Female ejaculation

Female ejaculation is characterized as an expulsion of fluid from or near the vagina during or before an orgasm. It is also known colloquially as squirting or gushing, although these are considered to be different phenomena in some research publications. Female ejaculation is physiologically distinct from coital incontinence, with which it is sometimes confused. There have been few studies on female ejaculation. Much of the problem in arriving at a consensus relates to a failure to adopt generally agreed-on definitions or research methodology. Research has used highly selected individuals, case studies, or very small numbers of subjects, making generalization difficult. Most of the research into the nature of the fluid focuses on determining whether it is or contains urine. Some believe the fluid is secreted by the paraurethral ducts through and around the human female urethra, but the exact source and nature of the fluid remain controversial among medical professionals, and are related to doubts over the existence of the G-spot. In questionnaire surveys, 35–50% of women report that they have at some time experienced the gushing of fluid during orgasm. Other studies find anywhere from 10–69%, depending on the definitions and methods used. For instance Kratochvíl (1994) surveyed 200 women and found that 6% reported ejaculating, an additional 13% had some experience and about 60% reported release of fluid without actual gushing. Reports on the volume of fluid expelled vary considerably, starting from amounts that would be imperceptible to a woman, to mean values of 1–5 ml. 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'. Female ejaculation has been discussed in anatomical, medical, and biological literature throughout recorded history. The reasons for the interest in female ejaculation have been questioned by feminist writers. 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. 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 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 'those 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 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. 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.