Size Matters ... Or Does It?

LiveScience has a report on recent research about how men and women think differently about penis size (both length and girth). It begins:

When it comes to penises, length matters more to men than to women, according to a new study that reviews more than 60 years of research and debunks numerous sex myths.

About 90 percent of women actually prefer a wide penis to a long one, according to two studies included in the review. Eighty-five percent of women reported being satisfied with their partner’s penis size, compared to only 55 percent for men.

It's not clear from the article, but I would assume the men surveyed were gay. (Straight men would have little concern for the size of their partners' penises, after all.)

Addressing a question for which many people have long sought an answer (judging by Google search terms that bring them here), the article continues:

Drawing upon the results of 12 relevant studies, the review, detailed in the British Journal of Urology (BJU) International, finds that the average erect penis is about 5.5 to 6.2 inches long and about 4.7 to 5.1 inches in circumference.

The German magazine, Der Spiegel, in commenting on the findings, concludes with this note:

Most dissatisfied men would probably be interested in an article that got the US's renowned Mayo Clinic an enviable ranking near the top of the list of Google hits for the search term "penis enlargement." According to the article, "If you are like the vast majority of men who wonder if their penis size is normal, the answer is -- yes."

Despite this reassurance, did you know that there is a psychological condition known as "small penis syndrome"? Neither did I, but it apparently has roots in early childhood:

One surprising finding was that small penis syndrome (SPS), also known as the “locker room syndrome,” is much more common in men with normal sized penises than those who have so-called micropenises (penises with a flaccid length of less than 2.7 inches). An internet survey of more than 52,000 heterosexual men found that 12 percent thought their penises were too small, even though micropenis is estimated to affect only about 0.6 percent of men.

One study suggests SPS often begin at an early age. Sixty-three percent of men with the disorder said their anxieties started with childhood comparisons, often to an elder sibling or their fathers, while 37 percent blamed erotic images viewed during their teenage years.

As Dave Barry might suggest, wouldn't "Micropenis" be a great name for a rock band?

And in the category of "Ewwwww!," the researchers add this cross-cultural finding:

The doctors point out some ancient tried and true methods for penis enlargement, but these aren’t any more comfortable. Indian Sadhus men, for example, use weights to increase their penis length, while the Topamina of Brazil encourage poisonous snakes to bite their penises to get a size boost that lasts six months.

This topic may have minimal mainstream interest, but I guarantee it will drive traffic to this blog far out of proportion to its importance. (Hey, if it leads people to the Mayo Clinic, why not here, too?)

Sort of like penis size.

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