Finally, men with below average penises fared significantly worse than other men on three measures of psychosocial adjustment. Men with below average penises were significantly more likely to identify as “bottoms” (anal receptive) and men with above average penises were significantly more likely to identify as tops (anal insertive). Men with above average penises were more likely to report HPV and HSV-2 (Fisher’s exact p ≤. Size was unrelated to condom use, frequency of sex partners, HIV status, or recent diagnoses of HBV, HCV, gonorrhea/Chlamydia/urinary tract infections, and syphilis. Seven percent of men felt their penis was “below average,” 53.9% “average,” and 35.5% “above average.” Penis size was positively related to satisfaction with size and inversely related to lying about penis size (all p <.
Survey data from a diverse sample of 1,065 men who have sex with men were used to explore the association between perceived penis size and a variety of psychosocial outcomes. Yet, there has been little research among men who have sex with men assessing the association between penis size and social-sexual health. Larger penis size has been equated with a symbol of power, stamina, masculinity, and social status.
