Queefing. Awkward word; awkward action. Known as vaginal flatulence, this phenomenon has a lot of explaining to do. We’re here to help you find answers!
Welcome to the less-than-charming world of queefing. [Read: 110 MUST-KNOW interesting facts, myths, & strange secrets about sex!]
Imagine that you’re in the middle of a steamy sex romp. You’re having the time of your life. Everything’s going great! Suddenly, a sound emits from your vagina that mirrors the sound of the dreaded fart. What do you do?! Do you laugh, cry, or pretend nothing out of the ordinary happened? Do you roll over and play dead? What in the world just happened?
What is queefing?
While queefing might be known as the vagina’s version of a fart, it really isn’t. It’s more the vagina’s version of making a funny fart sound just for giggles.
A fart happens when your body breaks down food. Queefing is a much simpler process that only occurs when air becomes trapped in a vagina. That’s all it takes. It’s a perfectly normal thing that happens to everybody with a vagina.
The problem with queefing
Although queefing is perfectly natural, it can also be really embarrassing and can even put a damper on things when it happens at the wrong moment. Talk about ruining your rising orgasm!
The REAL trouble with queefs is that they’re irrepressible. You can’t exactly hold one back until you’re a safe distance away from anyone who might be able to hear it.
They just kind of happen out of nowhere, whenever they want to, and you’re forced to deal with the awkward silence that lingers long after the queef has passed. [Read: 15 painfully embarrassing things that happen during sex]
All the details you need to know about queefing
Queefing is an uncomfortable topic for many people, and it can be really annoying when it happens. But there are many things that you should know about queefing before you get all bent out of shape about it.
1. It’s completely natural
Queefing happens whether you expect it to or not. They’re completely random. It could happen during sex, or it could happen when you stand up after sitting down for a long period of time. They like to make appearances during certain stretches and exercises.
Queefing is a natural bodily function that is completely out of your control.
2. It can even provide some comic relief
Sex can be far too serious sometimes. Just like every good drama movie has to have a bit of comic relief, so does sex!
Queefing can be the comic relief that you need to enjoy your time with your significant other a bit more. Suppress your embarrassment as best you can, and just laugh it off! [Read: How to have great sex with your lover]
3. It doesn’t happen very often at all
Queefing happens MUCH less frequently than farting. Eating is something that you do multiple times every day, but you’re not always getting air trapped in your vagina. If you can survive farts around your partner, you can survive dealing with the occasional appearance of a queef.
4. It most often happens during sex
Sex is a HUGE reason why women queef. When a dude’s member is thrusting in and out of your magic wonder hole over and over again, you can imagine the amount of air that gets pushed in along with it.
When you finally have a moment to shift positions, your vaginal walls move slightly, releasing all that pent-up air. The result is a sometimes horrifyingly fart-like sound. [Read: Embarrassing questions about sex that most of us are too shy to ask]
5. It’s nothing to worry about
Queefing doesn’t mean that you have anything wrong with your lady bits. Bodies are super weird, and they do extremely weird things.
There are fluids, sounds, and smells that come with having a body, so you might as well get used to it.
6. You’re not gross or repulsive if you queef
The idea that a queef is disgusting and gross is tirelessly senseless. It’s air. Just trapped air. In most cases, it’s air that enters your vagina by means of awesome sex, which also isn’t gross.
It’s not some nasty gas that has festered in there for days. Society has put a stigma on queefing only because it sounds like a fart, but that’s where the similarities stop. [Read: How to feel sexy and desirable all the time]
7. Guys don’t actually care
Aside from the first time a guy hears a queef, he’s not likely to be concerned about it in the slightest. There might be a minuscule number of immature idiots that make it something it’s not, but the vast majority of men seem to understand that they put the air in there, and it has to come out somehow.
For some men, it’s even a turn-on! [Read: 20 secret things guys wish girls knew about guys]
8. It happens more often as you get older
Can you even remember a time when your younger self stood up and let out a confusing queef? You probably can’t because it likely didn’t happen.
Queefing requires an open amount of space for air to actually get in. When you’re younger, your vagina isn’t really large enough or exposed enough to take in a lot of air.
There just happens to be a bigger opening as you get older due to the body’s natural aging process, or even having kids, that allows this to happen.
9. It’s not even that embarrassing if you really think about it
The only reason queefs seem to be embarrassing to women is because they sound eerily similar to a fart, which can mortify even the most daring and confident women.
But if you really think about it, queefs are just air. Not gas. Not some foul odor that will wreak havoc on those around you. To top it off, it usually happens because you’re having a good time, and why would you be embarrassed about that?! [Read: Floppies and other awkward things that happen during sex]
10. Queefing does not mean that you’re “loose”
While you may think that having more air that gets into your vagina means that you have a wider opening, this isn’t necessarily the case. The shape of your vagina can also have a lot to do with how much air comes in, and girls with “tight” vaginas can still queef their fair share.
Your vagina actually expands when you’re turned on, regardless of its resting size. [Read: Female masturbation – 17 facts about the naughty secret]
Medical and miscellaneous causes of queefing
Queefing can seem like a giant mystery, but it’s honestly one of the body’s simplest explainable functions. There are a few easy things that can contribute to queefing, but there are also a few medical things to take note of.
