Penis Size - Are YOU Man Enough?

So, if you wish to know how big your penis is - just for comparison's sake, of course! - how will you go about measuring it?

First of all, you will wish to be at your maximum size when you measure the length and girth of your penis. In formal research studies, there are several ways of ensuring this - artificially induced erections, for example. One approach that is sometimes used is to measure the stretched flaccid length. However, stretched flaccid penile length is a very bad predictor of the size of man's erection, and the reliable way to measure an erection is to lay a measuring tape along the top surface of the penis. Unfortunately, asking a man to measure his own dick is notoriously unreliable, and few studies based on self-reporting really tell us much about what size the average penis actually is.

If you would like to measure your penis and you're not going to exaggerate to impress your girlfriend here's how to do it. The length of your penis is simply from the tip to the base, along the top side of your penis, pressing slightly into your pubic fat. Measuring along the underside is less reliable and gives more scope for error. Penile circumference - which is the same as girth - is measured around the thickest part of the penile shaft.

Unfortunately, any studies which rely on men to measure their own organs are somewhat unreliable - and in any case, those men with smaller penises may well be less likely to measure them accurately.

We know that studies which rely on self-measurement almost always show the average penis size to be longer and thicker than those where measurement is conducted by independent person - i.e. not the man attached to the penis being measured! A study in the September 1996 Journal of Urology reported that average erect length was just over five inches - 5.1 to be exact. And a study in the December 2000 International Journal of Impotence Research reported that average erect penile length was slightly longer, at 13.6 cm (5.35 in).

A well-known study by LifeStyles Condoms in the year 2001 found that the average length of the penis was 5.9 inches. These figures are more honest than self-measurement surveys where averages are consistently over 6 inches. Similar data are revealed in information about the circumference of the erect penis. Once again, studies from self-measurement data report thicker sized penises than those where staff have measured the penis. The LifeStyles Condoms survey showed that the average circumference was one tenth of an inch less than 12.6 cm (5.0 in).

As we all know, the flaccid length of a man's dick is not a sign of the erect length. The more diminutive organs will grow proportionately more when they develop an erection, and the increase in size between men varies widely. A smaller-than-average flaccid penis can grow by as much as five times its resting volume, while a large flaccid penis may only become stiff on erection, with no increase in size whatsoever.

The September 1996 Journal of Urology showed that average soft length was 8.8 cm (3.5 inches). But of course penis size depends on the temperature at which the measurement takes place. It's hardly surprising to hear that many men (45%, by all accounts) wish they had a larger penis. Even men who think think their penis is average in size want a bigger one! Clearly feeling like a powerful man seems to mean having a large penis. There is a major self-esteem issue around penis size, for we know that men think a bigger penis is more masculine or desirable to women.

Another fascinating fact: homosexual men apparently have bigger penises than straight men. Gay men measure in at 6.32 inches erect while straight men are 5.99 inches in length, according to over 5000 measurements of penises in the Kinsey Report. The straight erect penis circumference is 4.80 inches, compared to 4.95 inches for gay men. Now - why? Do gay men really have bigger cocks?

All these measurements were taken by the men themselves so they may not be reliable. And it seems gay men's self-esteem depends on their perception of their penis size. For many gay men, their penis size represents their sense of self as a man. Of course, we all tend to think we are smaller than we are, because we don't get a true view of our penis when we look at it from above: foreshortens it.

Needless to say, there are other studies which have tried to establish connections between penis size and race. There is interesting research which suggest black men have an erection which is on average about half an inch longer than white men, while Oriental men seem to be cheated in the penis size department - their erections are half an inch shorter on average than whites (though there is also evidence that this fits with the Asian women's smaller pussy).

More interesting to most men, perhaps, is what women think of penis size. Do women select sexual partners on the basis of penis size? It seems unlikely. There are a few women who are aroused by large dicks, but most women look for a sexual partner who is kind, has a sense of humor, and will make a reliable father. In fact, research shows penis size is important for a small number of of women, and many hate large penises. Having said that, Women's Health magazine found that women seem to prefer a wider penis than a long one.

Nonetheless, if you are a man with a small penis, you won't suffer a life without sex. All the men we spoke to in our research on penis size with a small penis - and that means men with an erection less than four inches long - had a partner and enjoyed sex with her, or him if they were gay.

The author is publisher for All about the penis. You can find more information on the penis at The Penis Website. Both are excellent penis related websites.

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