How important is penis size, anyway?
If pop culture is anything to go by, penis size is really important. And if you believe what you watch, read or listen to, then bigger is always better.
But that's not the case in real life, as Briton David Minns discovered.
He created an app, called Dinky One, that caters to men with smaller than average penises.
"The main ethos behind the app is to make an environment that is easier online than it would be in the real world," David told Hack.
"If there are guys that have body images issues and are self-conscious then they can get that out in the open, be upfront about it."
As soon as it launched last month, the app was a hit.
"In the first 48 hours we had in the order of 27,000 people that joined. At its peak it was one every five seconds."
It wasn't just men who signed up, either.
"The ratios are 25 per cent female, 73 per cent male and 2 per cent transgender. Twenty per cent of those males are gay or bisexual," David explained.
How important is penis size really?
According to Dr Ryan Anderson from James Cook University, penis size is pretty important. But not in the way you might suspect.
"Men are always sizing each other up. Be it in the locker room or the gym or the boardroom. You know, we need to outcompete our rivals," Dr Anderson told Hack.
Dr Anderson said penises have been more than just a sex organ throughout much of history.
"[They're used] to convey masculinity, virility, power, dominance. The penis itself is wrapped up in male ego."
Because of the societal expectations wrapped up with penis size, women are much better at gauging what's average and what's not.
"A lot of men will think they're far below average in terms of size. In actual fact the average is much lower than what men would imagine," Dr Anderson said.
The average non-erect penis is 9.1 centimetres, or 3.6 inches, long.
So where did the big dick myth come from?
David said a lack of privacy means boys and men are confronted with a range of penises through their lives.
"When you're in high school, change rooms are very communal. You get that locker room attitude from a very young age. It's always around, from the gym and even toilets, all the men are standing next to each other," he said.
Pornography can also skew men's perceptions of what's normal or expected.
"The casting for male porn stars is way over the average," David explained.
All this pressure to have the perfect penis overlooks the fact that there are some people who prefer smaller sizes.
"One thing we do know from empirical research is that girth is more important than length [to heterosexual women]," Dr Anderson explained.
Though that research may be skewed depending on your sexuality.
"Through my own anecdotal experience, I would imagine homosexual men would regard size as more important factor and would place more emphasis than heterosexual women."
David said a lot of heterosexual women are excited by his dating platform.
"Some ladies can find it uncomfortable and prefer a smaller size. Ladies are hoping anyway that the smaller guy may be more intimate and caring, will try harder and be more involved in foreplay instead of saying, look at the size of me, that's my job done."
Comments
Post a Comment