It’s an age-old question: Does size matter? (We are, of course, referring to penis size and how it impacts sexual pleasure for a woman. You know, just in case it wasn’t clear.)
A number of studies have been conducted in an effort to settle this debate once and for all. But Cut.com recently assembled a group of women from the ages of 18 to 50 to see just how sizeist we really are.
The verdict? Although we ladies have different opinions on everything from haircuts to politicians, we’re all over the board when it comes to our preferences for the D.
Although this sampling of women indicates that size is largely a matter of individual taste, science has a slightly different answer.
A study in Kenya, for instance, found that men with larger penises are actually more likely to cheat on their female partners. While this has little to do with how a woman feels about penis size, it might be a reason to actually avoid well-endowed partners.
A video from ASAP Science in 2014 tackled the same burning question. Ultimately, it found that size doesn’t matter nearly as much as whether the penis is proportional to the man. “After all, over-exaggerated traits, even those related to attractiveness, can often be a sign of problems,” the video noted.
Additionally, a 2013 study by PNAS—no, that is not a penis joke, but a real organization—found that women tend to avoid both small and large penises. The Huffington Post wrote that the study “suggested that while women may be more attracted to men with larger penises (particularly if they’re also tall and fit) that interest starts to taper off when a penis measures larger than 7.6 centimeters in its flaccid state.” In short, women prefer men with average penises to those whose members fall at either extreme end of the spectrum.
But while the debate over whether size matters will likely continue to rage on for decades to come, it’s worth noting that the debate goes both ways. According to a study referenced in Psychology Today, just as men’s penis sizes vary, so do the sizes of women’s vaginas (though the variation is usually not as extreme.) What some women might perceive as a smaller-than-average penis might be a function of a larger-than-average vagina.
So while we prattle on about whether penis size matters, ladies, perhaps we should be asking the same question of ourselves. Or alternatively, maybe men and women could stop worrying about the sizes of their respective genitalia and just enjoy having sex with each other. Either one.
Photo via Charlene McBride/Flickr (CC 2.0)
