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Hot penis, sexy vagina: why genital self-image matters

Thinking your penis or vagina is hot stuff can give your sex life a major boost, according to a large international study.

Most of us care about our appearance, especially when we’re on a date. We put on makeup, try on one pair of jeans, then another, and check ourselves out in the mirror. Knowing we look good can give us that extra bit of confidence.

But what about how you look without the clothes and makeup on? To be specific – how you look inside your pants? Does it really matter if you feel good about the way your genitals look?

Well, sure it does, the new study concluded – perhaps not surprisingly! Believing your penis or vagina is attractive can boost your sexual self-esteem and prowess and help you feel great in bed. In short, it can work wonders on your sex life.

Researchers asked almost 3000 gay and straight men and women from the UK, USA, and Australia if they felt self-conscious about their genitals and whether they thought their penis or vagina was attractive. They also answered questions about their sex lives and relationships.

Genital confidence

The conclusion? People who feel good about their genitals generally have better sex. If you’ve got a positive genital self-image, you’re likely to feel attractive and sexy in bed. You’ll be able to let go and enjoy yourself instead of worrying about the shape or size of your penis or the way your vagina smells.

And if you’re single and not exactly having lots of sex, thinking positive thoughts about your genitals can increase confidence when it comes to meeting a new romantic partner. Even while you’ve still got your pants on.

No wonder then that a quick search on the internet will turn up tons of ads for penis enlargement. And in some countries, female genital cosmetic surgery is increasing in popularity.

It makes sense that people should be concerned about the way their genitals look – after all they are key players when we have sex and we definitely can’t have it without them.

Sizes, shapes and colours

The good news is this is nothing to do with how your penis or vagina really looks - it's just the way you feel about it that matters. The problem is that a lot of people feel their genitals don't make the grade.

But where do people get the idea that their penis or vagina isn’t attractive in the first place? After all, the genitals are body parts that are, well, usually kept private.

Especially for women, part of the problem might be that there’s just not a whole lot of diversity in the way genitals are shown in the media. Vaginas come in so many sizes, shapes, and colours, but women may not really know what’s natural and healthy since what they see on television or in magazines is so limited, the researchers suggest.

The abstract of the study is online as part of the PDF from the 2013 World Association for Sexual Health congress. 

Does worrying about how your penis or vagina looks spoil sex for you? Leave a comment below or join us on Facebook.

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