My best friend and I were having a heated debate over the validity of female ejaculation. Having never experienced a gusher before, I rejected his idea that they are real. “How can a woman’s orgasm project that much juice that far?” I asked. “It’s impossible.” I had seen female ejaculation in movies but thought they were porn tricks reserved for the seasoned actors. I figured that women who squirted during orgasm were simply urinating, not ejaculating, as my adamant friend claimed. Fifteen minutes into the argument I knew this would be a subject that would require a little extracurricular research.

Determined to begin my research on a good note, I head down to the Riviera to find a film that caters to the gushing crowd. A trip to the video store can be a very interesting experience if you are a woman. Most men do a double take. “Hey, there’s a chick renting a porno.” Then a look comes over their faces that would suggest they just discovered the meaning of life. “Heeey! There’s a chick renting a porno.” At this point, they act like they are not there to rent a porno for the long night of monkey-spanking that lies ahead of them. Often, this is where they suddenly need condoms. Right. But today would be different. I was doing research; no rented date for me tonight.

Usually, I hope I don’t run into that political science professor that I admire so much. “Oh, hello, professor. I’m doing research for my sex-ed class,” I would meekly explain. With my luck, I would probably have a neon pink butt plug in my hand. I walk into the brightly lit store and do a quick survey of the room. No admired professors here. Sweet!

Surprisingly, the store is empty. Super sweet. After wandering the aisles, I realize that there is not a section in the video store dedicated to female ejaculation. ‘Figures,’ I think, ‘because there’s no such thing.’ I find many categories: backdoor, group, lesbian, Asian, fetish, big breast, amateur, transsexual; the store is a phantasmagoria of body parts.

Finally, I ask the manager if they carry any squirt videos. What happens next surprises me. He takes me over to a section called “Special Interest.” It may as well be called “Freak Convergence.” He says, “If you want to see real female ejaculation, watch this one.”

“What do you mean by real?” I ask.

He launched into an explanation of a trick whereby a woman inserts water into her vagina and then expels it so it appears that she is cumming. He points to one video entitled “Oh My Gush.” “That’s fake,” he says. I pick up the video. There’s a woman on the cover squirting a clear liquid from her crotch. Interesting.

“I need to see a real one,” I say. He recommends one called “Gushing Gashes.” After realizing this doesn’t have to be strictly research, I buy some lube, rent the video, and go home.

I enjoy porn. I see my sexuality as healthy, normal and, dammit, liberated. And I’ll be the first to admit that I occasionally rent my date from the video store. So when I slid the video into my VCR, I didn’t expect to see anything new. However, I have never seen a woman ejaculate what appeared to be a cup. And what is that stuff, anyway?

I started looking for medical information online. After reading almost 20 scholarly articles, I had the scoop. A gland near the urethra produces the fluid. The fluid travels down the tube that leads from the urethra. It is different from urine, though; the chemical makeup is actually very similar to the fluid in male ejaculate, minus the sperm. Female ejaculation is not uncommon. Estimates indicate that up to 10 percent of women have experienced this type of orgasm. It is normal for women to ejaculate more than a cup.

The best part is that female ejaculation can be learned; unfortunately, I haven’t come across any courses that teach it.

Daily Nexus sex columnist Christina Huff is currently seeking a teacher in the fine art of gushing.