Huge numbers of men are reporting a problem with their penis that’s causing ’embarrassment’ in the bedroom — and it’s not erectile dysfunction.
About half of men are dissatisfied with the size of their member, according to researchers in the Netherlands, and this is damaging their confidence.
In the article published in the journal Sexual Medicine experts claim penis size is associated with ‘masculinity, power, and dominance’.
For this reason, men who feel they fall short experience dissatisfaction, article author Dewitte Marieke a phycologist based at Maastricht University said.
These insecurities can lead to shame and the avoidance of sex altogether, she adds.
‘Men who are dissatisfied with their penis size report… distress, negative (sexual) self-image, shame, and embarrassment,’ she writes.
‘When combined with failure anxiety and performance demand, these negative outcomes can contribute to erectile dysfunction and/or avoidance of sexual activity.’
Men who are anxious about their penis size report having less of both penetrative sex and receptive oral sex and are also hesitant to initiate a sexual relationship, she adds.
About half of men are dissatisfied with the size of their penis, according to researchers in the Netherlands
About half of men over 40 suffer erectile dysfunction in the UK.
It can be triggered by high blood pressure, diabetes, nerve damage, drinking too much alcohol, stress and performance anxiety.
And concerns over penis size doesn’t simply trigger sexual hang-ups — it can prevent men from attending medical appointments.
This, Dr Marieke warned, can delay the detection and treatment of conditions such as testicular cancer and urological infections.
More than 2,000 men in the UK — and 10,000 in the US — are diagnosed with testicular cancer each year.
In 95 per cent of cases it’s curable, but if picked up at a later stage, when it has spread, it can kill, meaning a delay to seeking help can be concerning.
Dr Marieke also suggested that men who are concerned about the size of their penis may consider penis enlargement surgery as a viable option.
But she warned that many medics perceive it as an ‘experimental surgery’ due to its ‘low satisfaction and high complication rates’.
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Instead, she offers the solution of counselling as an alternative to surgery.
She explained that this would focus on challenging ‘dysfunctional beliefs about the importance of erections and penis size for pleasurable sex.’
Previous data collected by researchers in Germany revealed that men in Ecuador supposedly have the biggest penises in the world — while men in Cambodia purportedly have the smallest.
They reviewed more than 40 recent studies involving thousands of men.
The team extracted data on average penis size from nearly 90 countries, with the measurements having been independently verified.
Wherever possible, the team avoided using studies where men had self-reported their penis size.
In cases where individuals had a fat pad above the penis, this was slightly compressed to help with measurements.
These were all averaged for each country and then converted into inches to allow for comparison between different nations.
The European countries with the largest penis sizes overall were the Netherlands in ninth place at 6.2in, France 11th at 6.2in and Italy 19th at 6in.
Ecuadorian men have an average erect length of nearly 7 inches (17.6cm). At the other end of the scale, Cambodian men are said to have a mean size of just under 4 inches (10cm).
Britain comes in 68th place with a penis size of 5.2in (13.1cm) and America is in 60th place at 5.4in (13.5cm).
