Does size really matter?
"Differences in average penis size between different races has been a subject of considerable controversy.
The cultural issues involved with the question of race and penis size are complex, with both larger and smaller penises used as justification for regarding other races as inferior; as evidence of an oversexed and brutish animal nature in the former case, or of sexual inadequacy in the latter case. In general, there is a tendency to see the penis size of one's own group as the "right" size, compared to those of others.
There is considerable debate as to whether specific racial variations in penis size exist, and if they do, whether observed variations can be explained in terms of other factors such as correlations of penis size to body size. In any case, within-group variation in penis size (±30%, see above) seems to be considerably larger than claimed between-group variation of average penis size (±4%, see below).
To date, there has been no conclusive evidence that race and penis size is at all correlated and all studies that have been done have been rejected by the scientific community due to inaccuracy, respondent bias, or unverifiable claims.
One of the earliest researchers on the subject, Frantz Fanon, covers this subject in some detail in Black Skin, White Masks (1952), where he tends towards the view that the supposed positive correlation between large penises and African ancestry is erroneous, a conclusion that he also supports with statistics.
One study by the controversial Canadian psychologist J. Philippe Rushton states that "[p]enis size also varies moderately across populations, being largest among African populations, smaller among European populations, and smallest among East Asian populations,..."[25]
Rushton has also stated that the World Health Organization specifies 5.3 cm wide condoms for Africa, 5.2 cm wide condoms for Europe, and 4.9 cm condoms for Asia.[26]
According to a more recent international study, Family Health International states "The World Health Organization bases its specifications for condom width on consumer preference and penis size, citing three studies. Taken together, the studies show significant variations in penis size within all population groups, but also indicate that men of African descent on average have a slightly wider and longer penis size, Caucasian men have a medium size, and Asian men a slightly narrower and shorter size." [27]
A 2001 study on penis size among young Italian males in a random group of 3,300 young men ages 17-19 showed "median/large values of penile dimensions recorded in the present study are flaccid length 9.0 cm, flaccid circumference, at the middle of the shaft, 10.0 cm, and stretched length 12.5 cm. We also observed that the penile dimensions are highly correlated with height and weight." [28]
In 2003 "Studies on self-esteem of penile size in young Korean military men." showed results as shown: "The mean flaccid length, flaccid circumference, stretched length and fat pad depth of the 123 subjects were 6.9±8 cm, 8.5±11 cm, 9.6±8 cm and 1.1±4 cm, respectively." [29]
A 2002 Survey, "Can shoe size predict penile length?" was conducted to establish if the 'myth' about whether the size of a man's penis can be estimated from his shoe size has any basis in fact. Two urologists measured the stretched penile length of 104 men in a prospective study and related this to their shoe size. The median stretched penile length for the sampled population was 13 cm and the median UK shoe size was 9 (European 43). There was no statistically significant correlation between shoe size and stretched penile length. [30]
A 2005 Study, "Penile measurements in normal adult Jordanians and in patients with erectile dysfunction." The purpose of this work was to determine penile size in adult normal (group one, 271) and impotent (group two, 109). In group one mean midshaft circumference was 8.98±1.4 cm, mean flaccid length was mean 9.3±1.9 cm, and mean stretched length was 13.5±2.3 cm. In group two, mean flaccid length was 7.7±1.3 cm, and mean stretched length was 11.6±1.4 cm.[31]
A test-retest study was done in 2002. The study aimed to establish the test-retest reliability of measurement of the erect penis using paper strips in a sample of 312 gay men. The men were issued with color-coded measuring strips printed with instructions but no calibrations, and asked to measure both the length and circumference of their partners' erect penis. Three months later they were asked to repeat these measures. Mean length on first measurement was 15.3 cm and 15.2 cm on second measurement. Mean girth at first measurement was 12.5 cm and 12.6 cm at second measurement. Test-retest reliability of measurement was found to be moderately low at r = 0.60 for length and r = 0.53 for girth" [32]
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2006-10-03 14:05:07
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answer #2
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answered by johnslat 7
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