June 02, 2007

"Men Worry More About Penile Size Than Women"

At first, Crabby was just going to mention this penis study in passing, to file under Department of the Obvious, along with this one, "Heavy-Drinking College Kids Make Worse Decisions."

But there were too many interesting findings in the study not to share just a bit more. (Actually, it wasn't a study but a review of a bunch of previous studies. Do we really care?)

The lead guy, Dr. Kevan Wylie (penis size unspecified), concluded: "While men often have a better body image, genital image and sexual confidence if they have a large penis, women don't necessarily feel that bigger is better."

That women "don't necessarily" feel bigger is better seems hardly controversial, yet this idea often appears to come as a huge surprise to men.

Some highlights:

Average erect penises ranged from 5.5 to 6.2 inches in length and 4.7 to 5.1 inches in girth. (Small quibble: isn't an "average" a number, not a range?)

Ninety per cent of women prefer a wide penis to a long one.

Two thirds of men said their penis was average sized. However, 22 per cent said "large" and 12 per cent said "small." (Hmm).

Eighty five per cent of women were satisfied with their partner's penile size, but only fifty five per cent of men were satisfied.

"Small penis syndrome" is much more common in men with normal sized organs than those with "a small micropenis with a flaccid length of less than 2.7 inches." (Hmm again).

Gay guys had larger thingies than straight ones.

Korean guys probably don't want to read the part about racial differences.

Crabby is trying very hard to explain how this study is "health and fitness related," other than she found it filed that way, but she trusts her readers don't care all that much.

There's always room for a good wiener study.

Weigh in about anything below, relevant or not. (Relevant might be fun, but don't let the topic scare you off. (Give you the willies?). It's also great when folks just stop in to say hi over the weekend, with absolutely nothing Penis-related to report.

29 comments:

  1. Most interesting post,Crabby. My only contribution is many years ago a one-time friend suggested that penis envy is only experienced by men.

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  2. Leave it men to have body image issues with the one part of their body that remains invisible to 99.9% of the rest of the world!! Terrie

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  3. "At first, Crabby was just going to mention this penis study in passing, to file under Department of the Obvious, along with this one, "Heavy-Drinking College Kids Make Worse Decisions.""

    Ha ha ha. Great morning laugh. I love it.

    My son is already obsessed - he's six. He thinks anyone important has a penis and refuses to believe me when I repeatedly tell him, "No, again, I don't have one -- girl's don't" to which he looks shocked and shakes his head like I've gone loony.

    AND...Gay guys huh? Did I ever mention how much I might like gay guys ;)

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  4. "Eighty five per cent of women were satisfied with their partner's penile size, but only fifty five per cent of men were satisfied."

    Wait, fifty five percent of men were satisfied with their partners' penis size or their own? Sorry, was confused.

    Oh, and just to add a male perspective here. Yes, there is actually a lot of pressure here, social and otherwise. Trying to explain it is a bit difficult. Then again, you women are pretty confusing at times too :)

    Gal

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  5. Hah. And you can bet the study was conducted by men, eh? Because no woman in her right mind would immerse herself in a sea of penile information as if it were going to make a difference to the world. We can't cure cancer or diabetes, we can't keep drugs off the streets or marriages in tact, but we can sure as hell invent a little blue pill that will keep a dick hard. It's a messed up world we live in.

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  6. You've obviously got far to much time on your hands,Crabby, if you're researching male appendages. What we need is a forthright and challenging post on the correct length of the most satisfying donut!

    Personally, I think it's all in the filling!

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  7. It's not the meat, it's the motion. Was ever truer sexual aphorism coined? The report is correct that gay men are more hung. Trust me. The average there would be more like 6 to 7 inches. Of course, gay men with an above-average endowment tend to be popular for no other reason, because aphorisms aside, many gay men (by no means all) are size queens.

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  8. Ninety per cent of women prefer a wide penis to a long one.

    Well, duh. After watching Boogie Nights I mentioned to a guy that super long porn penises were only there to get straight men excited, not women. He didn't seem to want to believe that. If only I had this study to bolster my argument.

