Rachel Feltman: For Scientific American’s Science Shortly, I’m Rachel Feltman. Only a heads-up, right now’s episode is about human sexuality. We speak about intercourse, generally utilizing slang phrases however with none profanity. I’d most likely give this episode a PG-13 score. So when you often pay attention with children, perhaps give this one a solo trial run to be sure to’re snug with the questions it might elevate. And when you simply actually don’t like listening to folks speak about intercourse, then this episode isn’t for you! No onerous emotions, we’ll see you on Friday.
Now that that’s out of the best way: the human physique is able to performing some fairly unbelievable issues—together with issues we don’t but perceive. However few bodily phenomena encourage as a lot hypothesis or debate because the one colloquially often called “squirting.”
My visitor right now is Wendy Zukerman, host of the hit podcast Science Vs. You might bear in mind her from her previous appearance on Science Quickly again in August. If not, I’ll refresh your reminiscence: we talked about anal intercourse. She’s again right now to inform us how Science Vs tackled the surprisingly controversial science of squirting.
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Wendy, welcome again to the present! It’s so nice to have you ever.
Wendy Zukerman: Oh, thanks a lot for having me!
Feltman: So the final time you have been on Science Shortly, you have been speaking about your deep dive into the science of anal intercourse—the very uncared for science of anal intercourse. Inform me about your newest sexual-health analysis endeavor.
Zukerman: I do know! Rachel, I needed to inform the viewers: We cowl different points, you recognize [laughs]?
Feltman: [Laughs] Science Vs is a good, extraordinarily various present, and you might be …
Zukerman: [Laughs] We now have a brand new season …
Feltman: Again right here right now to speak about extra intercourse stuff [laughs].
Zukerman: Precisely. Whereas this season is gonna cowl ADHD, fluoride, methamphetamine, creatine, I’m right here to speak concerning the first episode of this season, which is on squirting.
Feltman: Unbelievable. So there could also be listeners who’re like, “What’s that?”
Zukerman: Nice query.
Feltman: So [laughs] yeah, what’s it?
Zukerman: Effectively, sure, so it’s this slightly mysterious phenomena the place of us who’ve a vagina, generally once they’re extraordinarily aroused, about to orgasm, in the intervening time of orgasm, a considerable amount of fluid will gush out of them. And it’s this large thriller round: What is that this fluid? The place is it coming from? Is it coming from the vagina, the urethra? Is it pee? Is it feminine ejaculate?
And for a few years on the Web you see these kind of fights enjoying out, and so they typically have this type of political-ish tone to it, the place typically kind of feminist web sites will argue, “It’s not pee; we’ve got a particular ejaculate,” after which you might have these type of different web sites which might be saying—you recognize, they’re type of downplaying the squirt and saying, you recognize, “No, it’s simply pee.” After which in the course of that, you might have lots of people being offended.
And so we simply needed to say, like, that is ridiculous. We’re in 2025. How can a physiological phenomena, how can this factor trigger a lot drama and be so politicized? What is that this liquid? We must always have the ability to know [laughs]. We now have very subtle science. We must always have the ability to decide what this liquid is.
Feltman: Completely. So what do you know concerning the idea going into making this episode?
Zukerman: So I’ve squirted, simply kind of firstly of my sexual encounters. And for me, when it occurred, I actually thought it was pee.
Feltman: Mm-hmm.
Zukerman: I used to be fairly sure. I wasn’t devastated or something; I used to be identical to, “Oh, our bodies are bizarre, however I don’t wanna be cleansing the sheets each time that this occurs, so I’m gonna type of prepare my physique not to do this,” and I used to be in a position to.
These days it kind of has this very highly effective factor. It’s a part of porn, and it has these thrilling components to it, and it’s kind of an actual accomplishment that you’ve got squirted. However I assume, nonetheless, to a variety of of us who do it, and we did this massive survey of our listeners—who has squirted and what number of occasions and the way they felt about it—and you continue to see this kind of actual confusion round how folks really feel about it, which is commonly tied to this concept of: What precisely is that this liquid? And so I used to be simply very curious myself the place folks have been getting their proof from right here and what we may learn about it.
Feltman: Yeah, properly, I undoubtedly wanna get into the survey itself, however first, along with your episode on anal intercourse, you actually discovered collaborators who have been additionally mystified on the lack of analysis and who helped you, you recognize, make this very scientific. Had been you in a position to do the identical factor for squirting?
Zukerman: Yeah, so with squirting we truly do have some information that has actually probed this query of: What’s that fluid? There’s nonetheless quite a bit lacking within the information—so we’ve got kind of a bunch of small research which have been well-done, and so on this case, whereas our survey was actually useful to kind of seize what number of of us that is occurring to and the way they really feel about it, we have been ready to take a look at the peer-reviewed literature this time to essentially see what’s happening right here.
Feltman: Effectively, what’s going on? What [laughs]?