1. Inserting tampons, diaphragms, or menstrual cups
Inserting menstrual tools or birth control can cause queefing the same way that sex does.
Putting anything in your vagina means you might be sending some air with it, and that air has to be released somehow.
2. Exercises like yoga, stretching, or core workouts
Being physically active puts your body in all kinds of weird positions, especially if you do a lot of stretch-based workouts like yoga. [Read: Want something super hot? Try some sexy yoga]
Certain movements open your body up more than others, and this invites air to become trapped in your vaginal canal. When you move into another position, the trapped air escapes by way of a queef.
3. Vaginal births
Giving birth does a lot to a body. One of those things is that it loosens or weakens the pelvic floor muscles, making you more prone to queefing.
4. Pelvic floor dysfunction
Pelvic floor dysfunction essentially translates to having a weak pelvic floor. As mentioned, pregnancy and childbirth can cause a weaker pelvic floor, but it can also be hereditary. [Read: Sex during early pregnancy – 15 must-know facts to play it safe]
There are all sorts of symptoms that come with having pelvic floor dysfunction. You might be prone to frequent UTIs, leaking pee, or painful sex, and excessive queefing can actually be a symptom. It’s important to talk to your doctor if you think there’s a serious issue.
5. Pelvic organ prolapse
A pelvic organ prolapse occurs when a pelvic organ slips down from its normal spot and kind of bulges into the vagina. It sounds absolutely terrifying, but it isn’t life-threatening. It can cause some pain and discomfort, however, so you’ll want to know how to identify and treat it.
Symptoms include pain or feeling numb during sex, feeling like something might be coming down into your vagina, or even seeing or feeling a bulge.
The good news is that symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse can often improve with pelvic floor exercises. [Read: Kegel exercises – why both men and women should do them]
6. Vaginal fistula
There are many different types of vaginal fistulas, but it’s basically an abnormal opening that connects your vagina to another organ. For example, a vesicovaginal fistula is an opening between the vagina and bladder and makes a woman unable to control her urine at all.
Vaginal fistulas can be brought on by childbirth, traumatic injuries, or abdominal surgeries, among other things. They can be painful, bring on fevers, and cause vomiting and diarrhea. Queefing is an additional symptom.
Some fistulas are able to heal on their own, but many do require surgery.
How to stop queefing
Even though queefing is a normal bodily function, there may be some situations in which you’d simply prefer that it didn’t occur. There’s really no way to guarantee that you’ll never queef again, but there are a few things you can do or not do to avoid it.
1. Don’t have a guy pull out all the way during sex
The more often you switch positions, and the further your man pulls out during sex, the higher chance you have of air getting into your lady bits. [Read: 17 most intimate sex positions & tips to feel romantic while making love]
Try to reduce extreme position changes, and don’t let him pull out all the way a whole lot. These things can definitely help to reduce your queef frequency.
2. Don’t do it doggy style
Doggy style leaves girls a little too vulnerable to queefing. As awesome as this sex position is at hitting the G-spot for ladies, our vaginas are more open and straight. This provides a perfect little canal for air to be pumped into us by a dude’s piece.
Because of how open a woman’s body is during doggy style, the risk of queefing is significantly higher than in any other position. [Read: Ways to make doggy style your favorite sex position]
3. Avoid other positions that you notice may cause queefing
Every person is different, and every vagina is unique. Every pelvic floor is different, and some are weaker than others.
This means that there may be other positions that cause queefing more for you than for someone else. Avoid these when you notice them, and stick to ones that keep you queef-free.
4. Keep the sex slower
Fast sex can push more air into the vagina, which can cause a lot of queefing. Keeping the sex a little slower will reduce the amount of air that’s able to trap itself in your vagina AND give you a better opportunity to feel every inch in a way that you just can’t with speedier sex. [Read: Slow sex – 16 steamy reasons it’s so sexy & tips to experience it yourself]
5. Finger yourself between sex positions
Not only can this be a major turn-on for a guy who loves seeing women please themselves, but you’re also subtly letting any air out that was thrust into you in a discreet manner.
If you’re able to release the air slowly rather than rapidly by quickly changing positions, you’re far less likely to queef. [Read: 20 hot sex ideas to blow your lover’s mind in bed]
6. Perform kegel exercises
Kegel exercises strengthen your pelvic floor, which supports a host of other body parts. Having a stronger pelvic floor helps control several bodily functions, one of which is queefing.
Kegel exercises can be done anywhere at any time! The tricky part is finding the right muscles to exercise. To identify your pelvic floor muscles, stop your urine during midstream. The muscles you used to do that are the same muscles you should exercise. [Read: 48 sexy secrets to have better sex & explore new things to try in bed]
All you have to do is clench those muscles tightly for a few seconds at a time, release, and repeat. A good practice is to do this exercise for around ten repetitions two or three times a day.
7. Use lube during sex
Lube is always a good friend to have, but it can be especially useful if you have some queefing issues. Try finding a thicker oil-based lube. This could help to hold your vaginal walls together a little more, which will reduce the amount of air that’s able to enter your vagina.
Queefing is honestly the last thing a girl should worry about during sex. It’s completely normal and should only be a concern if you believe it’s a sign of an underlying issue. Practice some of our tips, and rest easy by queefing less!