According to statistics, every third man on the planet is unhappy with the size of his penis. Why it happens? What can be called the norm? And is size so important? The answers to these and other inconvenient questions are given by the Norwegian surgeon and urologist Sturla Pilskog. Let’s take a look at his book  “Penis” .

Historical ideal

Ancient Greek sculptures depict men of impressive physique – tall, athletic, with prominent, well-defined muscles. At first glance, it can be assumed that the ideas of the Hellenes about the ideal male body coincide with ours. But if you look closely at antique sculptures, you will notice one important difference: their genitals are tiny, almost invisible. In sculptures, they are depicted as much smaller than even the average size of a penis.

Why was a small penis considered an advantage? We will find the answer to this question in mythology. The ancient Greeks believed in many gods, spirits, as well as giants and other creatures who actively participated in the earthly life of people. Among the most famous were the satyrs, male perfumes that lived in the wild and had an insatiable sexual appetite. Satyrs have been described in various ways, but one of their most popular depictions is a half-man-half-goat with a large, erect penis. Myths endowed them with the qualities of wild creatures, stupidity and cunning, which was the complete opposite of the ideal of a man at that time. A small penis was considered a sign that its owner is in control and does not give in to impulsive desires for fleeting pleasure.

What is normal?

The fact that so many men are unhappy with the size of their penis is due to the fact that they have a misconception about the norm. Without a doubt, much of the blame lies with the porn industry. The participants in porn films have outstanding physical characteristics. But everyone forgets that they are more important than acting, and comparing yourself with these performers is not a very good idea.

There is another theory that explains why many underestimate the size of their penis. Children compare themselves to older guys and men in the family and cannot imagine that in the future their member will also be so big. Many people cannot get rid of this feeling of inferiority even in adulthood.

Average

There are many different studies on penile size. But most of them have a serious drawback: they are based on the results of self-measurements of the respondents. It is easy to assume that only those men who are happy with the length of their penis agreed to participate in such surveys. In addition, as it turned out, men like to add 1–2 centimeters to its real length.

The largest study in which measurements were taken by medical personnel was carried out in 2015 at King’s College London. This pooled analysis included seventeen studies from around the world, with a total of fifteen thousand men collected. As a result, it turned out that the average length of the penis in an erect state is 13.1 cm, in a resting state – 9.2. Thickness is an equally important characteristic, and the average circumference of the erect penis was 11.6 cm.

Also, scientists have smashed to pieces the myth that the size of the penis is somehow related to the size of the legs or the length of the fingers. Large size shoes, alas, tell nothing about how good the masculine strength of its owner is.

“Rastun” and “show-off”

At first glance, it seems that the larger the penis at rest, the larger it will be when erect. However, many studies have disproved this. A large penis in a relaxed state slightly increases with an erection, but a small one, filled with blood, can noticeably add. From here came the English concepts of shower and grower, which can be translated as “show-off” and “rastun”.

The work of scientists in 2014 proposed the following definitions: the penis, which in an erect state adds more than 4 cm, is called “rastun”. Less than four is “showy”. According to the same study, three out of four men are “showy”.

Of course, there is a certain logic in this pattern. If the penis is large and thick at rest, it won’t shrink when erect, but it won’t get much larger either. But the rather modest size of the penis can really amaze with the size of the erection. Appearances can be deceiving, as in other areas of life.

Is size so important?

In line with Darwin’s theory of natural selection, men with larger penises have gradually been favored over the course of evolution. It was at a time when we spent most of our lives naked, so that potential partners could immediately assess each other’s parameters. Nowadays, few people will visually assess the size of the penis before engaging in sexual relations.

Although it is somewhat more difficult for women these days to estimate the size of a potential partner’s penis, some research has been done in this area. As a result, it turned out that size does matter, but far from decisive, as many believe. One study found that the larger the resting penis, the more attractive it is to women. But this is only true up to a certain length: once the penis surpasses the 7.6 cm mark, its attractiveness does not increase, no matter how long it is. For women, the male figure was the most important factor in arousal, and his height and penis size showed the same results.

Scientists have found out the preferences of women regarding the penis at rest, but as we already know, the size of a flaccid penis says little about the size of an erect penis. To find out the priorities of women among erect penises, scientists from California conducted another study in which they used a 3D printer to recreate penises of different lengths and thicknesses – from 10.2 to 21.6 cm in length and with a circumference of 6.6 to 17 , 7 cm. The results of the polls showed that women prefer members with an average value and more. When asked to choose a penis that they would like to see in their future spouse, most preferred 16 cm in length and 12.2 in circumference. As you can see, these numbers are not far from the average penis size in our region.

Another important research finding is that penis size is far from the first thing women pay attention to. A member is ahead of many other virtues: a sense of humor, intelligence, kindness, body shape and much more. And perhaps the most important conclusion was that 85% of women are satisfied with the size of their partner’s genitals. It is not the size that is important, but above all the ability to use it.