Why Must Girls Squat To Pee? ---------------------------- |QUESTION:| I'm an 18-year-old guy. Some of my friends and I are confused as to why a female must squat or sit before she can pee. Is it because she has the equivalent of an extremely tiny penis, normally hidden from view, which only pops out when she squats? |ANSWER:| A woman needn't squat or sit to urinate. She can also urinate in a standing position (or in any other position, for that matter). But, since she can't control the direction of the flow of urine, this is apt to be a messy business. Females urinate from the urethral opening, a very small hole located between the clitoris and the vaginal opening, and surrounded by the vaginal lips called the labia majora. Clitoris Is Like Small Penis When you ask about whether the female has the equivalent of a small penis, you may be thinking of the clitoris. Actually, in terms of fetal development, the penis is more like an enlarged clitoris. The clitoris is a small knob of tissue located above the urethra. In the embryo, a group of specialized cells becomes the clitoris. If the fetus is male, the same tissue develops to become part of a penis. Unlike the penis, the clitoris has only one known purpose -- as a focus of erotic sensitivity in women. The clitoris is much smaller than the penis, but has an equal number of sensory nerve endings. Hence it is potentially far more sensitive than the penis. Structurally, the clitoris is like a penis in miniature, with a shaft, a glans, and a hood. 