Average Penis Size: What the Biggest Study Really Says (From a Porn Actor)

In this guide

• The study that measured more than 15,000 men
• The real averages, in centimetres and inches
• How doctors measure, and why your ruler lies
• Why porn makes everyone feel small
• What women actually say
• Why most men who want to be bigger are already normal
• Enlargement products: what to avoid
• What actually matters in bed

Let me start with an uncomfortable truth about my own industry. Porn is one of the few jobs in the world where men are partly cast by size. Then we are filmed with lenses, angles and lighting chosen to make everything look bigger, often next to small, slim women. Then the best moments are edited together.

So if your idea of a “normal” penis comes from porn, you are comparing yourself with a group that has been selected, lit and edited for one purpose. That is like judging your height by watching the NBA.

I would rather show you what doctors actually measured.

The study of 15,521 men

The most reliable answer comes from a systematic review published in BJU International in 2015, led by psychiatrist David Veale at King’s College London (Veale et al., 2015). What makes it trustworthy:

• It pooled data from up to 15,521 men across many studies.
• It only included measurements taken by a health professional using a standard method. No self-reported numbers, which are famously inflated.
• It excluded men who had complained about their size or had erectile problems, so the sample was not skewed toward worried men.

The averages

Those are the numbers. An average erect penis is a little over 13 cm, around 5 inches.

The spread is also informative. Using the published average and standard deviation for erect length (13.12 cm, SD 1.66 cm), about 90% of men would fall roughly between 10.4 cm and 15.8 cm erect (4.1 to 6.2 inches). Someone who is 16 cm (6.3 inches) or more is already in the top few percent. The online idea that 7 or 8 inches is “average” is simply wrong.

The researchers also found the strongest link was between length and height, but even that was only a weak-to-moderate correlation. Hand size, shoe size and nose size myths? Not supported.

If you learned what “normal” is from porn, you compared yourself with men who were selected, lit and edited to look big. That is like judging your height by watching the NBA.

How doctors measure, and why your ruler lies

Part of the reason men get confused is that they measure badly, or they compare their own careful measurement with someone else’s boast. In clinical studies, length is usually measured along the top of the penis, from where it meets the body at the pubic bone to the tip, pressing gently into the fat pad so that belly fat does not hide part of the length. Girth is measured around the shaft.

Self-reported numbers in online surveys tend to come out higher than clinical measurements, which is exactly why the Veale review excluded them. People round up, and some simply invent.

A few more things to keep in mind:

• Flaccid size tells you little. Cold, stress and nerves shrink a flaccid penis, and some men grow much more than others on erection. Comparing yourself with other men in a changing room is meaningless.
• Looking down shortens it. Seen from above, your own penis looks shorter than it does from the side. That is just perspective.
• Erect samples are smaller. In the review, only 692 men were measured erect, compared with more than 10,000 flaccid, because erect measurement in a clinic is harder. The authors flag this as a limitation, but the erect average is very close to the stretched length average from 14,160 men, which gives it credibility.

Why porn distorts the picture

I can tell you what goes on behind the camera without naming anyone. Lens choice, camera distance and angles all change how big something looks on screen. Performers are often positioned to exaggerate. And men with above-average size are over-represented because casting rewards it. I go into the general mechanics of how scenes are shot in is porn real?.

None of that is a secret inside the industry, but nobody tells the 19-year-old watching at home. The result is a whole generation of men with a distorted picture of what is normal.

What women actually say

One of the largest surveys ever on this subject asked more than 52,000 heterosexual men and women about penis size (Lever, Frederick & Peplau, 2006, Psychology of Men & Masculinity). The headline finding: 85% of women were satisfied with their partner’s penis size, but only 55% of men were satisfied with their own.

Think about that gap. Almost half of men are unhappy with something their partners mostly are not worried about. It is an online survey, so it is not perfect, but the pattern is striking and it matches what I hear from women off camera: they care far more about how a man touches them, listens and pays attention than about an extra centimetre.

Most men who want to be bigger are already normal

A study from an andrology clinic in Florence looked at 67 men who came in complaining of a “short penis” and asking for surgery. Their median age was 27. Doctors measured every one of them. None had a penis below the 2.5th percentile, the usual cut-off for a genuinely small penis, and none had any anatomical abnormality. Most of them overestimated what normal length is. Many recalled their worry starting in childhood, comparing themselves with friends (Mondaini et al., 2002).

The authors found that showing the men a chart of how they compared with other men was helpful in itself. That is partly why I am writing this article.

There is also a recognised condition where worry about penis size becomes obsessive and distressing, sometimes linked to body dysmorphic disorder, which is the area Veale’s group specialises in. If size worries take over your life, avoid relationships or make you consider risky procedures, that is a reason to talk to a doctor or psychologist, not to buy a pump.

Enlargement products: what to avoid

The internet is full of promises: pills, creams, oils, extenders, “jelqing” routines, hanging weights. Here is my honest view, shared by every serious medical source I have read:

• Pills and creams: there is no good evidence that any of them make the penis permanently larger. Worse, some “male enhancement” products sold online have been found to contain hidden prescription drug ingredients; the US FDA keeps a public list (FDA: tainted sexual enhancement products).
• Manual exercises and weights: no good evidence of lasting gains, and a real risk of bruising and injury.
• Surgery and fillers: exist, but they carry real risks, the gains are often small and results can disappoint. That is a conversation for a qualified urologist, never a clinic with flashy online ads.

What actually matters in bed

From the perspective of someone who has spent his career in this business, here is what I would tell my younger self:

1. Erection quality beats size. A firm, confident erection matters more than a few millimetres. Look after your blood vessels with a healthy diet, sleep and exercise.
2. Losing belly fat can make you look bigger. The fat pad above the penis can hide part of its length. This is real and it is free.
3. Confidence is attractive; anxiety is not. Size worry is one of the biggest fuels of sexual performance anxiety.
4. Technique and attention. Hands, mouth, rhythm, communication, patience. My guide on how to last longer in bed covers some of the basics.
5. Ask her what she likes. Every woman is different. That conversation beats any number on a ruler.

If you want the confidence side, I wrote about how to be confident with women on House of Maximo.

This is not medical advice. If you have real concerns about your size, shape or function, see a doctor.

To follow my career, visit maximogarciaworld.com, and for the 18+ side of my work, fuckingpornstars.net.

Sources

1. Veale D et al. Am I normal? A systematic review and construction of nomograms for flaccid and erect penis length and circumference in up to 15,521 men. BJU Int, 2015.
2. Lever J, Frederick DA, Peplau LA. Does size matter? Men’s and women’s views on penis size across the lifespan. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 2006.
3. Mondaini N et al. Penile length is normal in most men seeking penile lengthening procedures. Int J Impot Res, 2002.
4. US FDA. Tainted sexual enhancement products.