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Despite the increasing openness in the way we approach sex and sex related topics, plenty of people are poorly educated about sexuality. A very common worry the majority of men have is whether their penis is “the right size” or “big enough,” while some women tend to wonder whether “bigger is better.” However, penis size seems to be a bigger concern for the guys.

According to a survey published by Bustle Magazine, 84 percent of women reported being fine with the size of their partner’s penis, while men are afraid of being perceived as less manly or unable to satisfy their partners’ needs if their member is not of a certain proportion.

The publication Psychology Today found that women are far more interested on performance than they are on size. Here are the answers to some of the most common questions relative to the size of the penis:

What is the average size?

The unrealistic portrait of penis sizes in pornography, along with the increase on aggressive marketing campaigns of products promising bigger penises, have led people to believe an average size penis is much lager than it actually is. According to Medical News Today, the average size of a flaccid penis is between 2.8 and 3.9 inches, while it might reach between 4.7 and 6.3 inches when erect.

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The Journal of Urology states that only men with a flaccid penis length of less than 1.6 inches and an erect length of 3 inches should be considered candidates for the penile lengthening procedure (penis enlargement.)

Does it have to do anything with height?

This falls onto the sex myths category: there is no correlation between penis size and height — or shoe size for that matter.

A study conducted at the University College London determined “there is no scientific support between the size of the shoe a man wears and the size of his penis.” The same applies to the hand-penis size and the height-penis correlations.

What do women think?

According to “Penis Size: Survey of Female Perception of Sexual Satisfaction” presented by the University of Texas in Edinburg, 95 percent of women find width to be more important than length when it comes to penis size. A wider penis could potentially provide greater clitoral stimulation during intercourse, as well as the outer, most sensitive areas of the vagina.

The study also found that penis size has no true physiological effect on a woman’s sexual satisfaction, although it might at a psychological level.

What if your lover is insecure about the size of his penis?

As a result of media and cultural pressure, most boys grow up comparing their penis size to other boys’ and in many cases this behavior continues into adulthood. There are simple steps that can be taken to help him overcome his fear of inadequacy:

- Remind him it is not the size of his penis, but the way he uses it that brings you joy. Be honest about it.
- Reassure him on the importance of love, connection and intimacy before, during and after you have sex.
- Let him know all the things that make you crazy about him, that are not related to his penis size, or even sex for that matter.