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What The Boys Are Packing: The Final Findings on the Great Penis Size Debate?

Published: SEPTEMBER 3, 2024

It might just be that an age-old debate has finally been settled. In interviewing a recent population of American females (and gay and straight men), a new report showed that one-in-six of the ladies admitted that the oft-mentioned axiom that nobody has ever taken seriously “size doesn’t matter,” might just be true. 

In a ZipHealth survey of 800 women, 100 gay men, and 100 straight men, sexual satisfaction (or lack of it) was explored. Thrown about were favorite techniques, and the real skinny behind the optimum skinny, thickness, and length of the male organ.

Women

(Please note, in this blog use the gender terms as indicated in the ZipHealth report)

It seems women showed a preference for what is considered a below-average penis size and girth; specifically, five-and-a-half inches long and four-and-a-half inches in circumference. And while one out of two women revealed that girth is just as important as length (the old ‘it doesn’t have to touch the bottom, but it does have to tickle the sides’ philosophy) one-in-three did reveal that those ladies unsatisfied with their sex lives do not discuss the sexual preferences.

Does this mean male heterosexual partners are less interested in listening (the women surveyed here are hetero ladies) or incapable? Or maybe the men worry so much about size that they shut out any supposed criticism? One thing is apparent, as has been apparent to any sex therapist or couple who enjoys a satisfying sex life…communication in the bedroom, as everywhere else, is key!

Gay & Straight Men

Interestingly, straight and gay men both prefer a penis length of six inches (15.24 cm) and girth of five inches (12.7 cm).

On the potential for sexual dissatisfaction, 13 percent of straight men who never discuss sex with their partners report they are not happy with their sex lives. 27 percent of gay men who communicate their needs report being very satisfied, especially with the frequency of their sex.

Other stats

The survey tripped into other areas of sexual intimacy and satisfaction, for all groups surveyed.

The woman claimed that “techniques contributing most to sexual satisfaction” when with their man include kissing and intimate touching, both making the top of the list. The use of toys was at the bottom of what helped get them aroused.

Gay men listed oral sex at the top of their list, with an even higher percentage than it is for straight women. And for both groups, it was much giving as getting when it came to oral pleasure.

Manual stimulation also rated high for gay guys.

Straight men were high on going down (or someone going down on them) with erotic talk just creeping into the bottom of their preferences. It did not for the other two groups.

And nearly ten percent of women reported being with men who had experienced erectile disfunction as well as premature ejaculation, with a slightly higher percentage gay men reporting on experiencing these problems with a partner.

Whether the question over penis size has been adequately answered by the good folks of ZipHealth, once again it has been raised. As long as we have mature sex-positive discussions about our intimate relations, we can hope for growth and understanding.

Ralph Greco

Ralph Greco, Jr. is an ASCAP licensed songwriter, professional playwright, the senior east coast correspondent/reviewer/interviewer for vintagerock.com, press liaison for The Erotic Heritage Museum, blogger for latex designer Dawnamatrix Designs, co-host of the podcast Licking Non-Vanilla and a professional copywriter for adult as well as mainstream clients around the world. Ralph is now the resident Staff Writer for Kinkly as well. Ralph’s short fiction (erotic and ‘straight’) poetry and essays have been published in eight...

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