Where Does Self-Lubricant Come From?
In the process of learning about the body, I always try to unlearn aspects of colonization that has been intentionally woven into our regenerative systems, as well as our herbal knowledge. Here’s a three-part series to quench your curiosity about how herbs can support the body’s ability to self-lubricate. In part one, I’ll the foundation of where lube comes from.
Part one: Decolonizing The Body’s Ability to Self-Lubricate
Lubrication is dripping with cultural context and meaning. Lubrication in this context is about the body’s ability to moisten and reduce friction with the secretion of liquids, including mucus. Mucus often refers to nasal secretions, but in the context of sex we are talking about genital lubrication. Culturally speaking, producing excess lubrication (squirting) or having too little (vagina dryness), or even using lube are all shamed, as “abnormal.” No matter if you produce your own bounty of lubricant, lack what you need on your own, or use a tremendous amount of lube (that’s me!), you are valid, your experience is valid and f*** anyone who says otherwise. Let’s celebrate lubrication by learning more about how our bodies produce lube and how we can produce more if desired.
As we learn more about our bodies and how our bodies function, we must interrogate why we know so little and where the names of our body parts come from. Why must we deepen our knowledge critically? Two main ways to dismantle the systems that oppress us are to understand the implications of colonial history today, and to change the way we interact with our bodies. As you will discover in this article (or know already), many of our body parts, especially reproductive organs, are named after white cis (assuming hetero) European men. Ever heard of the fallopian tubes? Well, the doctor Gabriele Falloppio named the female reproductive organ after himself. If we want more body autonomy in our culture, we must start with the language we use to describe our bodies so we can be sovereign. Every ripples towards understanding the history of colonization and our complacency in it today is a step towards liberation.
We all have endocrine and exocrine systems. The endocrine system is in charge of producing and secreting hormones into the bloodstream for different types of functions. The exocrine system governs all secretory glands throughout the body which produce fluids to lubricate our hollow tubes, ducts and mucous membranes. Let’s begin with the exocrine system where self-lubrication originates. Lubrication is essential for preventing friction and micro-abrasions, which can then lead to infection. And of course, lubrication increases pleasure of the genitalia when aroused. Here’s how different bodies produce lubrication.
In the exocrine system, related to the female reproductive organs, there are a few ways that the body self-lubricates. First, the greater vestibular glands, named “bartholin glands,” are two pea-sized glands located just inside the vagina. Caspar Bartholin was a Danish anatomist who first named these glands after himself in 1677. These glands help lubricate the vaginal canal and opening to prevent excessive dryness. They also produce moisture during arousal and sexual activity. When aroused, the greater vestibular glands secrete extra fluid to reduce friction. Another sources of lubrication in the vagina – some say the main source- is plasma secretions from the vaginal walls when blood flow is increased during arousal.
On either side of the urethral opening there are the lesser vestibular glands, called “skene’s glands.” A Scottish gynecologist Alexander Skene named the glands after himself in his 1880 western medical publications. Another name for these glands is the periurethral glands, which are equivalent to the prostate glands in the male genitalia. The lesser vestibular glands are believed to secrete a substance to lubricate the urethral opening during urination and in greater quantities during arousal. It is said that this gland is the genesis of “squirting” for certain lubricated individuals during orgasm. There is, however, still much mystery as to exactly where the liquid from squirting really comes from.
In addition, the cervix produces mucus throughout a person's menstrual cycle, which changes over the course of the cycle and when aroused. Identifying how the cervical mucus changes is my favorite way to track fertility and ovulation. I want to name that the first person to really reveal the value of decolonizing the body parts. Serpentina, who runs Flora Pacha. Check them out on instagram.
