PENIS ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
AVERAGE PENIS SIZE
Difficulty in researching average penis size:
Determining what the average penis size is seems like it shouldn’t be that complicated. It’s a physical body part, you measure it, and repeat hundreds of thousands of times around the world, then take an average. Unfortunately, arriving at an accurate idea of what is an average penis size, is more complicated. Some of the problems with figuring out average penis size include:
Is penis size considered to be the length, the girth, or both?
When measuring penis length, where do you start?
Is penis girth measured at the base of the penis, at the glans (head), or around the shaft?
Are the people measured in these studies representative of the general population?
Do all studies include measurements taken by others, or self-reported measurements (which are historically bigger than measurements reported by others)?
Different studies answer these questions differently, which makes arriving at a single average penis size almost impossible. Also, many researchers believe that those who are willing to participate in a study about penis size may have larger than average penises, which would also skew the results.
With all that in mind, here are some figures from different studies published in academic journals.
MEASURMENT OF AVERAGE PENIS SIZE IN RESEARCH:
The results from three studies of penis size where the measurements were taken in a laboratory setting give the following ranges:
Average penis length (flaccid/not erect): from 3.4 inches to 3.7 inches (8.6 cm to 9.3 cm)
Average penis length (erect): from 5.1 inches to 5.7 inches (12.9 cm to 14.5 cm)
Average penis girth (circumference when erect): from 3.5 inches to 3.9 inches (8.8 cm to 10 cm)
These numbers are obviously very different from the sizes we hear (and see) in adult movies, and even the kinds of numbers you read on line. Why such a difference?
Many, possibly most, statistics you read are not from legitimate research, but from marketing companies who want you to feel bad about your penis size (so you’ll buy their product).
Other important things to know about average penis size
There is much greater variation in size of flaccid (non-erect) penises than of penises when they are erect. A soft penis that looks large may be roughly the same size when erect as a soft penis that looks smaller.
Because most men see other penises when they are not erect it can appear as if there is a big difference, and men may be likely to assume their erect penis is much smaller when compared to others.
Male porn stars are often chosen specifically because they have larger than average penises. Also, there are a variety of techniques used to make penises look bigger on camera. Lighting, camera angle, and even shaving of pubic hair can all make things look bigger on camera.
PENIS ANATOMY:
MALE SEXUAL ANATOMY - Parts of the Penis
The penis is made up of spongy erectile tissue, which fills with blood when a man is turned on or aroused and usually becomes erect. Penises come in all sizes, and penis size in almost all cases has nothing to do with how a penis works or how well a penis works. There are several different parts to the penis, each of which has some impact on feeling sexual arousal and pleasure.
PENIS SHAFT:
The shaft of the penis is the part that extends out of the body to the tip of the penis. When flaccid (no erect) the skin on the shaft of the penis will be loose and stretchy. While many people think that the shaft of the penis is not as sensitive as the head, some men have areas on the shaft that are highly sensitive.
GLANS PENIS:
The head of the penis is called the glans, and at the tip is the urethral opening (where both urine and semen come out).
The glans is a highly sensitive area, with many nerve endings. The glans is often considered to be similar in function to the clitoris in the woman, and the tissue that the glans develops out of is the same tissue that the clitoris develops from.
FRENULUM:
The frenulum is the indentation on the underside of the penis where the glans meets the shaft. For most men the frenulum is an area of great sensitivity. In some cases the frenulum can be short on a man, a condition called frenulum breve, which can cause sex play and intercourse to be painful.
FORESKIN:
Almost all men are born with a foreskin, which is the skin that covers the glans when the penis is flaccid. When the penis is erect, the foreskin retracts to just below the head. Men who are circumcised have had their foreskins removed, so the glans is exposed at all times. There is tremendous debate about the practice of circumcision for religious, cultural, and medical purposes. There is also debate about the connection between circumcision and sexuality.
INSIDE THE PENIS:
Despite the countless slang terms for the penis (boner, rod, etc…) and men’s bravado about their sexual strength, the penis has no bones and no muscle in it. An erection happens as a result of stimulation and blood flow (and sometimes as a reflex). Inside the penis are three spongy tubes, two on top and one on the bottom. The bottom one also has the urethra running through it.
An erection happens when blood flows into the penis and fills the tissue making it firm. Erectile dysfunctions usually occur as a result of some problem with getting the blood to the penis, having enough of it flow in, or keeping the blood there.
Urethra
The urethra is the tube through which urine and semen pass to get out of the body. The urethra runs from the bladder to the tip of the penis. In the process of normal functioning there are certain passages that are blocked and others that open up to insure that semen flows out of the urethra and not into the bladder, however problems can happen which cause semen to not be expelled.
The urethra is also a source of sexual pleasure for some men. Some men like the feeling of stimulation right at the urethral opening (which is called meatus) and others will stimulate the urethra itself. Internal urethral stimulation can cause serious harm, and it should only be engaged in with a great deal of education and care.
FRENULUM BREVE
Definition:
This is a condition where the frenulum is short and it makes movement of the foreskin, and erection, difficult and sometimes painful. It can make sexual activity painful leading to a diagnosis of dyspareunia. It is also possible that the frenulum can tear during sexual activity as a result of frenulum breve.
