# Women: how large should men's penises be? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 1, 2017, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500 "2017-04-01T14:40:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DrForrester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@DrForrester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrForrester)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500/41 "2017-04-08T02:30:58Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I think this is totally misleading though. I suspect a lot of oversize dildoes are bought as a joke or novelty. Also, you can buy a 12 inch dildo and insert it till you feel like stopping, even if that means there’s half of it left outside. But this doesn’t work so well if you have a guy with a 12 inch cock who wants to ram it all the way in. > > I really don’t know that there would be as much data to be obtained from this source as you might think. What products survive in a commercial marketplace? Those that sell. Why do they sell? Because they are attractive to the consumer. What about the product is attractive to the consumer? Size? Shape? Color? Texture? Value? Price? Quality? Time To Market? Imagine a consumer, for example, who buys a 12 inch model, and, as you say, uses only half of it. Were smaller models available? If yes, why was the choice made as it was? Maybe (for the consumer in this example) there is an attraction to size even if that preference isn’t driven 100% by practicality. […] No, that can’t be. Reality and Fantasy often correlate directly, especially when sex is involved. The 12 inch model was probably just on sale. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500/42 "2017-04-08T02:38:47Z")
John DiFool wrote: "I don’t understand why there’s no option for lumpy… " Ribbed for her pleasure? ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500/43 "2017-04-08T04:25:06Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > So what’s your opinion on how such a miracle of science be handled? Enthusiastically! And probably with both hands. I want one that’s not so long that it slams into my cervix. That shit doesn’t just hurt, it nauseates me. Other than that, I don’t care. It’s not even on my top ten list of important things for sexytime. I suspect most women haven’t voted because most women don’t give a damn. Is this one of those things, like how women supposedly wear makeup for each other? Do men just arbitrarily worry about their dick size because you all have decided it matters? [QUOTE=Riemann] There is science. [/QUOTE] You are my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500/44 "2017-04-08T14:05:05Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > … > Is this one of those things, like how women supposedly wear makeup for each other? Do men just arbitrarily worry about their dick size because you all have decided it matters? > … Probably. A lot of legit evidence seems to support that men’s sexuality has a large visual component. Men also apply a simple-minded bigger-is-better approach to almost everything from height to pick-up trucks. Men are competitive critters, where pecking (heh :)) order matters a lot. Put those three together and men will see a size-based sexual competition with other men in whatever factors are visually obvious. The end result is a collective male fetish for big dicks on guys and big tits on gals. Regardless of whether women share either interest. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500/45 "2017-04-08T15:05:39Z")
My theory is that men want bigger dicks because more surface area equals “more feeling per stroke” or something equally dubious, and that bigger around equals a tighter feeling vagina. None of the motivation is for pleasing women. Hell, there’s a bunch of porn based around women saying “it’s too big, I don’t think it will fit”. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500/46 "2017-04-08T15:29:13Z")
Snug is good. Plus the male “logic” behind the old joke that goes Her: Who ya gonna please with that thing? Him: \ Me.applies just as much to the big guys as the small ones. ---
**Author:** ![saturncomet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@saturncomet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saturncomet)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500/47 "2017-04-08T19:06:47Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > A man and a woman are getting ready for sex. The man takes off his shoes and socks, and the woman sees that his toes are horribly misshapen. ‘What happened?’ she said. The man replies, ‘When I was little, I had tolio.’ ‘Tolio,’ says the woman, ‘You mean _polio_.’ The man says, ‘Nope, tolio.’ > > The man takes off his trousers, and his knees are as misshapen as his toes. ‘When I was younger, I had kneesles.’ The woman says, ‘You mean _measles_.’ ‘No,’ replies the man, ‘Kneesles.’ > > The man removes his underwear. The woman shouts… > > 'Don’t tell me. _Smallcox!_ Very Funny ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500/48 "2017-04-08T20:45:44Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Is it true that if the tip bumps into the woman’s cervix, it’s painful (to the woman?) My ex used to like the occasional bump there, though I suspect I was just touching rather than pounding on that door. But she’d get all het up when I knocked nicely. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500/49 "2017-04-08T20:57:58Z")
I’m paralyzed from the waist down, so now I only have one leg of any use. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500/50 "2017-04-08T22:18:59Z")
