Why is the penis so different

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

I've been wondering, how come penis sizes vary so dramatically, take the comparison between 9x6 and (mr average according to the visualiser) 5x4.8 the former is 117% bigger. Does this happen naturally anywhere else (ignoring body fat percentage and self induced muscle hypertrophy) are there people with arms 117% bigger than average? Or a head that is 117% larger. And I know what your thinking; giantism!

But you don't have to be a giant to have a giant penis. You would look ridiculous standing at 6ft with 45 inch arms, go and measure your arm's length then look at what it would be to add 50%. So why does penis size differ so much! I tried applying Darwinism to the question but if anything I think when thinking along those lines it makes more sense that penis sizes should differ only slightly :s

Then it occurred to me that there is another part of the body that can vary hugely in size between individuals. Everyones favourite body part... boobs! I've been with a 32 C before and I've also been with a 30 K, let me tell you that's a huge fucking difference!

What is it about these body parts that makes them so different in their development and size differences to everything else. I'm sure the answer involves hormones. But I'm not scientifically minded enough to have any idea at all.

This is a badly composed mind wonder that I just thought I'd put to paper. Be kind.

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

More to do with genetics, not hormones.

[MrB8 Senior Member Member of the Month Nov 2013 Find all posts View Profile Close MrB8]

People vary greatly in height and weight, shoe size and glove size, finger length and hair, lips, noses and so on, there are variations in internal organs sizes and placement sometimes, the possibilities are always endless.

Penises, breast and buttocks are no exception, they just may be more noticed than others.

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

People vary greatly in height and weight, shoe size and glove size, finger length and hair, lips, noses and so on, there are variations in internal organs sizes and placement sometimes, the possibilities are always endless.

Penises, breast and buttocks are no exception, they just may be more noticed than others.

Whilst I absolutely understand that, it just seems that the range of difference seems so much greater than for anything else. That's my confusion really.

I know it's largely down to genetics, but my puzzlement is how we as a species got to a point where cases can vary so greatly.

Just a casual wonder really.

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

People vary greatly in height and weight, shoe size and glove size, finger length and hair, lips, noses and so on, there are variations in internal organs sizes and placement sometimes, the possibilities are always endless.

Penises, breast and buttocks are no exception, they just may be more noticed than others.

Reread the post. The question is "Why is the penis one of the few organs to have such a disparity between large and small?"

As to the OP, maybe this will help shed some light on it from an evolutionary perspective.

Penis size: An evolutionary perspective | Ask Carole, Evolutionary Agony Aunt | Science | theguardian.com

You can also take a look at the Wikipedia article on sexual selection.
Sexual selection in human evolution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here is an interesting excerpt:

Homo also has by far the largest penis of the great apes, and this may be sexually selected in much the same way as the larger testicles of Pan. It has been suggested the evolution of the human penis towards larger size was the result of female choice rather than sperm competition because sperm competition generally favors large testicles and a small penis, as in the chimpanzee.^[18] However, penis size may have been subject to natural selection, rather than sexual selection, due to a larger penis' efficiency in displacing the sperm of rival males during intercourse. A model study showed displacement of semen was directly proportional to the depth of thrusting, as an efficient semen displacement device.^[19]

Based on this information, I believe the disparity may be related to the level of sexual independence women may have had in different cultures. I think the more sexually open the culture, the more likely the female was to choose a male with a larger penis. In other words, all other factors being equal, women will prefer a man with a larger penis.

This would obviously take a ridiculously large amount of research to validate, but the theory is sound in my mind, and certainly would account for the large discrepancies in penis sizes.

[MrB8 Senior Member Member of the Month Nov 2013 Find all posts View Profile Close MrB8]

LOL! Yea, I know I wasn't being scientific, but there are great discrepancies in other anatomical aspects, I mean 4 feet and 7 feet for height, some hand seizes are like double the what others may have and so on, why overlook those and only focus on penises.