Frenulum breve can be caused by small “malformations” from birth or chronic infections.
Typically treatment has been surgical, including circumcision. A 1996 Polish study reported favorably on the use of laser surgery for frenulum breve.
SEX AND CIRCUMCISSION:
The imapact of circumcision on sexual behavior, pleasure, and research::
Most men don’t talk much about the sexual impact of circumcision. Because the majority of men who are circumcised had the procedure done prior to having sexual experiences, they don’t have a point of comparison when the question of how circumcision impacts sex is raised. Women who have sex with men probably talk about it a bit more, often comparing their experiences between circumcised and uncircumcised men, and talking about aesthetic preferences. But there is still a great deal of controversy, and not nearly enough research, on the actual impact of circumcision on both sexual behavior and more broadly on sexuality. In fact the question “does circumcision impact sexuality” can really be broken down into several more specific questions.
Does circumcision impact physical sexual sensitivity?
There is general agreement that physical sexual sensitivity is altered as a result of circumcision.
By definition, circumcision is the cutting away of the foreskin, a part of the body that is rich with nerve endings. Circumcision has an impact on the physical structure of the penis, and a corresponding impact on penile sensation.
Does circumcision impact the experience of sexual pleasure and/or sexual satisfaction?
These are, of course, two different questions. And both are different from the question of sensitivity. Sexual satisfaction and pleasure are related to sexual sensitivity, but they are much more complicated than the number of intact nerve endings we have.
Read more about the impact of circumcision on the experience of sexual pleasure and/or sexual satisfaction.
Does circumcision impact sexual behavior?
Because sexual behaviors naturally change over time it is near impossible to say for sure that circumcision is the reason for someone engaging in a specific kind of sexual behavior. In fact there has only been one study that has examined the self-reported sexual behaviors of circumcised and uncircumcised men.
It’s important to remember that from a sexual quality of life perspective one penis is not better than the other. The human body is capable of unimaginable pleasure, and when we think so narrowly as to say, if you’re missing this piece of skin your sex life isn’t as good, we’re doing ourselves (and our bodies) a great disservice.
Whats wrong with research on circumcision and sexuality?
It’s hard to know what research to trust when it comes to circumcision and sexuality. Most studies begin with a premise that is clearly pro or anti-circumcision, and the results tend to do little more than confirm the original hypotheses. If you’re interested in learning more about the sexual impact of circumcision, consider some of these problems that can be found in much of the research in this area:
Most of the anti-circumcision research suffers from a bias both in the interpretation of data and in data collection. For example, in one survey, participants who were meant to be representative were recruited from an anti-circumcision organization.
Studies of men who are circumcised as adults are complicated by the fact that these men are usually being circumcised for a medical reason, and therefore the circumcision may be alleviating a form of sexual pain.
As such we would expect that sexual pleasure be increased after circumcision, despite the possible reduction in sexual sensitivity.
Researchers often use words like “sexual sensitivity” and “sexual pleasure” interchangeably, and don’t provide their definitions for these terms, raising questions such as:
Does sensitivity mean the number of nerve endings in a penis?
Does it mean how the penis responds to being pinched or poked with a needle?
Does it mean how much the man says he feels during sex?
From one study to the next these terms are used and not defined, making it difficult to piece studies together
Almost all of this research is correlational, and isn’t able to imply causality. Researchers may find that circumcised men experience sexuality differently than uncircumcised men, but they have no way of knowing whether it is the circumcision that is the cause of this difference.
Because the research is correlational, it is left to the authors to “explain” their findings. These explanations usually fit their original positions. A great example of how personal bias can impact the explanation of research findings can be found in a large study of the sexual behavior of circumcised versus uncircumcised men.
The study, which analyzed data from a huge national probability sample in the U.S., found that men who were circumcised reported engaging more frequently in oral sex and anal sex than men who were not circumcised. These findings were more significant for white men than African American or Latino men.
The authors of the study proposed that because the findings were tied to ethnicity and race, it was unlikely that the finding is only related to the physical difference of circumcision, rather it is probably related to social and psychological forces as well.
Yet in a different study, these same results were interpreted as proof that circumcised men require more stimulation (which they say is what both oral and anal sex provided).
Both theories need to be seriously questioned.
One review study correlated circumcision with everything from reduced sexual satisfaction, to increased violent feelings towards women, to addiction to low self-esteem. Another study claimed that feelings of inferiority are almost “universal” in the “self-selected” circumcised participants.
In another study, of 150 men between the ages of 15 and 40 who were circumcised as adults 74% of the men had no change in their libidos, and only 18% of men reported a reduction in penile sensation.
With such conflicting results, one has to wonder about how careful these researchers are being in both their data collection and analysis, and simply wonder if they are measuring what they think they’re measuring. It also raises the possibility that there are no meaningful generalizations to be made about the impact of circumcision on sexuality.
Whatever the case, such confusing data should make anyone think twice before taking “expert advice” as the final word on this subject.
