In a study that should surprise no person who has ever been on the receiving end of an unsolicited dick pic, researchers found that a whopping majority of men report feeling satisfied with their penis — 85.9 percent, to be precise. Only 14 percent reported low genital satisfaction. Astonishingly, these figures remained constant across all identity groups, including age, race, sexual orientation, education, location, and income.
Intrepid researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, led by urologist Dr. Thomas Gaither, devised a new scale called the Index of Male Genital Image (IMGI) to gauge men's body image when it came specifically to their genitals. They then deployed it in a wide-reaching survey of 4,198 men between the ages of 18 and 65, and published their findings in the Archives of Sexual Behavior this month.
The purpose of the survey was not only to discover how men felt about their own genitals, but also to determine whether there was a correlation between insecurity and sexual activity, ie., were men less likely to engage in sex if they were feeling insecure about their dicks? The survey consisted of 14 statements regarding physical genital traits, like size and scent, and asked participants to rate the statements on a scale of 1-7. Answers between 1 and 3 were considered "dissatisfied," while answers between 4 and 7 were considered "satisfied."
Almost 86 percent of men scored an average of 4 or higher on the survey, placing them in the "satisfied" range on the IMGI. They were most likely to be satisfied with "the shape of their glans (64 percent), followed by circumcision status (62 percent), girth of erect penis (61 percent), texture of skin (60 percent), and size of testicles (59 percent)."
Conversely, men were most likely to be dissatisfied with the "size of their flaccid penis (27 percent), length of erect penis (19 percent), girth of erect penis (15 percent), amount of pubic hair (14 percent), and amount of semen (12 percent)." Traits men were most likely to feel neutral about were things like the scent of their genitals, having genital veins, the location of their urethra, the color of their genitals, and the amount of pubic hair they had.
Of course, genital satisfaction had a slight — but statistically significant — effect on how sexually active men were and on what types of sex acts they participated in. Satisfied men were about 13 percent more likely to be sexually active, four percent more likely to be having vaginal sex (why the study didn't go with a simple "penetrative" when men of all sexual orientations were surveyed is unclear), and five percent more likely to be receiving oral sex than their fellow dissatisfied participants.
The study mysteriously concluded that physicians and health educators could use this information about male genital satisfaction to "provide education and reassurance," but uh, from the findings above, it seems like reassurance is about only 14 percent necessary.
Images: Andrew Zaeh for Bustle; Giphy
