# Link between Penis Size and Intelligence **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 26, 2004, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-penis-size-and-intelligence/256969 "2004-07-26T19:03:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jfortun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2acd7d/32.png) [@jfortun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jfortun)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-penis-size-and-intelligence/256969/1 "2004-07-26T19:03:57Z")
In my quest to reach the end of the Internet I ran across a “support group” for well endowed men. This bizarre contradiction aside, the claim was made that men with large penises also happen to be more intelligent that those with average and small penises (or is that penii?). Now this assertion is so stupid as to, depending on your belief in the premise,call into question either the intelligence or penis size of the authors, but an interesting point was raised and I thought I would get everyone’s thoughts: It was asserted that individuals with one genetically superior trait also tend to have many others. Is there any evidence the indicates (or contraindicates) this? Questions about penis size aside, does such a relationship actually exist? The question of what is “genetically superior” encroaches on dangerous territory, I know, but I thought I would put it to the well-endowed brains here. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-penis-size-and-intelligence/256969/2 "2004-07-26T19:22:38Z")
:dubious: I thought the only support well-endowed men needed was a big jockstrap! :rolleyes: Obviously, what well-endowed men need is more self-esteem. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-penis-size-and-intelligence/256969/3 "2004-07-26T19:23:51Z")
> [@jfortun](#): > > (or is that penii?). By showing your lack of knowledge in the use of plurals, you have tipped your hand. You little, little man. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-penis-size-and-intelligence/256969/4 "2004-07-26T19:37:55Z")
When considering the long-term, multi-generational effects, although it would seem possible to select for progressively larger and larger members, nature would probably select _against_ excessively huge proportions due to… compatibility issues… Plus, if it gets big enough, a woody would draw enough blood from the brain that stupidity and unconsciousness would occur, which would also negate the effectiveness of superior intellect & penile size. ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-penis-size-and-intelligence/256969/5 "2004-07-26T19:39:18Z")
Is that a monster-sized whoosh in your pants, **jfortun** , or are you just happy to see us? ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-penis-size-and-intelligence/256969/6 "2004-07-26T19:41:36Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Plus, if it gets big enough, a woody would draw enough blood from the brain that stupidity and unconsciousness would occur, which would also negate the effectiveness of superior intellect & penile size. If we conjecture that well-endowed men are actually intellectually inferior, then we’d have to suppose that Howard Stern was a genius. I trust this example precludes the need to poke further holes in your theory, then. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jfortun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2acd7d/32.png) [@jfortun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jfortun)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-penis-size-and-intelligence/256969/7 "2004-07-26T19:42:43Z")
> [@zut](#): > > Is that a monster-sized whoosh in your pants, **jfortun** , or are you just happy to see us? I’ve always been anxious about my IQ, especially in the lockeroom. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-penis-size-and-intelligence/256969/8 "2004-07-26T19:48:37Z")
> [@jfortun](#): > > It was asserted that individuals with one genetically superior trait also tend to have many others. Is there any evidence the indicates (or contraindicates) this? Questions about penis size aside, does such a relationship actually exist? No. Unless there’s some particular linkage between them (like the two traits are produced by the same, or very nearby, genes) then there’s no particular reason one positive trait would correllate with another. Besides, large penises aren’t necessarily a positive. Yes, women may like ‘em, but there’s also a reverse selective pressure: they’re too big for some girls, and that could conceivably (WAG territory here) end up being a bigger deal-breaker, since you can probably manage to have _some_ fun with a modestly endowed guy, but someone _too_ big might not be able to have sex with you at all. I suspect having too big a penis is a big enough barrier to reproduction that medium-sized is best from an evolutionary standpoint, even though it’s not necessarily the optimum for the partners’ sexual pleasure. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-penis-size-and-intelligence/256969/9 "2004-07-26T19:51:34Z")
… thus adding new meaning to the term, “showing brain.” ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-penis-size-and-intelligence/256969/10 "2004-07-26T20:01:01Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > Besides, large penises aren’t necessarily a positive. Yes, women may like ‘em, but there’s also a reverse selective pressure: they’re too big for some girls, and that could conceivably (WAG territory here) end up being a bigger deal-breaker, since you can probably manage to have _some_ fun with a modestly endowed guy, but someone _too_ big might not be able to have sex with you at all. I suspect having too big a penis is a big enough barrier to reproduction that medium-sized is best from an evolutionary standpoint, even though it’s not necessarily the optimum for the partners’ sexual pleasure. Worst lay I ever had was with a ‘well endowed’ guy. He felt that just using it like a battering ram was more than enough technique to rock my world…just made me very sore and decided I didnt want to wast my time with him. Best lay I ever had was with a guy that if I wanted to be generous I could say he might have been a scanty 4 inches. Not quite a micropenis [IIRC that is one 2 inches or shorter?] Though I will say it is refreshing to find someone who is reasonably endowed and ha technique=) ---