> [@](#): > > suggest women accurately recall size and prefer penises only slightly larger than average. That would make sense on the principle of people preferring almost anything slightly to the favorable side of a distribution curve; with the median by definition being average, unexceptional, nothing special. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500/51 "2017-04-08T22:32:25Z")
Sez the man nicknamed “Lumpy”. Ribbed for her pleasure indeed. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500/52 "2017-04-09T01:37:04Z")
> [@DrForrester](#): > > What products survive in a commercial marketplace? Those that sell. Why do they sell? Because they are attractive to the consumer. What about the product is attractive to the consumer? Size? Shape? Color? Texture? Value? Price? Quality? Time To Market? > > Imagine a consumer, for example, who buys a 12 inch model, and, as you say, uses only half of it. Were smaller models available? If yes, why was the choice made as it was? Maybe (for the consumer in this example) there is an attraction to size even if that preference isn’t driven 100% by practicality. […] No, that can’t be. Reality and Fantasy often correlate directly, especially when sex is involved. The 12 inch model was probably just on sale. Your argument is an excellent argument as to why dildo sales are a good guide to what people prefer when buying a dildo. Unless a man is bringing a dildo to the bedroom rather than a penis, I don’t think dildo preferences are too relevant. For example, maybe women buy dildoes a bit longer so that when it’s fully inserted they still have something to hang onto. You will note this is not an issue with a penis, unless you have one that can accidentally detach. ---
**Author:** ![DrForrester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@DrForrester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrForrester)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500/53 "2017-04-09T01:46:07Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > You will note this is not an issue with a penis, unless you have one that can accidentally detach. Please don’t say things like that. Even jokingly. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500/54 "2017-04-09T03:03:04Z")
I recall reading \*The Happy Hooker \*back when it was published in the very liberated and pre-herpes & doubly pre-HIV 1970s. A good time was had by many then. In one section the author / protagonist is instructing the reader in learning to deep throat. She warns against practicing with cucumbers & bananas since they can get stuck and choking is a real hazard. I still remember the witty rest of her caution: “… unlike a penis that comes with this convenient handle shaped like a man.” Still makes me grin after all these years. So now I’m just a handle? ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500/55 "2017-04-09T03:46:28Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Oh, yeah? Well, then I’m gonna prefer women’s breasts only “slightly larger than average”. See how you like that! In Lake Wobegon, all the breasts and penises are above average. Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500/56 "2017-04-09T15:25:58Z")
> [@DrForrester](#): > > Please don’t say things like that. Even jokingly. You DON’T want to listen to King Missile’s only hit song from 1992. ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500/57 "2017-04-09T18:10:29Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Is it true that if the tip bumps into the woman’s cervix, it’s painful (to the woman?) Seems like the length of Old Rutherford ought to be somewhat less than the depth of Miss Glory. > [@squeegee](#): > > My ex used to like the occasional bump there, though I suspect I was just touching rather than pounding on that door. But she’d get all het up when I knocked nicely. My personal experience with this is with my husband. If he bumps into my cervix with his penis - I have to be in a specific position for it to happen - it’s not necessarily painful, but it is somewhat uncomfortable. He has, however, inserted his finger (not sure which one :p) inside of my cervix various times. That, for me, is surprisingly pleasurable. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500/58 "2017-04-09T18:19:47Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > There is science. > > Women’s Preferences for Penis Size: A New Research Method Using Selection among 3D Models > [Women's Preferences for Penis Size: A New Research Method Using Selection among 3D Models](http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0133079) But you see, the results were skewed because what guys were telling women is six inches really turned out be three or four. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500/59 "2017-04-09T18:29:08Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > But you see, the results were skewed because what guys were telling women is six inches really turned out be three or four. Why women have trouble with math… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2017, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500/60 "2017-04-09T18:37:19Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Why women have trouble with math… 😛 Hey! 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-how-large-should-mens-penises-be/783500.md?page=4)