My hands are medium, and I have 4 of cousins whose hands are at least double mine in size, I recall the same with a classmate back in school, I know people of around four feet height, and others almost on the edge of seven and so on.

And there is no correlation, my brother who is shorter in height than I am, has larger hands, although not like my cousins.

I will not discuss selection and evolution though, not really interested!

Wasn't trying to diss his question, but this is what came to mind!

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

LOL! Yea, I know I wasn't being scientific, but there are great discrepancies in other anatomical aspects, I mean 4 feet and 7 feet for height, some hand seizes are like double the what others may have and so on, why overlook those and only focus on penises.

My hands are medium, and I have 4 of cousins whose hands are at least double mine in size, I recall the same with a classmate back in school, I know people of around four feet height, and others almost on the edge of seven and so on.

And there is no correlation, my brother who is shorter in height than I am, has larger hands, although not like my cousins.

I will not discuss selection and evolution though, not really interested!

Wasn't trying to diss his question, but this is what came to mind!

How many MEN do you know that are 4 feet tall? I know midgets and dwarfs exist, but a person being 4 feet tall is probably about the same odds a man having a micropenis. The OP is talking about a penis of average size being compared to a penis twice the size. I'd agree hand size makes sense, but the hand is not an organ, which I think is what makes the question specific to penis size interesting.

You don't discuss selection and evolution. How can this question be answered without it. I'm guessing a higher power guides your views. And in that case, He kind of screwed those 4-footers and microdongers.

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

Fascinating stuff, I'll read it more thoroughly when I have time. I would like to mention for the benefit of the discussion that dwarfism and giantism are actual conditions, not genetics.

[MrB8 Senior Member Member of the Month Nov 2013 Find all posts View Profile Close MrB8]

Sorry, didn't mean to derail your thread SquiddlyDee, and you are correct about dwarfism being a condition not genetic.


I wasn't trying to prove anything actually, just shared a few thoughts that I felt are not so off topic.

Please continue your discussion.

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

Sorry, didn't mean to derail your thread SquiddlyDee, and you are correct about dwarfism being a condition not genetic.


I wasn't trying to prove anything actually, just shared a few thoughts that I felt are not so off topic.

Please continue your discussion.

On the contrary I think your points are on topic and valuable to the discussion. I just wanted to make sure anyone reading was on the same page.

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

Fascinating stuff, I'll read it more thoroughly when I have time. I would like to mention for the benefit of the discussion that dwarfism and giantism are actual conditions, not genetics.

Think about what you're saying. Someone being born a dwarf or giant is not a result of there genetics. Huh? Everything is a result of genetics. Even though dwarfism and giantism are defined as medical conditions, the underlying causes of them are the results of genetic disorders. Everything about the way we are is the result of genetics.

So yes, it is of course relevant to the discussion.

[BigO AdministratorPEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close BigO]

There are men 5 foot 3 that weigh 125 lbs and men 6 foot 6 that weigh 325 so I don't think the size differences between men's dick sizes is even the least bit out of the norm

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

Sure that makes sense, but what happened to trying to answer the "why" of the whole issue.

[kickinthemebs Senior Member Member of the Month Feb 2014 Find all posts View Profile Close kickinthemebs]

Interesting topic. Nice links and views MrPriapus.

Indeed, it is probably quite difficult to determine whether or not the differences in penis size is a result of genetic or environmental/sexual selection, although the two are far from being unrelated. I would definitely have to read a little more about it to be able to give an informed/educated opinion on the topic to be honest.

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

Think about what you're saying. Someone being born a dwarf or giant is not a result of there genetics. Huh? Everything is a result of genetics. Even though dwarfism and giantism are defined as medical conditions, the underlying causes of them are the results of genetic disorders. Everything about the way we are is the result of genetics.

So yes, it is of course relevant to the discussion.

Ok fair play yes, but I mean that these conditions are not always inherited, are they not genetic mutations that occur in the womb?