My penis is too small.

Oh yeah? Don’t be so sure. This is an article about some 2015 research on penis size.

I was in the pool!” George Costanza’s distress at the “shrinkage” of his penis after exiting a cold pool was hilarious in the 1994* Seinfeld* episode, but for many men concern over the length and girth of their reproductive organ is no laughing matter. Now, a new study could assuage such worries with what may be the most accurate penis-size measurements to date.

Many earlier studies relied on self-reporting, which doesn’t always yield reliable results. “People tend to overestimate themselves,” says David Veale, a psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsley  NHS Foundation Trust. So when Veale and his team set out to settle the score on penile proportions, they decided to compile data from clinicians who followed a standardized measuring procedure.

Published today in the *British Journal of Urology International*, their new study synthesizes data from 17 previous academic papers that included measurements from a total of 15,521 men from around the world.

The data enabled the researchers to calculate averages and model the estimated distribution of penile dimensions across humanity. “It still just strikes me how many men have questions and  insecurities and concerns about their own penis size. We actually do need good data on it,” says Debra Herbenick, a behavioral scientist at Indiana University, Bloomington, who was not involved in  the study.

According to the team’s analysis, the average flaccid, pendulous penis is 9.16 cm (3.61 inches) in length; the average erect penis is 13.12 cm (5.16 inches) long. The corresponding girth  measurements are 9.31 cm (3.66 inches) for a flaccid penis and 11.66 cm (4.59 inches) for an erect one.

A graph of the size distribution shows that outliers are rare. A 16-cm (6.3-inch) erect penis falls into the 95th percentile: Out of 100 men, only five would have a penis larger than 16 cm. Conversely, an  erect penis measuring 10 cm (3.94 inches) falls into the 5th percentile: Only five out of 100 men would have a penis smaller than 10 cm.

Gentlemen, if you’re eager to see how you measure up, you’ll need to follow the same measurement procedure used in the study. All length measurements were made from the pubic bone to the tip of  the glans on the top side of the penis. Any fat covering the pubic bone was compressed before measurement, and any additional length provided by foreskin was not counted. Circumference was measured at the base of the penis or around the middle of the shaft, as the two sites were deemed equivalent.

The researchers concluded that there was no strong evidence to link penis size to other physical features such as height, body mass index, or even shoe size. Yes, it seems that the only definite conclusion that can bedrawn about a fellow with big socks is that he probably has big feet. Likewise, the study found no significant correlation between genital dimensions and race or ethnicity, although Veale points out that their study was not designed to probe such associations, because much of the data used were from studies of Caucasian men.

It’s easy to laugh at poor George Costanza for his shrunken manhood, but some reports suggest that only about 55% of men are satisfied with their penis size. Some seek potentially dangerous  surgical solutions to a problem that, according to Veale, is often only in their head. Men “seem to have a very distorted picture of what [size] other men are, and what they believe they should be,” Veale says.

Pornography, in which male performers are often selected for their extremely large genitalia, may be partly to blame. Similarly, Herbenick points to the myriad spam e-mails that assert that 17.78 cm (7 inches) is average for an erection, when in reality such a member would place its owner in about the 98th percentile. It’s best to just ignore those ads in any case, Veale says. “There are no effective lotions or potions or pills.”

Posted in Biology

A belief that your penis is too small can cause you performance problems. In fact, according to research, size has no bearing on performance: Does underestimated penile size impact erectile function in healthy men?

Here’s what one forum member wrote about his member:

I’ve always been quite self conscious about my penis. Firstly – as I’ve said in a previous post – I’m circumcised and from a young age this has always just bothered me. In our country a lot of guys are not circumcised – so its not really the norm. Feeling different – almost like I’m some kind of freak.

Secondly – Ive had lots of anxiety over penis size. So much so that a few years ago (in the midst of my most hardcore part of my porn addiction) I started doing lots of research on Penis size… what is the average, what do women like, how do you naturally increase penis size, what pills are on the market etc etc etc. . . I even at one stage attempted to do some exercises that supposedly will naturally increase penis size. (It’s called Jelqing) Anyway , I never really had any major gains that I could notice – and I wasn’t really very dedicated…. Overall I just felt ridiculously small – and that no women would ever want me.

