FEMALE EJACULATION • JUST WHAT IS IT?

The phenomenon known in the medical and research community as female ejaculation has, for some time, been a controversial topic. Many lay persons quite possibly have never heard of this interesting aspect to female sexuality. Some researchers deny that such a phenomenon exists whereas others are skeptical that it is a separate action from urinary incontinence, and still others believe it exists but are unsure of its cause. This brief overview of existing theories regarding female ejaculation will shed some light on this controversial topic and introduce the condition to those who are unfamiliar with it.

Perry and Whipple (1981) were the first researchers who related the female "Grafenberg spot", named after the physician who first wrote about this anatomical area, to the orgasm induced female ejaculation. In 1950, Grafenberg noted that during the course of sexual stimulation the female urethra begins to enlarge and can be felt easily. He went on to write that an expulsion of fluid was related to the swelling spot on the anterior wall of the vagina and that it "occurs always at the acme of orgasm and simultaneous with it." The term female ejaculation, originated by Sevely and Bennett (1975) and Belzer (1981), refers to the orgasmic expulsion which is at least partially homologous to male ejaculation, rather than any other sort of expulsion of liquid which might occur at the time of a woman's orgasm, such as urine or vaginal secretions (Addiego et al., 1981). Since then, controversy has surrounded this topic as to where female ejaculate would come from, whether it truly is of the same consistency as seminal fluid in men, or whether women are merely urinating at the experience of an intense orgasm.

Perry and Whipple's (1981) study of pelvic muscle strength in relation to females who claimed to be ejaculators hypothesized the women who ejaculated upon orgasm have stronger pelvic muscle contractions under voluntary control than women who do not. This study also raised questions as to whether women can only have clitoral or vaginal orgasms by noting that women who ejaculated not only had stronger pubococcygeal muscle contractions, but also had stronger uterine contractions than non-ejaculators. Thus, this study may have introduced a third type of orgasm related to ejaculators referred to as a "uterine" orgasm. The findings of Perry and Whipple's study indicated that great sensitivity was noted on the anterior wall of the vagina, as first described by Grafenberg. Using a vaginal and uterine myograph, the researchers hypothesis was supported in that the women ejaculators in the study did have stronger internal pelvic muscles under voluntary control as well as stronger uterine contractions upon orgasm than non-ejaculators. These researchers admit that by simply doing Kegel exercises to increase pelvic muscle strength a female cannot be guaranteed to become able to ejaculate.

As to refuting whether women truly do emit a substance that is not urine upon orgasm, Addiego et al. (1981) conducted a case study involving a woman who had suffered from what was diagnosed as urinary incontinence despite the liquid not appearing to be urine. Upon learning how to do Kegel exercises properly, her urinary stress incontinence soon disappeared. However, she later became aware of the female ejaculation phenomenon and how it had been associated with the Grafenberg spot. This woman was thoroughly examined by the researchers who determined her genitalia were normal and healthy upon volunteering for this study. With the aid of the subject's husband, upon stimulation of her Grafenberg spot, an expulsion was noted when the woman reached orgasm. This process was repeated to obtain a sample of the liquid for study. Upon testing the liquid, it was found to contain higher levels of glucose and an enzyme, prostatic acid phosphatase, characteristic of the prostatic component of semen. Two substances commonly found in urine, urea and creatinine, were found at lower levels than in the subject's urine. Thus, from the results of tests conducted in this study, female ejaculation was proven to exist in at least one female, therefore, refuting the question as to whether the phenomenon exists at all.

In a similar study conducted by Goldberg et al. (1983), investigation continued as to whether the Grafenberg spot exists and whether female ejaculation occurs with stimulation of this area. In this study eleven women, six of whom claimed to be able to ejaculate upon orgasm, were examined by two gynecologists. These gynecologists found an area similar to other descriptions of the Grafenberg spot in four of the eleven women. The spot was not found more in ejaculators than nonejaculators. When the ejaculate emitted by six women was examined, elevated levels of prostatic acid phosphatase were not found and the substance was considered to be similar in biochemical properties to urine. The researchers provide possibilities as to why the gynecologists could not find the Grafenberg spot in every woman such as inexperience on their part may have inhibited them from finding the spot consistently and a bias may have occurred in which the gynecologists' wish to confirm the existence of the spot may have led them to "find" the spot more often the perhaps was warranted. This study did not support the previously mentioned study's claim that the ejaculate of the women in this study held unique properties homologous to male semen. Goldberg et al. do feel, however, that a negative implication of their study could lead to the misdiagnosis of urinary stress incontinence. They also mention that further research into the origins of the substance in necessary to disprove the claim that some females may have a gland similar to the prostate in males that allow these females to emit a fluid similar to male semen. They also feel that the Grafenberg spot's ability to heighten arousal and orgasm in females may be a separate research issue from female ejaculation. Other researchers, such as Alzate (1990) feel that the issues of female ejaculation and the Grafenberg spot contain no real relevance to human sexuality studies at all.

This has been a review of literature concerning female ejaculation and the controversy surrounding it. It was this writer's intention to bring this interesting human sexuality topic to the awareness of the individuals interested in human sexuality and all that the topic incorporates into it. This controversy will undoubtedly continue to go on despite the critics of its importance because we as human beings are fascinated by the range of human sexual behaviors.