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  9. It is no wonder why I am always so attracted to gay guys. I thought is was their sensitive nature, but now that I know this, maybe I am subliminally attracted to something else.
    It is interesting, men often associate their penis with "masculinity" or even with their "straightness". I am sure that even some straight men assume gay men have something wrong with their junk (usually homophobic guys I would guess). Aw contrare mon frare! It is the opposite.
    Personally speaking, penis size really doesn't matter. As a matter of fact, I could take them or leave them. Penis size, or having a penis at all doesn't constitute good sex.

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  10. Hi all--Now aren't you newcomers glad you found Cranky Fitness? It's such a classy site.

    Hi Leah--great quote!

    Hi Terrie!
    This one has always been a mystery to me, but as Gal says a little further down, we have our own little quirks too, I suppose.

    Jennifer--Thanks! And I love it that your son doesn't quite believe you on the penis issue! He must think you're hiding yours.

    Hi Gal (60 in 30)
    You're right, that phrasing is a bit ambiguous.

    And you are a brave man to comment on a Penis post. I suspect only the men most Secure in their Masculinity would show up in the Comments section today.

    Hi In Between!
    Good point! And I gotta say, those little blue pill ads drive me crazy. For one, I suspect most long-married women would be just as happy without hubby popping those pills, but in the commercials they always look so ecstatic about it.

    Hi Dawn!
    Yes, more donut size research would be money well spent. Though I wonder if donuts are like penises in that the width might ultimately be the more meaningful measure.

    Appleton,
    Hooray, a report from the trenches! It's interesting that gay men care more about the equipment size of prospective partners than straight women apparently do. And of course good to hear observational confirmation of the studies conclusions about relative hungness. Hungnitude?

    Peggy--that's pretty funny! I remember getting a kick out of Boogie Nights but finding the actual appendage rather icky looking. Or did they even show it? I could be making that up.

    Samantha,
    "It is no wonder why I am always so attracted to gay guys. I thought it was their sensitive nature..." Very funny!

    All of you, if fact, are totally cracking me up. I was afraid there'd be no comments on this one.

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  11. It's not the size of the ship, it's the motion of the ocean.

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  12. I have nothing penis-related to report, except that I took pictures of Our Nation's Giant Phallus today during DC's Race for the Cure. How's that grab you?

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  13. Wow, although most people may find this hard to believe, it doesn't bother me. I happy with the status quo, not that it's something I'd talk about in a casual conversation ...

    Sheesh, this has got to be one of the weirdest posts I've seen, and funny.

    Sorry, Crabby. I still plan to make the rounds, but I've been out sick for awhile - spent a week in the hospital and the rest of the time recovering at my parents' house. Still have a little pain too, like when I get some activity (which I need, of course) or when I sit in this chair to type.

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  14. Greetings Spidey! I love slogans that rhyme, even if they're about a crude subject. Actually, even more if they're about a crude subject. Beans, beans, the musical fruit, the more you eat...

    SmartCookie,
    National Phalluses? Phalli?--they totally count. I'll be over to check out the shot--you've always got great pictures.

    Welcome back, Michael!
    Another secure male, hooray.

    So sorry to hear you were ill! Hope you're feeling better soon.

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  15. Oh, I wouldn't say I'm all that secure ... that's about the only thing that doesn't bother me. Everything else scares me witless!

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  16. Men are obsessed with penis size, like women about being skinny. Most men don't like really skinny women, and can't understand why we obsess. Most women don't think size matters, and just want guys to get over it.

    Yet neither listens to the other.

    I dunno, maybe we should try just talking to each other?

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  17. Adrienne,
    Talk?!?! What a crazy concept!

    Crabby
    Of course I'm secure. Who wouldn't be secure with 12"... (Sorry, couldn't resist)

    Gal

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  18. Men and their "hungitude" is probably equivalent to women and breast size. In both sexes, many are sensibly content with the dimensions that nature endowed them with. I automatically regard favorably those actresses (Debra Messing, Tea Leoni, etc. etc.) who haven't felt the need to artifically augment their bodies. And of course porn stars who are excessively hung are freaks.

