Dear Men,
Stop worrying about your penis size.
Love,
Science.
When it comes to body image issues for men, guess what's at the top of the list.
Yup, it's penis size. With height and weight coming in close behind.
A new study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine found that thirty percent of men madly worry about their penis size; thirty five percent are happy, and the rest fall somewhere in-between.
Men who are older, gay, or bi, are more likely to be worried.
The scientists at Kings College, London, quantified penis anxiety with the help of a questionnaire called the BAPS, or Beliefs About Penis Size Scale.
Participants were given statements like 'I will be laughed at by a partner in a sexual situation.'…
…or 'I'll never feel just right.'…
…or 'I won't be able to be naked in front of other men.'…
…then they were asked to rate the statements from 1-5; strongly disagree to strongly agree.
The big takeaway from the results is that someone's penis anxiety has nothing to do with how big their penis actually is.
Plenty of guys who have penises below the average of 5½ inches — when erect, in case you were wondering — were totally happy and confident; while plenty of others well above the average were very insecure.
The most surprising outcome (for me) was the number of men who agreed that they were worried someone would be able to tell the size and shape of their penis — with their pants on!
Evidently, the anxiety goes way beyond sexual encounters and bleeds into everyday life. It's sort of alarming how common penis anxiety is, and just how deep the anxiety goes.
Amusingly, many of the men who have high anxiety were teased in the showers as young adults, or by a former partner.
So, are the sexual partners of these men as concerned as they are? The data's mixed, and also largely hetero.
One study found that women who are more likely to orgasm from the internal clitoris — otherwise known as a vaginal or G-spot orgasm — expressed more interest in their partner's penis size. But, even then, it still wasn't much concern. After 2.99 inches of flaccid penis, women cease to be impressed with any additional length. And that's good news because 3 inches flaccid is below the average.
Other studies found that it's the height-to-penis ratio that matters most, and not the length of the penis itself.
All this size business isn't actually about pleasure anyway. Seriously, a big penis is not a requirement for great sex. Essentially, to the best of my knowledge, vaginas and anuses are only sensitive in the first two to three inches. And people of all penis sizes all around the world have great sex. Even lesbians have great sex, and there's not even a penis in the vicinity. So, what's the deal?
For the most part, small penises aren't considered a "problem" because they can't pleasure their partner, they are a problem because they're not masculine, lol.
Small penis equals not masculine, equals not a real man, which equals not good enough. So no wonder their self-esteem is shot and they're plagued with anxiety, those poor freaking babes.
So lemme know your thoughts down below; have you ever worried about your penis size? If you don't have a penis, have you ever worried about your vagina size? Lemme know.
Stop worrying about your penis size.
Love,
Science.
When it comes to body image issues for men, guess what's at the top of the list.
Yup, it's penis size. With height and weight coming in close behind.
A new study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine found that thirty percent of men madly worry about their penis size; thirty five percent are happy, and the rest fall somewhere in-between.
Men who are older, gay, or bi, are more likely to be worried.
The scientists at Kings College, London, quantified penis anxiety with the help of a questionnaire called the BAPS, or Beliefs About Penis Size Scale.
Participants were given statements like 'I will be laughed at by a partner in a sexual situation.'…
…or 'I'll never feel just right.'…
…or 'I won't be able to be naked in front of other men.'…
…then they were asked to rate the statements from 1-5; strongly disagree to strongly agree.
The big takeaway from the results is that someone's penis anxiety has nothing to do with how big their penis actually is.
Plenty of guys who have penises below the average of 5½ inches — when erect, in case you were wondering — were totally happy and confident; while plenty of others well above the average were very insecure.
The most surprising outcome (for me) was the number of men who agreed that they were worried someone would be able to tell the size and shape of their penis — with their pants on!
Evidently, the anxiety goes way beyond sexual encounters and bleeds into everyday life. It's sort of alarming how common penis anxiety is, and just how deep the anxiety goes.
Amusingly, many of the men who have high anxiety were teased in the showers as young adults, or by a former partner.
So, are the sexual partners of these men as concerned as they are? The data's mixed, and also largely hetero.
One study found that women who are more likely to orgasm from the internal clitoris — otherwise known as a vaginal or G-spot orgasm — expressed more interest in their partner's penis size. But, even then, it still wasn't much concern. After 2.99 inches of flaccid penis, women cease to be impressed with any additional length. And that's good news because 3 inches flaccid is below the average.
Other studies found that it's the height-to-penis ratio that matters most, and not the length of the penis itself.
All this size business isn't actually about pleasure anyway. Seriously, a big penis is not a requirement for great sex. Essentially, to the best of my knowledge, vaginas and anuses are only sensitive in the first two to three inches. And people of all penis sizes all around the world have great sex. Even lesbians have great sex, and there's not even a penis in the vicinity. So, what's the deal?
For the most part, small penises aren't considered a "problem" because they can't pleasure their partner, they are a problem because they're not masculine, lol.
Small penis equals not masculine, equals not a real man, which equals not good enough. So no wonder their self-esteem is shot and they're plagued with anxiety, those poor freaking babes.
So lemme know your thoughts down below; have you ever worried about your penis size? If you don't have a penis, have you ever worried about your vagina size? Lemme know.
