Penis Size - How Do You Measure UP?

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

First, make sure your penis is at maximum size when you measure the length and girth of your penis. In scientific studies, there are several ways of ensuring this - artificially induced erections, for example. One approach that is sometimes used is to measure the stretched non-erect length. However, stretched non-erect penile length is a very poor predictor of erect length, and the best way to get the erect length is to lay a piece of string along the top surface of the penis. Unfortunately, asking a man to measure his own dick is notoriously prone to exaggeration, and few studies based on self-reporting really tell us much about how big the average cock 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. Penile length is simply from the tip to the base, along the upper surface of your penis, pressing slightly into your pubic area. Measuring the underside is not as reliable and gives more scope for variation. Penile circumference - also known as girth - is measured around the thickest part of the penile shaft.

Sad to say, any research which rely on men to measure their own organs are somewhat unreliable - and in any case, men with smaller penises may well be disposed to exaggerate their size.

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

A well-known study by LifeStyles Condoms during 2001 found that the average length of the white male penis was 5.9 inches. These figures are more honest than self-measurement surveys where men always seem to have a penis over six inches!. Similar data are revealed in reports of the circumference of the erect penis. Once again, studies from self-measurement data usually report thicker dimensions than those where staff have done the measuring. The LifeStyles Condoms survey revealed 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 penis 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 volume between men varies widely. A smaller-than-average flaccid penis can grow by as much as five times its flaccid volume, while a large soft penis may only become stiff on erection, with no increase in length 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 bigger penis. Even men who know think their penis is average in size want a bigger one! Clearly the idea of having a large penis makes men feel good. There is a major self-esteem issue around penis size, for most men think a bigger penis is more masculine or desirable to women.

Another fascinating fact: gay men seem to 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 men's dicks 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 cock size. For many gay men, penis size is a measure of masculinity. 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 connect between penis size and race. There is limited evidence on this subject 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 it seems that this fits with the Oriental women's smaller pussy).

More important is what women think of penis size. Do women select their partners on the basis of penis size? It seems unlikely. One suspects that while there may be a few women who are highly interested in large dicks, but most women are happy to settle for a relationship partner who is kind, has a sense of humor, and will make a reliable father. Indeed,, research shows penis size is important for a minority of women, and many actively dislike 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 emailed 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 writer for Male sexuality and the penis. You can find more articles about the penis and male sexuality at The Penis Website. Both are excellent penis related websites.

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