We live in a sexualized world. A world where it is believed that the size of a woman's breasts or a man's penis are a determining factor in how satisfactory their sex lives are. We are led to believe that bigger is better. While bigger may seem better, this is simply a myth we have been led to believe. Penis Size Does Matter, written by Henri Dufresne, takes a closer look at this fallacy and delivers some interesting conclusions.
I came across this book one day on Amazon while searching for free books for my Kindle. At the time it was available as a free download, although it is retailing for $3.00 on the website now. Since I have such a keen interest in sex, I immediately downloaded this book and began to read. This book includes an interesting blend of public medical studies, practitioner interviews, private medical studies, surveys of women and interviews with men. Some of the sources of information were vastly more reliable and helpful than others (medical studies) than others, which seemed to play directly into sexual stereotypes (surveys and interviews based on personal assumptions, beliefs and experiences).
HUMAN ANATOMY
The books begins with a lesson in human anatomy which is quite interesting. Did you know that the human penis can measure between 2 and 10 inches, sometimes even longer, fully erect? We are the only mammalian species to exhibit such a size differential. Some believe the larger penis is a part of our evolutionary process, but studies of apes have shown otherwise. Apes do not have the size disparity that humans exhibit and penis size is not a factor when choosing a mate among other primates. What about racial stereotypes? Rubbish say the studies. The author tells us that:
By the way, in 2012, there is still no medical study that confirmed any penis size differences between ethnic groups.
Next, the book goes into detail about how to accurately measure an erect penis. The bone pressed method is the preferred method of measuring. If you are curious, here are the instructions for measuring using this method:
- The subject has to get an erection that is not provoked by a nap or a sleep.
- Stand up.
- Orientate the penis shaft to be perpendicular to the ground.
- Place a ruler on top of the penis shaft and press it against the skin until you feel a solid wall. This "wall" is the pubic bone.
- Take the measure by really looking above the glans penis (head of the penis).
- Don't forget to subtract the starting blank space from the ruler.
*An interesting fact presented with this information: when subjects self-measured, they often recorded their penis length as an inch longer than when measured by an impartial third party.
After reviewing several studies on penis size, it was determined that nearly 50% of men fall into the "average" category, meaning their penis measures between 5 1/2 and 7 3/4 inches long. Just under 15% fall into the "small" category and nearly 35% are classified as "large".
Another aspect of size that was taken into consideration is the girth, or width, of the erect penis. Unfortunately, there have been few studies conducted on penile girth. It seems that length is deemed more important to width. The book also examines the size of the human vagina and notes that in an unaroused state, the human vagina easily accepts objects between 6 and 6 1/2 inches. No research has been presented on the aroused vagina.
INTERVIEWS
The author of the book conducted a variety of interviews on female subjects ranging from 20 to 50 years in age, most who has not experienced childbirth. These subjects were of various ethnic backgrounds, lifestyles, etc. After conducting the interviews, these women were grouped into two categories: DNM (size did not matter) and size queens (size does matter). It was found that women who felt size was unimportant spoke vaguely and did not give a lot of detail on their sexual experiences. They had to be prodded to open up about their personal experiences during the interview process. The only consistent information they seemed to provide was that "large penises could hurt". The size queens, on the other hand, provided clear and concise answers that seemed to correlate among the group. I found the information provided by the interviews interesting, but it left me wanting more. It seems that some of these interviewees were playing into sexual stereotypes whether they knew it or not.
The male interviews were also interesting yet lacking. Only 5 men from the small and large categories were interviewed. Many of the "small" men didn't want to talk while the "large" men provided a lot of detail about their experiences. To me, these studies reeked of machismo and were very misleading. When confronted with the size of their penises, "91% of the men who declared having a small penis wanted a bigger penis. 46% of the men who said they had an average penis wanted a bigger penis and 14% of the men who said they had a large penis stated they wanted a bigger penis". Apparently penis size does matter. To men.
Penis Size Does Matter does include some additional information and opinions based on the studies presented in the earlier sections of the book. It also provides links to the studies referenced throughout its pages. There is a wealth of information to soak up for those who are interested in the topic of penis size. However, it falls flat from answering the age old question of whether penis size really matters or not. According to the title, penis size truly does matter, but just like sex itself, penis size is a highly personal and subjective topic. Men seem more concerned with it than women, but there will always be the exceptions to that rule.
This book tackles an intriguing topic, but falls flat from delivering in the end. Lots of conclusions are introduced and touched on briefly, but readers are left still waiting for an answer. The books is also riddled with typos and grammatical errors which are distracting. As with many other Kindle books, the author should have spent a little more time proofreading and a little less time speculating. All in all, it was an interesting read, but I would only recommend it as entertainment or a starting point for those interested in human sexuality. It is definitely not something I would recommend to professionals who deal with human sexuality or more serious scholars of the topic.
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