By Gary Schubach, Ed.D., A.C.S.
Recently there has been a great deal of debate on the internet regarding Dr. John Perry’s “Beer Piss Theory.” Since John’s 1997 article Female Ejaculation and the Beer Piss Hypothesis was inspired by my doctoral research project, “Urethral Expulsions During Sensual Arousal And Bladder Catheterization In Seven Human Females,” I have more than a passing interest in the issues this brings up.
The recent version of the Beer Piss Theory was a greatly abridged version of John’s 1997 paper and basically offers the conclusion “that the output of the periurethral glands is limited to a couple of teaspoons, at best. Anything more has to be urine.” While I agree that for many women not all of their ejaculate originates in the periurethral glands, I take exception to the use of the word “urine” to describe the remainder of the fluid expelled.
What actually is urine? Webster’s New World Dictionary defines urine as, “a waste product…secreted by the kidneys or other excretory structures…..it is a yellowish liquid containing urea, certain salts, etc., which is stored in the bladder and discharged periodically through the urethra.”
Are all fluids passing through the bladder automatically urine? Urea and creatinine, two main components of “urine” are present in all bodily fluids, including male ejaculate. However, their concentration in the ejaculate of the women in my study was much less than in each woman’s baseline urine sample. In my research these levels averaged about 25% of the baseline specimen and these figures were similar to those found by Whipple and Perry in their studies.
John’s original Beer Piss Hypothesis referred to his experiences as a young man when, after consuming large amounts of beer, he had observed that his urine appeared to have less color than normal. This was popularly referred to as “beer piss.” After reviewing my doctoral research paper along with the supporting videotapes, John could not help but notice that several of the women had expelled more than 1/2 liter of fluid with very low concentrations of urea and creatinine as compared to their normal urine samples, all AFTER their bladders had been fully drained by the use of a catheter. Therefore, it was John’s opinion that the women must have consumed large amounts of fluids either immediately before or after having their bladders drained.
However, in the case of my seven subjects and other women whom I have observed to date, there was clearly no consumption of excessive fluids. In fact, if anything, given how much energy was used while being physically aroused, they probably could have used more fluids. They were so engrossed in the arousal process that, while they were expending physical energy and sweating profusely, they had no interest in fluids other than a sip of water or juice from time to time.
As for the question of the source and composition of the urethral expulsions, my conclusion, based on my study, was that fluid can be expelled at orgasm from BOTH the periurethral glands and the bladder, together or individually. The composition of the fluid expelled through the urethra, but not from the periurethral glands, had only about 25% of the main ingredients in the same woman’s baseline urine specimen. Given that we had completely drained their bladders prior to the expulsion, my suspicion is that the fluid came from a combination of residual moisture in the bladder plus new fluid from the kidneys.
Many people have responded to John’s Beer Piss Hypothesis with anecdotal experiences of situations where women who ejaculate had experienced urinary track infections and were taking over-the-counter medications that caused their urine to have a strong orange or blue coloration to it. They all observed that, while their urine was strongly colored, their ejaculate had only a slight tinge, if any, to it. Some reported that when they urinated directly after sexual activity, the strong coloration was still present.
In postulating a Beer Piss Hypothesis, Dr. Perry is proposing that anything more than a teaspoon of female ejaculate is urine. Yet female ejaculate, even in larger quantities, has neither the visual, chemical, or olfactory qualities of urine. Perry appears to want to explain the lack of visual similarity due to a supposed dilution of urine by ingesting excess fluids. The credibility of his hypothesis rests on the common knowledge that urine gets less yellow when we drink more fluid. The color of urine is due primarily to the pigment urochrome and there is more of this pigment in urine, and hence a darker color, if we haven’t urinated for a while. If the beer piss hypothesis were true, we would expect to find a similar variation in the color of female ejaculate based on the quantity of liquid consumed. However, this has not been observed. Since it is the urochrome which colors urine and not the concentrations of urea and creatinine, the observation that excess fluid intake dilutes the urochrome present in urine can not be used to account for the lowered amounts of urea and creatinine in female ejaculate.
When we look at the question of female ejaculate, there are actually two parallel conversations going on. There is the scientific question of analysis and experimental results and then there is a broader philosophical question of the proper framework within which we interpret this information. Our role as sex educators is to help to overcome the overall sex negativity of our society. A disproportionate amount of this negativity has centered on women: their bodies, their genitalia and the fluids which come from them.
There is still an element of mystery and uncertainty which surrounds female ejaculation with regard to its exact composition and where it originates. What we do know is that female ejaculation is a natural, pleasurable and largely involuntary process and that the ejaculate is not properly characterized as urine. Armed with what has been discovered through scientific investigation, we can say with confidence that there is no basis for women to feel guilt and shame about expelling fluid during sex.
