Big penis: is that what women want?

So what should we believe? Technique is more important? Girth trumps length? Personality is what matters? One thing is clear: men care about the whole penis size thing more than women do.

But only Australian women were asked. Can we really generalize Australian taste to everyone else's? What’s more, the computer animations they rated were faceless, skinless, hairless dummies based on Caucasian build. What if you factor in some beautiful eyes and gorgeous wavy hair? Is a penis really that important when it comes to rating how sexy a man is?

Length, girth or both?

A Croatian study took a different approach and just asked women how much they prioritised a big penis. The result will be more encouraging for men, and probably less surprising for women. More than half of the women asked said they find penis length and girth only somewhat important. Just 18 percent of the women found a long schlong to be very important.

But there’s a snag. It seems to be difficult to ask women directly what they like in terms of penis sizes. Instead of blurting out what she really thinks, a woman may say that penis size doesn't matter to her. She censors herself.

This is why the Australian authors say their study is different. They didn't ask the women directly what they liked in terms of penis size. Instead, the ladies had to rate life-sized animations. They say that this gives a better idea of what women really like.

Flaccid or erect?

Another question that comes to mind when reading the Australian study is why the ladies had to rate flaccid penises. Those of us who have seen a penis go from soft to hard know that the flaccid size says very little about what the penis will look like once it is erect. So when measuring sexual attractiveness, should we be looking at flaccid or erect penises? Which one is more of a turn-on to women?

And one more thing: cave-people may have strolled around the fire in the buff, but how many women today actually see their potential partner's sex organs before making a move?

It's not all about the penis though, the Australian study found. The most attractive men are those with the full package: large penis, tall, and a sporty V-shape.

Satisfaction!

Let's talk about more than just looks – does a big penis mean more satisfaction between the sheets? It shouldn't, according to several studies. The vagina can adapt to all kinds of penis shapes, so length and girth shouldn't influence satisfaction at all. But then, a wider penis could stimulate the clitoris more effectively, another US study suggests.

In this study, 90 percent of the ladies preferred girth to length because it felt better to them. But then, this perception of pleasure could be different from actual physical arousal and satisfaction. So no real conclusions in the satisfaction category, either...

It's all in the mind

There does seem to be hard evidence for one thing though: men find penis size much more important than women do. Several studies have looked into this. One of the largest, again a US study, found that 85 percent of women are satisfied with their partner's penis size, while only 55 percent of the men are happy with their willies.

Where does this insecurity come from? The media, and porn particularly, seem to hammer the message that a huge penis equals more manliness into men's heads. And the women's exaggerated responses in porn movies don't help.

Because this seems to be causing insecurity in some men, there is a huge market for penis-enlarging products – despite the fact that they don’t actually work.

So, does size matter? Yes, it does. To men. Women seem to be much more relaxed and open when it comes to their partner's penis size.

What about you? Does size matter to you? Leave a comment below or join our discussion on Facebook.