Editing Female ejaculation (section)

===20th century===

====Early 20th-century understanding====
Female ejaculation is mentioned as normal in early 20th century 'marriage manuals', such as TH [[Theodoor Hendrik van de Velde|Van de Velde]]'s ''[[Ideal Marriage: Its Physiology and Technique]]'' (1926). Certainly van de Velde was well aware of the varied experiences of women.<ref>van de Velde, TH. ''Ideal Marriage: Its physiology and technique''. Random, NY 1957, pp 195–6</ref>

{{blockquote|It appears that the majority of laymen believe that something is forcibly squirted (or propelled or extruded), or expelled from the woman's body in orgasm, and should so happen normally, as in the man's case. Finally it is just as certain that such an 'ejaculation' does not take place in many women of sexually normal functions, as that it does take place in others.}}

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 [[Anatomical terms of location#Proximal and distal|proximal]] collections of glandular tissue emptying directly into the urethra.<ref>Huffman, J. W. The detailed anatomy of the paraurethral ducts in the adult human female" ''American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology'' 55: 86–101, 1948.</ref>

{{blockquote|The urethra might well be compared to a tree about which and growing outward from its base are numerous stunted branches, the paraurethral ducts and glands.}}

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 [[Ernst Gräfenberg|Gräfenberg]] based on his observations of women during orgasm.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://doctorg.com/Grafenberg.htm |author=E. Grafenberg |title=The role of the urethra in female orgasm |journal=Int J Sexol |volume=3 |pages=145–8 |year=1950 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080807175157/http://doctorg.com/Grafenberg.htm |archive-date=2008-08-07 }}</ref>

{{blockquote|An erotic zone always could be demonstrated on the anterior wall of the vagina along the course of the urethra...analogous to the male urethra, the female urethra also seems to be surrounded by erectile tissues...In the course of [[sexual stimulation]], the female urethra begins to enlarge and can be felt easily. It swells out greatly at the end of orgasm...Occasionally the production of fluids is ...profuse...

If there is the opportunity to observe the orgasm of such women, one can see that large quantities of a clear transparent fluid are expelled not from the vulva, but out of the urethra in gushes. At first I thought that the bladder sphincter had become defective by the intensity of the orgasm. Involuntary expulsion of urine is reported in sex literature. In the cases observed by us, the fluid was examined and it had no urinary character. I am inclined to believe that "urine" reported to be expelled during female orgasm is not urine, but only secretions of the intraurethral glands correlated with the erotogenic zone along the urethra in the anterior vaginal wall. Moreover the profuse secretions coming out with the orgasm have no lubricating significance, otherwise they would be produced at the beginning of intercourse and not at the peak of orgasm.}}

However this paper made little impact, and was dismissed in the major sexological writings of that time, such as [[Alfred Kinsey|Kinsey]] (1953)<ref>Kinsey, A.C., Pomeroy, W.B., Martin, C.E., Gebhard, P.H. (1953). ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Female''. Philadelphia : W.B. Saunders Company</ref> and [[Masters & Johnson|Masters and Johnson]] (1966),<ref>Masters WH, Johnson VE. ''Human Sexual Response''. Little Brown, Boston 1966</ref> equating this "erroneous belief" with [[#Relation to urinary incontinence|urinary stress incontinence]]. Although clearly Kinsey was familiar with the phenomenon, commenting that (p.&nbsp;612);

{{blockquote|Muscular contractions of the vagina following orgasm may squeeze out some of the genital secretions, and in a few cases eject them with some force}}

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

{{blockquote|Most women do not ejaculate during orgasm...we ''have'' observed several cases of women who expelled a type of fluid that was not urine}}

(emphasis in original) yet dismissed it (p.&nbsp;135) – "female ejaculation is an erroneous but widespread concept", and even twenty years later in 1982,<ref>Masters WH, Johnson VE, Kolodny RC. Masters and Johnson on ''Sex and Human Learning''. Little Brown, Boston 1982</ref> they repeated the statement that it was erroneous (p.&nbsp;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.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Sevely JL, Bennett JW | title = Concerning female ejaculation and the female prostate | journal = J Sex Res | volume = 14 | pages = 1–20 | year = 1978 | doi = 10.1080/00224497809550988}}</ref> 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]]'',<ref name="belzer"/><ref name="addiego"/><ref name="perry"/> became the focal point of the current debate. Whipple became aware of the phenomenon when studying urinary incontinence, with which it is often confused.<ref name=whipple-chalker>Personal communication, cited by Chalker 2000 p.125</ref> 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,<ref name="bohlen"/> for not being based on rigorous scientific procedures, and psychiatrist [[Helen Singer Kaplan]] (1983) stated:<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WCqMzcAka54C |last=Kaplan|first=H. S.|title=The Evaluation of Sexual Disorders: Psychological and Medical Aspects |publisher=Psychology Press |year=1983 |access-date=2024-05-07|isbn=9780876303290}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Female ejaculation (as distinct from female urination during orgasm) has never been scientifically substantiated and is highly questionable, to say the least.}}

