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Blue text reading "All About Getting Wet" on a white background with some splashing water at the bottom.

All About Getting Wet

Arousal Fluid is a technical term for the fluid or wetness (i.e., “getting wet”) that sometimes happens if you have a vagina* and get turned on. But not always! Even though media can make it seem like *turned on = wet* every time, it’s common that you sometimes get wet when you’re not turned on, or that you’re turned on but not wet. This is called Arousal Non-Concordance, and in this article we’ll talk a bit more about what it is, and some strategies you can try to use to address it.

NOTE
  • While this article focuses on arousal fluid, check out our article on Vaginal Fluids to learn more about other types of fluids created by vaginas.

What is Arousal Fluid?

Why Might Someone Struggle to Become ‘Wet’?

If you feel like any of these apply to your body or your situation, you may want to check in with a clinician to see about any tests or medical solutions to pursue.

NOTE
  • Most of the major studies on vaginal dryness and vitamin deficiency have studied baseline vaginal moisture, not ‘wetness’ created during arousal, and have mostly been done on near-menopausal or post-menopausal people.

How Can Someone Increase Arousal Fluid?

If it’s not a medical situation, here are two easy things you can try to do to try and increase arousal fluid:

What If It’s Just Not Happening?

Resources

Please be advised that many resources and studies about vaginas can use very gendered language when discussing human anatomy. While Teen Health Source recognizes that people of all genders can have vulvas/vaginas, resources below marked with a * might not.

The following are some scientific studies on vaginas. They use a lot of scientific language, as well as very gendered language when talking about bodies, or have only done studies with cisgender women. Please be advised.

If you have questions about this topic, feel free to contact one of our peer educators. [Link]


*We know that these aren’t the words everyone uses for their bodies (eg. trans folks), and support you using the language that feels best for you

Last Updated: January 2022

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