Scientists have been measuring the difference between 'growers' and 'showers'

This is the sort of the article nobody is going to admit they clicked on to read.

Do first impressions matter? Does size?

Users on reddit have shared a graphic detailing the 'average' penis length, and the difference in size between flaccid and erect penises (control yourselves).

The image comes from a paper published in the British Journal of Urology International(BJUI), by David Veale of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at South London Maudsley Hospital.

Amusingly titled "Am I Normal?" the paper was originally published in 2015.

Growers and showers.

The measurements of 15,521 men aged over 17, were compiled from 20 studies.

The researchers calculated that the average (erect) penis length was 13.24 cm (around 5.2 inches), and (flaccid) 9.16 cm (around 3.6 inches), a growth of approximately 30 per cent.

But where did they measure from?

According to the paper's methodology:

Flaccid or erect length was measured from the root (pubo-penile junction) of the penis to the tip of the glans (meatus) on the dorsal surface, where the pre-pubic fat pad was pushed to the bone.

The study also found that the average circumference (aka "girth") was calculated as 9.31 cm (around 3.6 inches when flaccid), and 11.66 cm (4.5 inches when erect).

The aim of Veale's research was the create nomograms of these measurements for use in academic research and for counselling male patients.

In particular, the paper's introduction cites "small penis anxiety" as a prompt for the creation of the nomograms, in order to set men at ease that their penis falls within an "average" range.

It is also to help with measurements after a "size augmentation" procedure, in order to test its success (or failure).

User satisfaction

With regards to "small penis anxiety", the study cited a 2006 survey published in Psychology of Men & Masculinity, which asked 52 031 heterosexual men and women about the importance of penis size.

It found that 85% of women were satisfied with their partner’s penis size, but only 55% of the men were satisfied with their own penis size.

So either the 85 per cent of women have never dated a member of the 45 per cent, or men need to get over themselves.

Veale cited a 2002 study that showed almost half of men with small penis anxiety were reassured following discussions with their doctor that used a nomogram.

It concluded that further study was required to ascertain ways of making men who were below "average size" (stastically 50 per cent of all men) feel less anxious about it, and not link "below average" to being "defective of abnormal".

More: Men almost always lie about how big their penis is, study shows

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