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  19. I wanna know what the said about the Koreans! :)

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  20. "Average erect penises ranged from 5.5 to 6.2 inches in length and 4.7 to 5.1 inches in girth. (Small quibble: isn't an "average" a number, not a range?)"

    Average is normally a number, but giving you a range gives you more of an idea of how much variation there is. They're likely to be quoting the mean + one standard deviation and the mean - one standard deviation or something similar. Much more informative than just a number!

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  21. More Penis People, Yay!

    Michael--ha, I can totally relate, being scared witless myself by many things that others barely notice.

    Adrienne and Gal,
    I think you two may be seriously onto something here--communication, what a concept.

    Appleton, more good points, and well said too! I wonder if men would get silicon implants to "enhance" their anatomy if that were possible--I suspect many would. Yuck.

    Sera-not much more information in the article, though the underlying study might say more. Crabby was too lazy to try to dig up the actual urology journal publication. But if it's a matter of personal interest, the info is probably out there somewhere!

    Kadia,
    What a scholarly response to a classless Penis Post! You're probably right about the standard deviation; that would make more sense than just setting an arbitrary range around the mean, which is what Crabby mistakenly thought they might be doing.

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  22. Its no secret that most men are insecure about their penis, but no one so far has suggested why. Here's a suggestion:
    Males are naturally solitary, so most of their contact with the same sex consists of competition- trying to prove themselves the bigger, badder Alpha Male. Penises are the most glaringly obvious difference between men and women, often being considered the sole criteria for manhood- you are male if and only if you have a penis. Furthermore, being an external appendage (as opposed to an orifice like a vagina), size becomes an obvious way to compete with other men.
    Being men, it rarely occurs to us (yes, I'm male) that women have little reason to care.

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  23. hi Julian,
    Actually, I think your theory makes a lot of sense! It's so interesting the way we're living in the 21st century but we still have caveman brains in a lot of ways. Thanks for stopping by!

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  24. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  25. First off I realize this is rather old, but then I'm rather bored.

    First off, I'd like to point out that while you can kind of compare how guys feel about penis size to how women feel about breast sizae but tell me, has ever a man wanted his to be SMALLER? Because with breast size you definitely find women who feel self concious or bad because they think their boobs are too large. (myself included). And everyone can notice boobs (or lack there of) under clothes. So it's still different than the penis thing, I think.

    But then what do I know since as I once commented before, I'm a lesbian (wow, I am really bored)so I've always been baffled by this sort of thing. I mean ridiculous legnths seems so unnessacry and a bit impossible too. ANd then I think gee, as a lesbian should I be worried I have short fingers?

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  26. Hi Meg!
    Sorry it took me a while to get back "down here." I was off a couple days for 4th of july.

    Good point about boob size--while some women fixate on it, a lot of women just want something comfortable and practical!

    Thanks for visiting--any time you find yourself bored and in need of silly health and fitness info, you're always welcome at Cranky Fitness!

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  27. As a woman who wasn't polled, I'd like to add my two cents.
    Penis size does matter, but not the way guys think. Anyone who thinks there's no such thing as "too small" definitely didn't have sex with a certain guy in my high school. That said, there's definitely such a thing as Too Big. Girth is more important than length- cervix stabbing= unfun. Give me a nice looking average penis and I'm happy.

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  28. I just found this via your new random blog post from the past and oh my god I am so sorry I missed it the first time. Too funny!

    I once had an arrogant asshat tell me (a large breasted chunky beautiful woman) that he would never date a big woman that had breasts smaller than a DD because it looks out of proportion. Unrealistic, yes but that's not the best part. When I told him what I thought about that remark, he responded, well I have an 11 inch c*ck so I can be as choosy as I want.

    So, as old as this post is, I felt like sharing that. Hopefully make you laugh 'cause lord knows I do every time I think of that one.

    (no I did not go out with him!)

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  29. April: what a dick, in every sense of the word!

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