For the male regenerative system, there are two different fluids that come from the penis during sex. Pre-ejaculate, or “pre-cum,” is a fluid that is discharged from a penis when it's aroused and can occur right before ejaculation. Pre-ejaculate provides a basic (alkaline) pH to protect the semen as they travel through the urethra. It also contains glycoproteins, which acts as a lubricant. This fluid originates from the bulbourethral glands, two pea-sized glands near the prostate, also named the “Cowper’s gland.” William Cowper, an English surgeon, named the glands after himself in his 1600’s “discovery.” The bulbourethral glands secrete a few drops of fluid which may come out of the tip of the penis when sexually aroused. This contributes to semen volume and neutralizes traces of acidic urine in the urethra to prevent urinary tract infections.
Male bodied individuals also have periurethral (or urethral) glands to lubricate the urethra and penis. The colonized names of these glands are the glands of morgagni or the glands of littre. Morgagni was an Italian anatomist in the early 1700s. Littre was a French anatomist and surgeon in Paris also in the early 1700s.
A second fluid, called seminal fluid, is ejaculated from the penis with the muscular contractions of orgasm. Seminal fluid is a mixture of secretions from the testicles, the prostate gland, and other components of the male reproductive system. Seminal fluid contains sperm and various substances thought to aid the sperm on their swim through the female reproductive organs. The periurethral glands contribute to the seminal fluid as mucus, as well.
Smegma is another self-lubricant of the penis. It is secreted by the sebaceous glands in the skin around the genitals. Smegma tends to build up between the head of the penis and the foreskin. Smegma helps keep the genitals moist and enables the foreskin to retract during sexual activities. Smegma is different for circumcised versus uncircumcised people, but that’s a topic for another article.
Everyone produces some level of natural anal lubrication, despite the common belief to the contrary. “Anal mucus” naturally exists to assist with the digestive process. For many people, anal mucous isn’t produced in large enough quantities to work as a sexual lubricant. It may assist slightly, but needs to be supplemented with an external lubricant. Yet some lucky people produce a higher amount of lubricant naturally and find that they don’t need anything additional to masturbate or have anal sex, except perhaps to assist with initial penetration. In some cases, just a little external lube is needed to get started, which mixes with the self-produced lubricant. Some people also report that their bodies have linked arousal with anal lubrication production, so that as they have sex or get more aroused they get “wet” anally. If you aren’t sure what works for you, it’s a good idea to use lube for anal sex- at least until you understand your personal lubrication needs.
Each body produces its many lubricants in different quantities, and this can also change throughout a person’s life. For instance, during menopause, decreases in estrogen production causes vascular changes leading to decreased cervical moisture. Therefore the use of external lubricants is useful in many bodies in many different scenarios, including those who consider themselves particularly juicy.
For trans women, intersex and non-binary folks who have vaginas from vaginoplasty, the abilities to self-lubricate varies depending on which kind of surgery received, as well as their own natural capacity to produce lubricant. There are three different kinds of vaginoplasty that utilize different tissues from the body to create the vagina: penile inversion vaginoplasty, sigmoid colon vaginoplasty, and peritoneal pull through vaginoplasty. Often the genital secretory glands, such as the Bulbourethral glands, are left intact so the person does have some self-lubricating ability. For trans men, intersex and non-binary folks who have neopenises, the same applies in terms of maintaining intact glands for self-lubrication. Wether one recieves metoidioplasty or phalloplasty can also change one’s need for external lubrication.
So now that you’ve gotten a taste of where lubrication comes from, in the next article we will dive a bit into the endocrine system and discuss a few herbs that can help us add lubrication for both pleasure and fertility.
Sources:
Glands of Littre https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3553320/#:~:text=Littre's%20glands%20(also%20known%20as,thirds%20of%20the%20pelvic%20wall.
Glands of Littre https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15811067/#:~:text=Cowper's%20glands%20are%20pea%20sized,drains%20into%20the%20spongy%20urethra.
Cowper’s
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9410313/
https://florapacha.bigcartel.com/
https://drzphd.com/trans-feminine-blog-1/trans-women-the-myth-behind-self-lubricating-vagina
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37105933/
https://www.healthline.com/health/transgender/bottom-surgery#cost