One of the great sexual wonders of the world is Female Ejaculation. Called by a variety of names, from the poetic to the worshipful to the crass, Female Ejaculation is the Nectar of Aphrodite, the Fountain of Venus, the Champagne of Sex, the Geyser of Love. Squirting! Spurting! Spraying! Gushing. Female Ejaculation is carnal proof that a woman's ability to hit her lover right between the eyes when she comes is equal to that of a man. Thus, it's importance is not only erotic, but political, as it is a tangible, palatable (i.e., delicious!) symbol of female sexual power.

What, physiologically speaking, are we talking about here? There are, essentially, two types of Love Geysers: 1) G-Spot Female Ejaculation, and 2) Self-Squirting. This video photo-essay will examine both.

G-Spot Female Ejaculation

The G-Spot and female ejaculation have separately and together been areas of continuous, vociferous debate among sex researchers, doctors, sex educators and porn stars. Skeptics insist that there is no such thing as a G-Spot, that women who squirt are just peeing while they're coming, and all this hoopla over G-Spot Female Ejaculation is nothing but a glorified golden shower.

But throughout history, scientists and philosophers, as well as average men and women, have reported experiencing the forceful release of fluids from the vagina in the midst of sexual climax. None other than that great Macedonian scientist-cum-philosopher, Aristotle, wrote about women's vaginal expulsions which did not have the appearance or aroma of urine and did not stain the sheets.

The first modern description of female ejaculation came from the Netherlands, which is not so surprising as the Dutch have long been open-minded about sex. In the 17th century, Dr. Regnier DeGraaf wrote about the urethra being pierced by large ducts through which fluids are discharged, "occasionally in large quantities."

In 1950, a German obstetrician, Dr. Ernest Grafenberg found a spot within the vagina which he immediately named after himself: the G-spot. He found that stimulation of the G-spot could lead to expulsion of fluid from the urethra. "Large quantities of a clear, transparent fluid expelled not from the vulva, but out of the urethra in gushes," gushed Dr. G.

"At first, I thought that the bladder sphincter had become defective by the intensity of the orgasm. But," he continued, "the fluid was examined and it had no urinary character (rather it was) secretions of the intra-urethral glands correlated with the erotogenic zone along the urethra in the anterior vaginal wall." Sounds like squirting!

Still, the medical establishment has long been extremely dubious about female ejaculation. Dr. Gary Schubach and others have conducted experiments with ejaculating women, showing that the expelled fluid is "deurinized" liquid from the bladder mixed with discharge from the Skene's gland, considered the female equivalent of the prostate.

Yet the debate rages on. What exactly is the Geyser of Love? Is it real? Is it pee? Is it a different kind of fluid released from the urethral glands? Or is it, perhaps (as I suspect), an amazing female sexual mix of fluids, explosive juices and spraying squirting wetness? If women ejaculate, what does that mean about women and men? About penises and vulvas? About G-Spots and urethras?

If you were to refer to literature over the last 50 years you would be lead to believe that females have only been able to ejaculate since about 1980. Of course this is absurd, and just shows how "the experts" can be wrong for decades on just about anything. Many knew the experts were wrong, but had little success in convincing anyone. Needless to say this lead to many problems, needless surgery (to fix the poor women who would ejaculate), expensive counselling (got to find out what happened when they were children to cause this "problem"), and in some cases divorce. "The G Spot" by Alice Kahn Ladas, Beverly Whipple, and John D. Perry, has dozens of letters from women who went though various personal tragedies because they would ejaculate during lovemaking. Doctors, gynaecologists, and psychiatrists invariably told them they were peeing and needed either surgery or psychotherapy.

Newsweek published an article entitled "Just How the Sexes Differ" in May of 1981. One of the major difference was listed was that men ejaculate, but women do not. However, Aristotle wrote about female ejaculation, and Galen knew about it in the second century. The female prostate, which generates the fluid which is ejaculated, was described in some detail by De Graaf in his "New Treatise Concerning the Generative Organs of Women". (1) "... during the sexual act it discharges to lubricate the tract so copiously that it even flows outside the pudenda. This is the matter which may have been taken to be actual female semen." He describes the fluid as "rushing out" with "impetus" and "in one gush." (2)

The medical community was finally awakened in 1980 when Perry and Whipple showed a film of a female ejaculating to the SSSS (Society for the Scientific Study of Sex). Martin Weisberg, M.D., a gynecologist at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia responded, "Bull ... I spend half my waking hours examining, cutting apart, putting together, removing, or rearranging female reproductive organs. There is no female prostrate, and women don't ejaculate."

Yet after seeing the film and witnessing the event in person he changed his tune: "The vulva and vagina were normal with no abnormal masses or spots. The urethra was normal. Everything was normal. She then had her partner stimulate her by inserting two fingers into the vagina and stroking along the urethra lengthwise. To our amazement, the area began to swell. It eventually became a firm one by two cm oval area distinctly different from the rest of the vagina. In a few moments the subject seemed to perform a Valsalva maneuver (bearing down as if starting to defecate) and seconds later several cc's of milky fluid shot out the urethra. The material analysis described in the paper (Perry & Whipple's) is correct, its composition was closest to prostatic fluid".