Zukerman: Okay, so let me let you know about one of many research that we discovered. It was finished by a French gynecologist, and we spoke to him, Samuel Salama. It was very humorous—once I was chatting to him, I kind of requested him, “Why did you do a examine on squirting?” And as you’ll hear, it’s very well-thought-out, and he began, he’s like—I used to be gonna do a French accent, however I, I received’t, save the listeners that; one accent can be sufficient. And he began going, “It’s an attention-grabbing phenomena. On the time we actually didn’t know what the fluid was.” And I used to be like, “Come on, Sam. Why did you do the examine on squirting?” And he says, “Okay, okay, okay. Once I was youthful—” And I’m like, “Thanks.” He mentioned he had a lover, she squirted. They have been each so curious what was happening. They tried to search out out. They tried to ask mates and docs, and nobody gave them a reputable clarification.
And so years later he’s learning sexology, he has a clinic that he can use that may actually unravel this. I believe he was requested—everybody must do a analysis venture as a part of his research. And he says, “Nice, now’s the chance.” And so what he does is he will get seven what he known as systematic squirters, which meant that these have been of us who may squirt each single time they received aroused. ’Trigger for some folks it kind of occurs once in a while, but when he’s going to the difficulty to do the experiment, he desires to be sure that these of us are gonna squirt when they should squirt.
So he will get the ladies to return into the lab, and what’s actually cool is that he does an ultrasound of their pelvis and bladder at numerous factors of this squirting journey. So first, he will get them to go to the toilet after which ultrasounds their pelvis and bladder. And so he can see that after they’ve gone to the toilet, the bladder is empty. That’s what ought to occur. After which he says, “Okay, go into this very kind of sterile-looking room within the clinic and go forth.”
However what he did, which was very insightful, is he mentioned, “Earlier than you squirt, on the peak of arousal, get me to return again in—I’m gonna ultrasound your bladder once more.”
Feltman: Mm-hmm.
Zukerman: And so—which I simply think about what it might be like for these of us to carry on to that aroused state when you get [an] ultrasound of your bladder [laughs]. After which the ultrasound’s finished, after which he says, “Okay …”
Feltman: “Get again to it.”
Zukerman: “Get to it. Now you’ll be able to squirt.” And he walks out of the room once more. Then they squirt. He comes again into the room—you’ll be able to hear him on the tape, and he’s kind of describing, “This liquid is all over the place.” ’Trigger in some circumstances it may be numerous fluid popping out; the world document for squirt is 1.35 liters—which don’t make me translate that into gallons [laughs].
Feltman: [Laughs] No, that’s quite a bit, although.
Zukerman: It’s a variety of liquid. It’s a variety of liquid. Take into consideration …
Feltman: Yeah, Individuals know {that a} large bottle of soda is 2 liters, so we’ve got a body of reference [laughs].
Zukerman: Sure, okay—I assumed so!
So then he does one other ultrasound of the bladder after the squirt is completed, and what’s actually curious is that he noticed that on the peak of arousal, earlier than they’d squirted—so bear in mind: their bladders have been empty ’trigger they’d peed …
Feltman: Mm-hmm.
Zukerman: Earlier than this complete course of begins. Then he ultrasounds their bladder at peak of arousal, and he can see the bladder has stuffed up once more.
Feltman: Hmm.
Zukerman: Sure, which could be very curious and really attention-grabbing for anybody who has had the expertise of going to the toilet earlier than a sexual exercise, having intercourse, after which peeing straight after and questioning, “That’s so loopy—I simply peed quarter-hour in the past.”
However it is a very attention-grabbing phenomenon, and one other examine that received two of us, a straight couple, to have intercourse in an MRI, additionally seen that the lady, their bladders stuffed up throughout arousal.
Feltman: Hmm.
Zukerman: So it should be one thing about, you recognize, coronary heart price’s going, blood’s shifting round, processes are shifting sooner. We’re not precisely certain why this occurs. However—so bladder fills up. Then the squirt occurs. Rachel, you wanna guess what’s happening with the bladder?
Feltman: I might guess that it empties, most likely.
Zukerman: It did.
Feltman: Yeah [laughs].
Zukerman: The bladder was empty, telling us that the liquid was coming from the bladder.
Feltman: Proper.
Zukerman: Sure. And Sam additionally seemed on the chemical substances contained in the squirt ’trigger he had all of the liquid there, and he may see numerous chemical substances that we have a tendency to search out in urine, so urea, uric acid, issues like this. Different research have discovered this as properly, once they’ve seemed on the chemical substances in squirt.
Feltman: Mm.
Zukerman: It’s generally—one examine discovered that it was fairly diluted.
Feltman: Proper, I used to be gonna say, it might make sense for it to be fairly dilute if the bladder’s kind of rapidly filling up once more.
Zukerman: It will, though once I requested Sam about this, he mentioned generally it’s dilute and generally it’s not …
Feltman: Mm.
Zukerman: And so—and he truly had a photograph of the squirt, and it seemed like yellow pee.
Feltman: Mm-hmm.
