Researchers look at the dildo market to answer "How big is too big?"

[CriticalMass Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close CriticalMass]

TL;DR - The estimated average measurements of the top bestselling realistic dildos (excluding BDSM-oriented sales) were 19.8 cm (7.8 in) in length by 15.1 cm (5.9 in) in girth (i.e. approximately 8" x 6").

Posting to summarize an interesting study was published last November in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, titled "How Big is Too Big? The Girth of Bestselling Insertive Sex Toys to Guide Maximal Neophallus Dimensions," in which Isaacson et al. (2017) searched the inventories of top page-ranked online adult retailers to identify the sizes of the bestselling "realistic" dildos. Their goal was to determine appropriate size limits for construction of a neophallus in female-to-male gender-affirming surgery (where a "penis" is assembled using autotransplanted whole-tissue grafts), as they had met four patients who had experienced difficulty with penetration attributed to the large sizes of their neophalluses.

They gathered data from four top-ranked online adult retail sites plus Amazon, recording insertable length and advertised girth (as dildo circumference). Excluding a much larger sample size from a BDSM-oriented retailer, they found mean (average) ± standard deviation sizes among all dildos designated "realistic" and "bestsellers" to be 16.7 ± 1.6 cm (6.6 ± 0.63 in) in length (n = 49) and 12.7 ± 0.8 cm (5 ± 0.31 in) in girth (n = 63). Among the top 3 sellers for each retailer, the average measurements were higher at 19.8 ± 3.1 cm (7.8 ± 1.2 in) in length (n = 12) and 15.1 ± 0.9 cm (5.9 ± 0.35 in) in girth (n = 15). As shown, the range in length among the top bestsellers was greater than among all bestsellers.

These data provide an interesting perspective on the results of a previous market study in the same journal by Herbenick et al. (2015) which summarized the measurements of available (vaginal) dildos from 7 online adult retailers plus (a representative sample from) Amazon, finding average insertable lengths closer to 6.5 in and girths around 5 in.

I have a couple thoughts on the value of these data for PE. The subset of women who purchase dildos may not be representative of the greater population of all women, and the purchasing patterns of dildos may not be representative of actual satisfaction with use. However, both of these assumptions could be argued as reasonable. The biggest implication may be that a size of 8" x 6" is a reasonable limit for maximum yet broad appeal for potential female partners, though obviously this does not necessarily apply to any given individual woman.

If anyone has further questions about the article, I have access to the full text and can reference it to reply. Anyway I'd like to invite everyone's thoughts about these results!

[USGainEx Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close USGainEx]

I read that one a while back. It was my first realisation that I wasn't as small as I thought. Quite an ego boost to know you're the same size as the most popular dildos, but also a little disconcerting knowing that what women thought was 8" is actually less than 7". So if you tell her your actual measurements when she asks, she's gonna think you come up short...

... which is exactly why I play dumb if anybody asks.

[closed299 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close closed299]

I read that one a while back. It was my first realisation that I wasn't as small as I thought. Quite an ego boost to know you're the same size as the most popular dildos, but also a little disconcerting knowing that what women thought was 8" is actually less than 7". So if you tell her your actual measurements when she asks, she's gonna think you come up short...

... which is exactly why I play dumb if anybody asks.

You have any before and after pics of your unrealistic gains by any chance? Not being disrespectful but every time i see these super fast gains theres never and pics to back them up

[USGainEx Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close USGainEx]

You have any before and after pics of your unrealistic gains by any chance? Not being disrespectful but every time i see these super fast gains theres never and pics to back them up

Sorry to disappoint, but I've never taken a single picture of my dick. I use therapeutic ultrasound for heat, so my gains aren't typical, but there are others who have gained quickly without it. Most do use some form of heat, though.

[incogneeetoe Moderator Member of the Month Sept 2017*Special Appreciated Moderator Nov. 2021* PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close incogneeetoe]

Thanks for pointing that one out. I saw it a while back, but as the focus was on transgenders choice for augmentation, I put it on the back burner.

[Cavalier Retired Super Moderator Member of the Month Feb 2015PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close Cavalier]

Using the dildo market to determine women's preference for size is flawed. The assumption is that it's only women buying dildos. I would say a good portion of these sales are men looking to spice things up in the bedroom. You could pretty much bet that if a guy buys one it's not going to be a 5 incher, it's going to be on the large side.

[CriticalMass Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close CriticalMass]

Using the dildo market to determine women's preference for size is flawed. The assumption is that it's only women buying dildos. I would say a good portion of these sales are men looking to spice things up in the bedroom. You could pretty much bet that if a guy buys one it's not going to be a 5 incher, it's going to be on the large side.

