The Penis FAQ

by Suziegirl

Alright, this is it, the ultimate answer to the ultimate question. Everything you ever needed to know about penises and penis size - or almost everything. This is the question that comes up more than any other in the Sex and Affection forum at totse, and I'm so sick of answering it, that I decided to write this, the penis FAQ.

First of all, let's get the basic statistics out of the way, and see if we can define the average penis.

Alfred Kinsey clinical penis size survey results: In his legendary studies on all aspects of sex, Alfred Kinsey measured college males to determine what was indeed the "average" penis size. All length measurements were taken when the penises were erect, along the top of the penis, from the point where the top of the penile shaft meets the pubic area (the peno-pubic junction) to the tip. For uncircumcised men the foreskin was retracted. All girth measurements were taken from around the middle of the penis.

Kinsey's results put the average penis size at 6 inches, with 23.9% of men falling into this category. 3.75" was the lowest end of the scale, while 0.1% of their respondents fell in the whopping 9 inch category. Kinsey's girth measurement average was 4.75 inches, with the majority of men clustered around 4.5 to 5 inches in circumference. Skinniest penises were 1.5 inches around, biggest were 6.75". According to A Descriptive Dictionary and Atlas of Sexology (Francoeur et al., 1991), the human penis in a flaccid state on average is between 3 and 4 inches in length and 1 inch in diameter. In an erect state, the penis, on average, is between 5 to 7 inches in length and 1.5 inches in diameter.

Those are just a couple of examples, but every study I looked into basically listed the average penis as somewhere between 5.5 and 6.5 inches in length, with a girth between 4.5 and 5 inches in circumference. I found various online "penis size" surveys, including http://www.4-penissize.com/survey.html and http://www.afraidtoask.com.

Interestingly, the latter site lists average penis size by age group, stating that penis size during adolesence depends on the level of sexual maturity of the subject, thus the higher age groups had a steadily increasing average size. (Good news for those 14 year olds who ask about this question a lot). Afraid to ask also has a handy "measuring guide" and calculation sheet for those of you who want to make sure your penis is measured exactly correctly.

Now the really important factor most guys want to know, is how penis factor affects their ability as a lover, identity as a man, etc etc. And the answer is? Depends on the girl more than anything, but in all honesty, almost EVERY other factor in sex, such as sensitivity, energy and adventurousness matter way more than the physical dimensions of your penis. Unless you're planning to become a porn star, I really wouldn't worry about it. Worry about the things you can control, learn to be a good lover by listening to your partner, by experimenting, by asking questions of anyone you think might know the answer. Chances are, even if you fall on the lower end of the scale, to 90% of girls, skill matters more than size. And just for the record, larger penises aren't all they're cracked up to be, many over-endowed guys have problems finding girls who can handle the amount of pain involved in having something the size of a couple of coke cans shoved up them.

Another question that I'm asked fairly frequently is about other penis variations, such as curve or circumcision. In researching the penis size question, and in my own experience, penises that curve in pretty much every direction are fairly common, roughly half of guys have a non-straight penis that tends to point in a differing direction from straight ahead. Does it matter? No, not really, unless you're so curved that you are physically unable to have sex, stop worrying!

Circumcision, cut or uncut, does it make a difference? Do girls prefer one or the other? There are only two comments really necessary here. One, an uncircumcised penis is just as hygenic as a circumcised one - providing that you clean yourself regularly - and let's face it, that's necessary regardless of your foreskin situation. The other comment I have to make, is that in my experience, the major difference between the two is that a circumcised penis tends to be less sensitive around the head area - one presumes because without foreskin, that area becomes slightly desensitized from rubbing against clothes etc during daily life. The only real difference this makes is that when being given oral sex, the person doing the deed may have to concentrate on a slightly different technique or different areas. It has no bearing on the amount of time a man can have intercourse for without orgasm.

The last question I want to address here is about penis enlargement. There are various methods I've seen advertised over the years, from exercises, to pills, machines, and surgery. As far as I am aware, the only truly successful method of permanent size increase is through surgery. According to this site - http://www.2020tech.com/mensurg/about.html in the case of the lengthening procedure, the usual increase in penile length is 1-2 inches. For the widening procedure, the usual increase in penile width is 1.5-3 inches. I would treat all other methods with skepticism. The question remains is if it's really worth going into something like that too. I'd suggest that unless you fall on the extreme lower end of the penis size scale you avoid surgery, and possibly spend your money on therapy instead. Probably cheaper and less painful in the long run, and pointless surgery is never a very good idea.