Some radical feminist writers, such as [[Sheila Jeffreys]] (1985) were also dismissive, claiming it as a figment of male fantasy:<ref>Jeffreys S. The Spinster and Her Enemies: feminism and sexuality 1880–1930. Pandora Press, London 1985, at 110</ref>

{{blockquote|There are examples in the sexological literature of men's sexual fantasies about lesbian sexuality. Krafft-Ebing invented a form of ejaculation for women.}}

It required the detailed anatomical work of Helen O'Connell<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cirp.org/news/clitoris/|last1=Williamson|first1=Susan|last2=Nowak|first2=Rachel|title=The truth about women. New Scientist August 1, 1998 pp. 1–5|publisher=Cirp.org|access-date=2011-10-30|archive-date=2020-11-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111204005/http://www.cirp.org/news/clitoris/|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=O'Connell HE, Hutson JM, Anderson CR, Plenter RJ |title=Anatomical relationship between urethra and clitoris |journal=J. Urol. |volume=159 |issue=6 |pages=1892–7 |date=June 1998 |pmid=9598482 |doi= 10.1016/S0022-5347(01)63188-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=O'Connell HE, Sanjeevan KV, Hutson JM |s2cid=26109805 |title=Anatomy of the clitoris |journal=J. Urol. |volume=174 |issue=4 Pt 1 |pages=1189–95 |date=October 2005 |pmid=16145367 |doi= 10.1097/01.ju.0000173639.38898.cd}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=O'Connell HE, Eizenberg N, Rahman M, Cleeve J |title=The anatomy of the distal vagina: towards unity |journal=J Sex Med |volume=5 |issue=8 |pages=1883–91 |date=August 2008 |pmid=18564153 |doi=10.1111/j.1743-6109.2008.00875.x }}</ref>

====Anthropological accounts====
Female ejaculation appears in 20th-century [[anthropology|anthropological]] works, such as [[Bronisław Malinowski|Malinowski]]'s Melanesian study, ''[[The Sexual Life of Savages in North-Western Melanesia|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 Islands|Trobriand Island]] people, a single word is used to describe ejaculation in both male and female.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OSQuvsbE5ooC |title=Malinowski B. The Sexual Life of Savages in North-Western Melanesia. Harcourt Brace, NY 1928, p. 167 |date=1942-05-16 |access-date=2011-10-30|isbn=9780415262484 |last1=Malinowski |first1=Bronislaw |publisher=Psychology Press }}</ref>

{{blockquote|Both the male and female discharge are called by the same name (''momona'' or ''momola''), and they ascribe to both the same origin in the kidneys, and the same function, which has nothing to do with generation, but is concerned with lubricating the membrane and increasing pleasure}}

In describing sexual relations amongst the [[Chuuk State|Chuukese]] [[Micronesians]], Gladwin and Sarason state that "Female orgasm is commonly signalled by urination".<ref>Gladwin T, Sarason SB. Truk: Man in paradise. Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, NY 1956</ref> {{ill|Catherine Blackledge|pl}}<ref name=blackledge/> (p.&nbsp;205) provides a number of examples from other cultures, including the [[Uganda]]n [[Demographics of Uganda|Batoro]], [[Mohave people|Mohave]] Indians, [[Mangaia]]ns, and [[Pohnpei|Ponapese]]. (See also Chalker 2002 pp.&nbsp;531–2, Ladas et al. 1983 pp.&nbsp;74–5)

Historically in Rwanda, the [[kunyaza]] sexual technique has the reputation of triggering female ejaculation (kunyara). The ancient sexual practice has been exercised for over 150 years in east and central Africa. Amongst the Buganda tribe of Uganda, the sexual practice is called kachabali (spraying the wall).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W2p9DwAAQBAJ |title=Akande H. Kunyaza: The Secret to Female Pleasure. Rabaah Publishers, London 2018, p. 26 |date=2018-12-16 |access-date=2019-02-16|isbn=9780957484566 |last1=Akande |first1=Habeeb |publisher=Rabaah Publishers }}</ref>