this post was submitted on 17 Mar 2025
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Ethics mean we don't know what the average human male erect penis size is.
No, really. The ethics of the studies say that a researcher can't be in the presence of a sexually aroused erect penis. Having the testee measure their own penis is prone to error. There are ways to induce an erection with an injection, so they use that.
Is the size of an induced erection the same as a sexually aroused erection? Probably in the same ballpark, but we don't really know.
Source: Dr Nicole Prause, neurologist specializing in sexuality, on Holly Randall's podcast.
To be fair, testicles aren't designed for that task.
A quick trip on Google scholar turns up a lot of studies on the size of male erections.
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/553598c1e4b0a7f854584291/t/55ee4a5ee4b025d99f73150e/1441679966732/Penis+Size+Study+-+Veale+et+al+2015+BJUI.pdf
Ha, poisoned data tho
Of course it was biased, those numbers are huge on there, it was men confident in their size skewing the data, at least that's what I will tell myself
Sure, they exist, but they have the flaws outlined above.
The study I linked seems to include both self stimulated erections and erections due to injection. They also limit themselves to clinical measurements. They mention self measured results but point out that they are unreliable, as you said. They do point out however that there might be a difference between self stimulation and an erection with a partner.
But all in all, there isn't a barrier because of the ethics involved in touching a penis and masturbation.
Is this some puritan rule? Plenty don't care to flap their erect penis in the faces of some researchers if they asked nicely. What got ethics to do with it when there is consent?
It's not a strict rule, sex science is a thing that can be done with ethical review same as other medical research. the commenter im not sure is giving an accurate picture of this topic.
Not all erections are sexual-- can't they just measure the non sexy ones?
if only we had some sort of medication specifically designed to cause an erection
might impact the data, then we'd only know given those constraints
So wait
Who is telling the truth. My ex said it was too big. The bell curves I've found have said "uh what lmfao no way are you that big" but every self reported study says I'm small
How the fuck am I going to ever find a toilet that is comfortable to use in my own home
That was an odd segue
It's a problem for men with penises that are long when flaccid. Their penises can touch the inside of the bowl when they're seated unless they hold their penis up.
Never taken an unexpected dip I see?
Switch from a siphonic toilet bowl to a wash down bowl. You'll get more skid marks, but less dips, splashes and clogging.
aren't there literally studies about the size that only accepted measurements by medical professionals?
Yes, and they have the problems outlined above.