Penis Size in Different Cultures
From Trojan Condoms
The very fact that so much effort has – and continues to be – devoted to measuring average penis size shows that it is a matter of great concern. Just as with other parts of the body, different men have different penis sizes. Unlike other parts of the body, however, this fact is deeply disturbing to most men. It really matters to them whether their penis is smaller than most or larger – and everyone wants to be at least average in size. The reason, of course, is that men define themselves in terms of their virility and power. The penis is a symbol of virility. In a wide variety of cultures across the world, penis size is perceived as an index of virility and power.
Historically, the phallus was at the center of many ancient cultures. The ancient Greeks and Romans decorated their every day artifacts with pictures of penises. A famous Roman fresco in the Pompeii ruins shows a rich man using his enormous penis to counterbalance bags of money on a scale, and giant stone penises dating back to the 3rd century B.C. are scattered around the Temple of Dionysus on the Greek island of Delos. In fact, different types of phallic imagery can be found in the artistic traditions of most cultures, worldwide. The walls of Hindu temples in India are adorned with explicit erotic scenes where representations of the penis are prevalent, a study conducted on the cultural history of the penis in medieval Iceland* concluded that penis size defined men’s social status at the time, and soldiers of the Ottoman Empire supposedly publicly posted the measurements of their penises for their enemies to admire. The significance of the penis in all cultural traditions is undeniable. Everywhere, it was and still is the symbol of procreation (man’s creative power), fertility and love.
The degree of preoccupation with penis size varies slightly from culture to culture – but it’s there in most cultures. The uninhibited expression of these concerns did not of course continue through the ages. Religion (especially the three monotheist religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam) soon put a stop to that. Today, there are apparently two reasons why men care about penis size. One is the inherent competitiveness of men. A man actually feels superior to another man if he knows, or believes, his penis to be bigger. The more competitive a society is, the more men will be obsessed with this issue. The second reason is the belief that a penis’ size affects a man’s sexual performance and his attractiveness to women.
While this seems to be true everywhere, it has recently attained much more significance in western cultures than elsewhere. Nowhere else is body image as important as it is today in the West. The media in the West plays an important role is promoting this concern, and men with big penises are depicted as being successful and happy, while smaller men are either pitiful or comic. The pornographic film industry is one case in point. Men in the West are apparently becoming as obsessed with penis size as are western women with issues such as weight. The difference is that they don’t admit it openly – out of embarrassment, and also for fear of discovering that they are smaller than average.
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