Myths About the Penis Enlargement

A fair few male anxieties stem from just a handful of common myths about the penis - mainly relating to penis size and the importance of that attribute to the opposite sex. Below, I've dealt with 8 of the most common myths surrounding the penis, as well as the subject of penis enlargement - all as impartially as possible.

1. The average penis measures how much - 8 inches!?

A certain Doctor Krause concluded in the late Nineteenth century that the average erect penis measured approximately 8 1/4 inches in length; and as a consequence men have been trying to desperately enlarge theirs ever since. It's a myth purveyed by many a penis enlargement site who swear blind that less than 7 inches should make you the star exhibit at the local freak show.

In reality, properly conducted medical studies show that the average erect penis measures somewhere between five and six inches in length and around five inches in girth. Well over half the male population fall into this range. If you draw a graph of penis sizes based on one of these scientific studies they draw an almost perfect bell curve - with only about 20 percent of men being smaller than 5 inches and another 20 percent being over 6.5 inches.

How do you measure? Place a ruler along the top of your erect penis, pressing lightly into the pubic skin at the base. You'll get the most accurate reading if you hold your penis horizontal with the floor.

2. Women like 'em bigger

Not according to a recent study conducted by the University of California. Out of 50,000 respondents to a 'body image' questionnaire, researchers found that the majority of women - a massive 85 percent - were 'very satisfied' with the size of their partners penis.

It is true that there are fair few size queens out there - one Internet based study found that 9 percent of women considered the ideal penis to measure between 7 - 8 inches, whilst another 2 percent said weren't happy unless their partner's penis was large enough to knock kittens out of trees - quoting 10 - 12 inches as the ideal size. But there seems to be method to the madness - about the same percentage of men are blessed with oversized appendages to satisfy this 10 percent of women - nature is indeed a wonderful thing.

So if you're between 5 - 6 inches in length, around 90 percent of women won't consider you genitally challenged.

3. If you've got a small penis you're less of a man

Don't tell that to the Silverback Gorilla who stands 1.7 metres tall and weighs around 180 kg - he's got a tiny erect penis of around 4 cm (1.5 inches) in length. Calling him maggot dick is undoubtedly a bad idea - like the Hulk, you probably wouldn't like him when he's angry and he'd make short work of even the most masculine or men.

Different (human) cultures do of course attach varying degrees of important to the size of the male genitalia. The ancient Greeks liked them small for example, whilst certain African cultures consider anything less than a grandfather clock pendulum to be inadequate. But needless to say, penis size is not a genetic marker of your level of masculinity.

4. A bigger penis makes you a better lover

Penis length is the least important thing when it comes to giving pleasure during vaginal sex. Even when sexually aroused, the average vagina only elongates to about 4 inches - so that's all your technically need. What's more, the majority of the pleasure sensing nerves are found within the first few inches of the vagina - so in fact a thicker penis is far more important than length when it comes to stimulating the fairer sex.

5. Size doesn't matter

This may not be a myth but more a matter of opinion. As I pointed out above, having an average sized penis is something most women seem to be pretty content with.

But if you penis size causes you to suffer any degree of concern or anxiety, then of course it does matter.

If your anxieties are based on misconceptions about what's average or what women are looking for, hopefully some of the points above will put your mind at ease. But there's no doubt that it's not always about women and sex - men by their nature attribute a great deal of their self belief, confidence and worth to the size of their dicks as well. So maybe size does matter - just more to us blokes than it does to women.

From a medical perspective, a micro-penis is defined as an adult penis measuring less than 4cm flaccid and 7 cm erect - this is the point at which the doctor would agree that size matters.

6. Penis enlargement surgery is the easiest way to increase penis size.

Sorry...not only does surgery tend to produce limited gains, but achieving those gains requires a great deal of patient motivation post-operatively. A gain of an inch in flaccid penis length is generally considered a success, whilst erect gains tend to be even less.

What's more, those gains don't just appear overnight - they're gradually achieved through the use of a penile traction device. Generally, penile traction needs to be applied for 8 hours per day, everyday until the healing process is complete. One well known surgeon who specialises in penis enlargement surgery once summed up the importance of sticking to the minimum 8 hours a day traction routine when he said "if a patient told me that they used traction for 7 hours a day, I'd say that they've just wasted 7 hours".

7. Penis pills and patches work

Erm...sorry again if you were under any illusions - penis pills won't provide any form of permanent penile enlargement. The better quality supplements may well promote a temporary size increase due to their penile blood boosting effects, but these effects are dependent on continued use. They can have their benefits, but being a stand alone method of permanent and effective penis enlargement isn't one of them.

8. The penis can't be enlarged through non-surgical means

Last but certainly not least, the old 'Can you, can't you?' debate about the feasibility of alternative penis enlargement techniques. The medical community until quite recently has categorically dismissed the effectiveness of any form of non-surgical method. However, this resolute position is steadily losing its ground with the release of some interesting medical research. An Italian study published in the British Journal of Urology in 2008 for example recorded average penis length increases of 0.9 inches in patients who'd undergone six months treatment with a penile extender device.