Now for a few other fun facts. When erect my penis clocks in at 16cm – which is 6.3 inches. Which is by no means pornstar huge. But what I have come to realize after 2 years of marriage and 30 days of rebooting – is that pornstar huge in real life isn’t nearly as desirable to women as we think it is .

I’ve also realized that with my average 6 inches – I really can satisfy my wife 100%. As a matter of fact – one of the main issues that we’ve had in our sex life is that in certain sex positions (some of my fav positions *sob*) – my penis would hit her cervix causing pain . So in a weird way – completely opposite to what I have believed for most of my life – if I actually had a inch shorter penis – it would actually allow me to thrust more wildly without having to hold back or worry about hurting her. (Don’t get me wrong – I’m def not wishing for a smaller penis – but just saying ) If I had say a 10 inch pornstar dick – sex with my wife would have been a absolute nightmare!!

The other truth is that most women have a vaginal canal ranging from between 3 – 7 inches (most of them being on the shallower depth end of the scale) … so if you had a 10 inch dick… you basically wouldn’t be able to fully penetrate the woman without causing her quite severe discomfort. . . and in real life most women don’t particularly enjoy a 10 inch penis slamming into their cervix over and over again.

All this being said – I’ve just again come to realize how porn has screwed up my way of thinking – and I really wish I could turn back time – and not have spent so much time worrying, researching , trying random exercises etc etc etc. My confidence in myself have definitely been tainted because of staring at freakishly huge pornstar penises for like 15 years (how could it not!).

Slowly but surely through my marriage (and the fact that my wife thinks my penis is huge Hahaha) and rebooting I’m managing to slowly get confidence again and not feel unnatural or like a freak. Porn really steals our manhood away – and gives us a false sense of what being a man is all about. (and what women want)

So yeah – if you’ve got similar confidence issues in size and so on as what I described above – take heart in the fact that in real life things are completely different to the porn fantasy world … and don’t beat yourself up about something that doesn’t really make a difference – and something you can inevitably do nothing about in any case . (I know its easier said than done – but well worth letting it go….)

Another interesting post:

 My wiener size is pretty average/not big and I’ve always been shy in the gym showers etc. When I was much younger it bothered me to the point of not wanting to go to school on gym days.

Now I do sports with friends and shower afterwards, and totally accept it. My thought pattern has gone from “they are gonna laugh at my small dick” to “penis size is not a hindrance to a good life” to “fuck it, I’m taking this for all my small dicked brothers”. A long step away from victimhood!

Not watching creepy sex empty of love with huge dicked freaks, I believe, is beneficial to acceptance of our bodies.

Another:

It’s no secret that the men in porn are abnormally large, and you’ll probably end up feeling insufficient and that you aren’t well enough endowed. I’m not starting the “does size matter?” debate, but I have felt way, way healthier about myself since I stopped watching porn months ago. I don’t even care man. No more of that stupid comparison stuff that I used to do. I could post links to all the surveys done about average size and all that, but chances are if you’re here, you’ve done that already. Without PMO, you won’t feel the need anymore because you’ll start loving yourself for who you are (cliche, but so true).


2019 research: Sociocultural Influences on Men’s Penis Size Perceptions and Decisions to Undergo Penile Augmentation: A Qualitative Study
2019 May 20. pii: sjz154. doi: 10.1093/asj/sjz154. [Epub ahead of print]

Background: An increasing number of men are dissatisfied with their penis size and are seeking cosmetic procedures to enhance their penis size. However, less is known about the social and cultural factors that influence men to consider these procedures.
Objectives: To investigate the sociocultural factors impacting on men’s attitudes toward their penis size and also their decisions to undergo penile augmentation. …
Results: Three main themes emerged from the interviews, namely “influence of pornography”, “comparison with peers” and “indirect appearance-related teasing”. The men noted that the large penises of male actors in pornography had skewed their perception of normal penis size. … [emphasis supplied]