbers of observations rather than biomedical investigation or clinical trials. Importantly, a number of the women stated that they had been diagnosed with urinary incontinence.

Debate on women's pleasure in their sexuality

The book by Ladas, Whipple, and Perry. Whipple continued to publicise her discoveries, including a 9 min video made in 1981 Orgasmic Expulsions of Fluid in the Sexually Stimulated Female. In 1984, the Journal of Sex Research described the debate surrounding female ejaculation as 'heated'. and 2008 the existence of a female prostate and of ejaculation are a matter of debate.

Debate on the terminology

The terminology (such as female prostate and female ejaculation) invoke images of the female as merely an imitation of the male, mapping the female body onto the male, as if, like the Galenic view, it was incomplete. Furthermore, overemphasis of ejaculation may induce performance anxiety. Tiefer has expressed concern that overemphasising ejaculation will drive women who might feel inadequate to seek medical attention (see Health implications below), Other criticism comes from Barbara Ehrenreich and colleagues who see this new sexuality as one that privileges the male in control, penile retention and body position, but this is denied by others. Others suppressed sexual climax, and sought medical advice for this "problem", and even underwent surgery. but Sensabaugh and Kahane demonstrated in four specimens that PAP was an order of magnitude greater in a woman's ejaculate than in her urine. Recently, knowledge that these markers can be of female origin has led to acquittal based on forensic evidence.

In pornography

Female pornographic performers who are alleged to ejaculate on film include Hotaru Akane, Charley Chase, Annie Cruz, Cytherea, Jamie Lynn, Jiz Lee, Missy Monroe, Jenna Presley, and Flower Tucci. Fallon is known as the first pornographic actress to allegedly ejaculate on film. Tiana Lynn can allegedly ejaculate as well, and she claims to have discovered her ability during a scene with Mark Ashley.

Sarah Jane Hamilton became known as one of the first alleged female ejaculators from Britain, though this was later dismissed by porn reviewer Pat Riley as urination in his review of The British Are Coming (1993). However, she has commented that she could not ejaculate on cue even though producers expect her to, like a male performer.

Censorship

In the United Kingdom, the British Board of Film Classification has requested edits to pornographic films alleged to show female ejaculation, claiming there is no such thing as female ejaculation (and therefore the films must promote urolagnia), according to expert medical "advice" provided to the film board. Urination during sex is considered obscene under the Obscene Publications Acts. The Board later stated that it does not take any view on whether female ejaculation exists or not, but that all apparent recorded instances (presented to the Board) were of mere female urination being touted as female ejaculation.

Easy on the Eye Productions released a press announcement on 6 October 2010, stating that the BBFC passed the DVD Women Love Porn (containing a sequence involving female ejaculation in the scene "Top Milf") on advice of legal counsel when the director, Anna Span, pushed for a hearing with the Video Appeals Committee. Easy on the Eye Productions considered this an "historic victory", although the BBFC maintains that its stance remains "fundamentally unchanged" for future releases. According to the Carnal Nation site, the issue was first raised by the group Feminists Against Censorship (FAC) in 2001.

References

External links

Female Ejaculation The Double Standard In the Bedroom () by Eric Jackson, 2008/09/22
The-Clitoris.com: Female Ejaculation & The G-Spot: Instructions & diagrams from a feminist perspective.
The History of Female Ejaculation Series by Mark Zedler, The Mysterious World of Female Ejaculation
Electronic Journal of Human Sexuality: Urethral Expulsions During Sensual Arousal and Bladder Catheterization in Seven Human Females by Gary Schubach ("Female Ejaculation" Bibliography)
An Annotated Bibliography on Sexual Arousal, Orgasm, and Female Ejaculation in Humans and Animals