Zukerman: Possibly not probably the most focus pee one has ever produced, but it surely undoubtedly didn’t appear like water to me …
Feltman: Acquired it, yeah.
Zukerman: And so from that examine—it’s solely seven girls, however there’s some very curious analysis that we additionally speak about within the episode that’s additionally suggesting that the majority of this fluid is coming from the bladder.
Feltman: Proper, in order that thriller solved, however you additionally created this large survey that I believe you mentioned hundreds of individuals responded to, so inform me somewhat bit about that.
Zukerman: Though thriller solved, there’s a tiny bit extra thriller, which explains why you might have this battle on-line. As a result of though the majority of the fluid is coming from urine, in some circumstances there’s a little little bit of this kind of different substance …
Feltman: Mm.
Zukerman: That leads to squirt, which comes from the feminine prostate. And we talk about at size—there’s a variety of kind of thriller, controversy round this gland. However each—when you have a penis, a vagina, you do have kind of this prostate gland, though it seems fairly totally different. And so that’s the place the majority of this struggle comes from, is that—kind of this concept that, “Okay, the bulk of squirt is perhaps pee, however there’s somewhat bit that comes from the feminine prostate and that due to this fact makes it totally different.” And so, in our episode, we kind of talk about what on earth the feminine prostate is, some attention-grabbing new findings in that space, and whether or not that does kind of change the substance.
At that time that turns into a kind of philosophical argument …
Feltman: Yeah.
Zukerman: You realize, is that this an Arnold Palmer scenario? Is it a Shirley Temple? Is it a Manhattan with a unclean olive juice? You realize, we had many chats across the workplace about: “What does, what does this imply? Is it altering it? Is it not?” And I believe that simply is determined by your perspective. However to return to the survey, and I believe that’s the place kind of that—all of it type of involves the fore, is that as a result of we do see this sample—and so our survey discovered this, however different analysis has as properly—that for individuals who are inclined to assume it’s pee, they typically really feel extra unfavorable about squirting …
Feltman: Mm-hmm.
Zukerman: Which makes excellent sense. If you happen to really feel like you might have simply peed throughout your accomplice or peed throughout your mattress, that’s not essentially a fantastic factor, whereas when you really feel like you might have simply ejaculated over your accomplice, properly, you simply had a horny time. And so, in our survey, 45 p.c of these with vaginas had squirted a minimum of as soon as of their lifetime. Different surveys present this as properly. So that may be a large variety of of us that is occurring to. It tells us that it is a regular physiological course of; you don’t simply get virtually, you recognize, one and two of us. And I believe you may be ok with it it doesn’t matter what that substance is.
Feltman: Yeah, have been there every other shocking takeaways within the survey?
Zukerman: The actually attention-grabbing discovering that I might love—I do know science funding is in a tricky spot proper now, however maybe in future days: so squirting is all the time talked about [as] a phenomena that simply occurs when you have a vagina. And there’s kind of been this assumption that when you have a penis, you don’t squirt since you ejaculate as a substitute—that’s the fluid popping out of you throughout attractive occasions. As a result of there’s a variety of mysteries across the physiological course of, we simply thought we’d ask folks with penises, “Have you ever squirted, too?”
We discovered that it was one thing like 7.6 p.c of oldsters with penises mentioned they squirted, too. And we explicitly mentioned, you recognize, “We’re not speaking about ejaculate …”
Feltman: Mm-hmm.
Zukerman: “Cum, this type of factor.” And that, we requested round to urologists about what they considered this, and a few have been fairly skeptical it might be that top, some thought perhaps as a result of, you recognize, we all know that there’s some mechanisms across the penis that if you’re erect, you actually shouldn’t have the ability to pee as a result of it kind of blocks off that course of, which is—thanks, evolution; you don’t need somebody peeing inside you. There’s a variety of variation within the human spirit on the market, and so generally that mechanism doesn’t work that properly, and so it is sensible that—you recognize, one researcher we spoke to mentioned it’s doable that after a penis ejaculates, perhaps in the event that they then proceed to be aroused, perhaps then what comes out subsequent is a little more like pee. We actually don’t know. There was one case examine within the literature that we discovered of somebody with a penis who did squirt—so this was kind of, like, a verified, singular case examine of a person squirting. After which we’ve got our survey, however that’s all we all know.
Feltman: Yeah, properly, quite a bit nonetheless to study. Thanks a lot for approaching to speak about this with us. I’m actually excited to take heed to the entire episode on Science Vs.
Zukerman: Thanks a lot. Thanks for having me.
Feltman: That’s all for right now’s present. You possibly can take a look at an prolonged model of this episode over on our YouTube channel. And don’t overlook to take a look at Science Vs for a fair deeper dive as regards to squirting.
Science Shortly is produced by me, Rachel Feltman, together with Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Naeem Amarsy and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura. Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck fact-check our present. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Subscribe to Scientific American for extra up-to-date and in-depth science information.
For Scientific American, that is Rachel Feltman. See you subsequent time!