**Author:** ![jfortun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2acd7d/32.png) [@jfortun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jfortun)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-penis-size-and-intelligence/256969/11 "2004-07-26T20:04:46Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > Besides, large penises aren’t necessarily a positive. Yes, women may like ‘em, but there’s also a reverse selective pressure: they’re too big for some girls, and that could conceivably (WAG territory here) end up being a bigger deal-breaker, since you can probably manage to have _some_ fun with a modestly endowed guy, but someone _too_ big might not be able to have sex with you at all. I suspect having too big a penis is a big enough barrier to reproduction that medium-sized is best from an evolutionary standpoint, even though it’s not necessarily the optimum for the partners’ sexual pleasure. Yeah the argument’s premise that an abnormally large penis is genetically superior in is highly suspect. For me the bigger question has become a psychological one: does using penis size a foundation for self-esteem create more of an inferiority complex than what a “small” or “average” endowded man may experience? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-penis-size-and-intelligence/256969/12 "2004-07-26T20:09:22Z")
[This guy didn’t particularly strike me a being a Nobel candidate.](http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story?id=5938137) [This guy’s not too brainy either](http://www.mazepath.com/uncleal/geoduck.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![jfortun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2acd7d/32.png) [@jfortun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jfortun)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-penis-size-and-intelligence/256969/13 "2004-07-26T20:14:31Z")
> [@jfortun](#): > > t. > > For me the bigger question has become a psychological one: does using penis size a foundation for self-esteem create more of an inferiority complex than what a “small” or “average” endowded man may experience? What I meant was: In a twist of irony, does having a large penis and using it as a somewhat unstable foundation for determining self-worth create an inferiority complex? Whenever I run across a penis size discussion it always seems like those who claim to be hung spend more time pounding their chests than those who do not make such claims. This intelligence argument is just another example. I find it to be a curious phenomena. And yes, I do spend too much time on the internet. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-penis-size-and-intelligence/256969/14 "2004-07-26T21:33:51Z")
So you guys have to show hard to join? Or just show membership into MENSA . :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-penis-size-and-intelligence/256969/15 "2004-07-26T22:10:40Z")
> [@jfortun](#): > > (or is that penii?). From the [Master](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mplurals.html) himself. Are there no limits to the erudition and scholarship of that giant brain? > [@](#): > > Penis is a third declension noun, not second declension. These nouns often end in -is in the singular and -es in the plural. The English style -ises is sometimes preferred. Hence, we have penises (half of us do, anyway), and mantises and pelvises, but only more rarely do you see penes, mantes, and pelves, though they are not incorrect. In many cases, only the Latin form is acceptable: We have testes (some more than others) and crises and psychoses, but never testises, crisises, or pyschosises. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-penis-size-and-intelligence/256969/16 "2004-07-26T22:24:31Z")
A modern form of racial pseudoscience (we’ve had several discussions on GD) contends just the opposite: penis size is inversely related to intelligence. And different races have different “survival strategies”: Negroes have big dicks, high “fecundity,” and low IQs – they perpetuate their bloodlines by wanton propagation, at the cost of many individuals falling by the wayside. (Like insects, you know? [gary larson] “Of course, long before you reach maturity, most of you will be eaten.” [/gary larson) Orientals have low fecundity, high IQs, and their strategy is for bright individuals to survive long enough to reproduce once or twice. Caucasians are intermediate and just right, in both IQ and dick size/fecundity. I confess I can’t understand the thinking behind this – if Asians are less “fecund” than other races, why are there so many of them? But this idea does seem to underly _The Bell Curve,_ the theories of Philippe Rushton, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-penis-size-and-intelligence/256969/17 "2004-07-26T22:31:47Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > A modern form of racial pseudoscience (we’ve had several discussions on GD) contends just the opposite: penis size is inversely related to intelligence. And different races have different “survival strategies”: Negroes have big dicks, high “fecundity,” and low IQs – they perpetuate their bloodlines by wanton propagation, at the cost of many individuals falling by the wayside. (Like insects, you know? [gary larson] “Of course, long before you reach maturity, most of you will be eaten.” [/gary larson) Orientals have low fecundity, high IQs, and their strategy is for bright individuals to survive long enough to reproduce once or twice. Caucasians are intermediate and just right, in both IQ and dick size/fecundity. I confess I can’t understand the thinking behind this – if Asians are less “fecund” than other races, why are there so many of them? But this idea does seem to underly _The Bell Curve,_ the theories of Philippe Rushton, etc. Heehee…he said ‘dick’…heeheehee. Umm…huh? ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-penis-size-and-intelligence/256969/18 "2004-07-26T22:55:36Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > Besides, large penises aren’t necessarily a positive. Yes, women may like 'em… Correction: _Some_ women may like 'em. Most claim they don’t. In my experience, the very few girls who really, really want a large penis are a) exhibiting fetish behavior, and b) looking for Mr. Ed. So if you are a well-endowed man, and your woman is dating you strictly because of it, then be careful because she is always looking for a bigger one. Most “normal” women I’ve encountered really don’t care as long as you’re not hideously deformed, and the ones who do express a preference tend to prefer girth not length. (And believe me, the ones looking for Mr. Ed are not normal.) I have indeed had occasions were bigger was not better. Women are more interested in the appearance (i.e., cut or uncut), technique (swivel your hips, guys, and vary your “angle of incidence”), and oral abilities. Not to mention the personality of the man attached to the unit. In my experience, the vast majority of people who are “size queens” are men. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-penis-size-and-intelligence/256969/19 "2004-07-26T23:08:21Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > if Asians are less “fecund” than other races, why are there so many of them? No kidding. Besides, wouldn’t the optimal penis size be one that fits well with the average vagina? Asian folk tend to be shorter in stature as well as dick size, and I imagine their vaginas are a little shorter too. Besides, the numbers I’ve seen (but never found real attestations for, so of course it’s questionable science) don’t make it appear that there’s a terribly big difference between different ethnic groups. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-penis-size-and-intelligence/256969/20 "2004-07-26T23:15:12Z")
No cite, but I’ve also read that small penes (thank you, Cecil!) tend to expand more than large ones do when they become erect – so the differences we might observe in the locker room don’t tell the whole story. When it counts, there’s not that wide a variation. (Yeah, just keep telling yourself that . . .) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/link-between-penis-size-and-intelligence/256969.md?page=2)