Taller men endowed with larger penises are perceived to be more sexually appealing than mid- or average-height men with corresponding small-sized genitals, a study published in PLOS Biology reveals.

While previous surveys showed that women tended to favour men’s character traits over physical appearance, the research published in January showed that women were starting to place importance on a man’s physical body, particularly the size of genitals, while also assessing his behaviour.

A survey of over 800 participants found that both men and women favoured taller men with V-shaped bodies and larger penises. Responses showed that a man would feel jealous and intimidated by a taller man with a significantly larger genital.

“Across both settings, selection analyses revealed consistent directional selection favouring taller men with a more V-shaped body and a larger penis,” the research stated.

Findings from the survey also showed that men perceived their counterparts with larger penises as rivals with strong fighting abilities.

“In both surveys, male participants rated rivals with a larger penis as more sexually competitive and physically threatening,” the publication stated. “To our knowledge, this is the first experimental evidence that males assess rivals’ fighting ability and attractiveness to females based partly on a rival’s penis size.”

A 2019 study published in Taylor & Francis Online showed that men exaggerated the size of their erect penis in an effort to meet societal standards of desirability.

The study attributed the lies told by men to the fact that “many men are unhappy with their bodies because they believe that they are not equal to stereotypical ideals”.

A 2008 study by Tiggermann found that 68.3 per cent of heterosexual men wished they had a bigger penis.  

Men’s quiet dissatisfaction with their genitals was leading many to seek penile lengthening surgeries and, in Africa, herbs that could engorge their penis, even if temporarily.

Last week, a UK Coroner inquest said a British-Nigerian influencer, Igho ‘Tiny’ Ubiribo, died from complications of a penile enlargement surgical procedure in Thailand, which ignited debates about how men also battled body insecurities.

That he was male, African, married and in his forties ignited conversations suggesting that men are not as immune to body insecurities as they are often portrayed.

Women are perceived to be the gender that obsesses about their bodies. The research by Taylor & Francis Online contradicted that, indicating that men are just as fixated on the desire for a larger penis in the same manner women desire voluptuous bodies. They equate a larger penis with exuding a high level of masculinity and sex appeal.