It's a reasonable criticism, certainly. To be fair, the authors said "We expected people would not buy dildos whose girth was too large to insert." (not specifying women buyers). They also said "In the absence of studies describing maximal vaginal and anal receptive dimensions, we determined the upper limit of the distribution of girths of bestselling dildos would be a reasonable proxy." (as they did not distinguish dildos on the basis of anal-safety) It does seem to me that possible unstated assumptions are (1) consumers can accurately gauge their limits of insertive size prior to purchase or (2) consumers make successive purchases to titrate dildo size to their acceptability if an initial purchase is too large.

To play devil's advocate, I wonder what men's purchasing patterns would be for dildos intended for partner use. Would men be intimidated by the prospect of offering a larger stimulus than their own penises?

[Azmike Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Azmike]

Are those measurements unsertable or overall length?

TL;DR - The estimated average measurements of the top bestselling realistic dildos (excluding BDSM-oriented sales) were 19.8 cm (7.8 in) in length by 15.1 cm (5.9 in) in girth (i.e. approximately 8" x 6").

Posting to summarize an interesting study was published last November in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, titled "How Big is Too Big? The Girth of Bestselling Insertive Sex Toys to Guide Maximal Neophallus Dimensions," in which Isaacson et al. (2017) searched the inventories of top page-ranked online adult retailers to identify the sizes of the bestselling "realistic" dildos. Their goal was to determine appropriate size limits for construction of a neophallus in female-to-male gender-affirming surgery (where a "penis" is assembled using autotransplanted whole-tissue grafts), as they had met four patients who had experienced difficulty with penetration attributed to the large sizes of their neophalluses.

They gathered data from four top-ranked online adult retail sites plus Amazon, recording insertable length and advertised girth (as dildo circumference). Excluding a much larger sample size from a BDSM-oriented retailer, they found mean (average) ± standard deviation sizes among all dildos designated "realistic" and "bestsellers" to be 16.7 ± 1.6 cm (6.6 ± 0.63 in) in length (n = 49) and 12.7 ± 0.8 cm (5 ± 0.31 in) in girth (n = 63). Among the top 3 sellers for each retailer, the average measurements were higher at 19.8 ± 3.1 cm (7.8 ± 1.2 in) in length (n = 12) and 15.1 ± 0.9 cm (5.9 ± 0.35 in) in girth (n = 15). As shown, the range in length among the top bestsellers was greater than among all bestsellers.

These data provide an interesting perspective on the results of a previous market study in the same journal by Herbenick et al. (2015) which summarized the measurements of available (vaginal) dildos from 7 online adult retailers plus (a representative sample from) Amazon, finding average insertable lengths closer to 6.5 in and girths around 5 in.

I have a couple thoughts on the value of these data for PE. The subset of women who purchase dildos may not be representative of the greater population of all women, and the purchasing patterns of dildos may not be representative of actual satisfaction with use. However, both of these assumptions could be argued as reasonable. The biggest implication may be that a size of 8" x 6" is a reasonable limit for maximum yet broad appeal for potential female partners, though obviously this does not necessarily apply to any given individual woman.

If anyone has further questions about the article, I have access to the full text and can reference it to reply. Anyway I'd like to invite everyone's thoughts about these results!

[Azmike Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Azmike]

Curious if you have posted about heat therapy?

[Azmike Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Azmike]

Never mind. Found your thread.
Sorry. QUOTE=Azmike;1528260]Curious if you have posted about heat therapy?[/QUOTE]

[MarchSalami Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close MarchSalami]

Also a woman can control the strength of thrust and pace by herself with a dildo, which will allow for exploring bigger sizes.

With a large #$%^ comes responsibility to not go too crazy unless the woman is up for it..

[bigdickricker Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bigdickricker]

I myself (male) own two really big dildos.
One is about 18 cm long and about 16 cm girth -> every girl so far has taken this with ease, no warmup really needed.
It's not super-hard though, which I guess helps.

Then I have one dildo about 17 cm girth on the head and 18.5 cm girth shaft - this one is also hard and not soft.
But girls take it with some warmup.

[CriticalMass Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close CriticalMass]

Are those measurements unsertable or overall length?

They are all insertable length.

[Norwaydude Senior Member Member of the Month Oct. 2018 Find all posts View Profile Close Norwaydude]

Anyone tried fisting? I had a girl who was VERY much into fisting. Gents.. i promise you, there is a lot of room in there.

[Pegasus AdministratorPE Gym EditorPEGym Hero ☺ Admin of the Month Mar 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Pegasus]

Large dildo are routinely boght as novelty items or conversation pieces .

There is often no intent to actually use them.