Is there a connection between penis size and evolution?

MisterMark

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Has evolution had an effect on penis size?

Most of us prefer large penises, but does a larger penis hold any evolutionary superiority over a smaller penis?

I believe there are studies showing that men with larger penises have sex more often than men with smaller penises, which would lead me to believe that penises would naturally become larger as the years go by.
 

SyddyKitty

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In the most primitive sense, I could see it as a way to attract more mates and procreate. However, we're much more complex than that. So it really doesn't seem to hold much bearing. It would be nice if we really were evolving towards such. We (humans) supposedly have the largest penises relative to our body scale, right? At least, in the primate family, I think. I remember hearing something like that once.
 

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I've read that in general, humans have a large penis compared to body size. Chimps and other great apes have a relatively small penis for their body size (they put out much more semen). I've also read that the head of the human penis, can act as a kind of scoop to get another males semen out of the woman. Again, these are all generalizations.
 

Steve26

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Most of us prefer large penises, but does a larger penis hold any evolutionary superiority over a smaller penis?

Who is your "most of us"? The most ardent fans on this site tend to be gay men, and their preference doesn't impact evolution since male-male sex doesn't result in procreation.

In contrast, it's pretty clear from the membership of this site that women -- the ones whose interest in penis size could actually shape evolution -- generally don't place a premium on large penises. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, if women were really into large penises, there'd be a LOT more female members here.

Even if there were studies of the type you allude to (I'm skeptical), saying that larger men have more sex is NOT the same as saying that larger men have more babies, since not all sex results in pregnancy. Even if, for the sake of argument, women fool around more with endowed guys (again, I'm skeptical), I'd guess that for the vast majority penis size falls very low in the hierarchy of factors determining who they actually choose to mate with.

Steve
 

dickintopeka

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Who is your "most of us"? The most ardent fans on this site tend to be gay men, and their preference doesn't impact evolution since male-male sex doesn't result in procreation.

In contrast, it's pretty clear from the membership of this site that women -- the ones whose interest in penis size could actually shape evolution -- generally don't place a premium on large penises. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, if women were really into large penises, there'd be a LOT more female members here.

Even if there were studies of the type you allude to (I'm skeptical), saying that larger men have more sex is NOT the same as saying that larger men have more babies, since not all sex results in pregnancy. Even if, for the sake of argument, women fool around more with endowed guys (again, I'm skeptical), I'd guess that for the vast majority penis size falls very low in the hierarchy of factors determining who they actually choose to mate with.

Steve

Agreed.
 

MarkLondon

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I think it was in an earlier thread on here that someone pointed out that the fact that penis size varies so much in humans indicates there is no strong selection for size by female preference.

However, one factor that distinguishes humans from other primates is relative head size of the new-born. Which necessitates wider vaginas (well, pelvic openings, anyway). Which might account for human penises being larger than other primates'. As long as they're big enough to get in there and get some friction, job's done.
 
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MarkLondon

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The walrus has the biggest penis-to-body ratio out of any animal on the planet.


Mammal, maybe, but they ain't got anything on the humble barnacle!

Barnacle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The sessile lifestyle of barnacles makes sexual reproduction difficult, as the organisms cannot leave their shells to mate. To facilitate genetic transfer between isolated individuals, barnacles have extraordinarily long penises, up to 39 cm in length: the largest penis to body size ratio of the animal kingdom."

39cm is about 15".
 
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jason_els

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Just a note about homosexuality and procreation. Homosexuality has never, throughout history, been a barrier to procreation. Separating sexual preference into exclusive categories has only been accepted, and then only in the west, since the 19th century.

The social imperative to marry and procreate has always overridden sexual preference. Throughout history and almost every culture, those who prefer members of the same sex married and procreated. Monogamy too is also relatively recent in the sense that married men (sorry ladies) are expected to be sexually monogamous and, again, only in some cultures.

There does seem to be correlation between penis size and evolution for the reasons other people have pointed out. Larger penises may be better able to stimulate a woman to orgasm which, in turn, increases her chances of conception as the cervix dips into the vagina during female orgasm contractions, essentially sucking semen into the cervix.
 

Phil Ayesho

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Has evolution had an effect on penis size?

Most of us prefer large penises, but does a larger penis hold any evolutionary superiority over a smaller penis?

I believe there are studies showing that men with larger penises have sex more often than men with smaller penises, which would lead me to believe that penises would naturally become larger as the years go by.

No.
Not significantly.

When any trait holds any kind of particular advantage, the pressure of selection will, over time, narrow the variety of that trait toward the optimal advantage.

For example, A very specific size and design of tail feathers on Peacocks is a significant advantage.

The result, nearly all peacocks have tail feathers of nearly identical configuration or design.

Or, say the horns on a ram.. they confer an advantage. The result, The relative size and form of Ram's horns is universally similar to a very high degree.


When any given trait confers no or nearly no evolutionary advantage, then what you will see is Genetic drift.
With no strong selection to weed out the "less advantageous" genes, ordinary mutation and reproductive variation will result in a Wide variety of genetic expressions.

that is, the less important a trait is for survival, the more variable that trait will appear thru any population.

For example... Lions are ALL tawny because Brown Lions would be at a significant disadvantage... thus nearly zero variation in color among Lions.
Whereas, in domestic cats color has little or no bearing whatsoever on survival... the result, Cats come in a wide range of colors.


The fact that male penis's range so widely, from 2 inches to 10 inches... a factor of 5... shows that penis size in itself can not confer any particular genetic advantage.

The size of a human penis is almost certainly driven by the size of the female vagina... which is driven by the size of the infants head.
 

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@ jason_els:

Of course homosexuality and procreation are not mutually exclusive. However, it's hard to imagine how a gay (or I guess one would rightly have to say bisexual) man's preference for large penises would impact his choice of a female mating partner. And this is the only partner choice with evolutionary significance, as it is the only partner choice that results in procreation.

Steve
 
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deleted356736

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In primates, there is a linkage between penis size and female promiscuity. Taking this link, it is theorised that different cultures have evolved differeing average penis sizes because of differing sexual values. That is, different attitudes in relation to female promiscuity.

African is largest, white in the middle, asian and south asian smallest. Anyone who has studied African culture pre-colonisation will know that teenagers were encouraged to be promiscuous, and that once settled down into long-term relationships, these relationships were not monogamous. In our history until relatively recent times, Western culture was not monogamous, and aguably still isn't given the relatively high percentage of extra-marital sex that happens (40% of married men and 30% of married women).

So, it seems, there is an evolutionary aspect to penis size, and there are a couple of theories as to why this is so. One is that the size that brings the most pleasure to a woman has the best chance of scoring, and another is that the longest penis will deposit semen closest to the cervix. It's possible that both theories interplay, as the average racial differences in penis size are defined by both length and girth (African longer and thicker, Asian shortest and thinnest).
 

Wish-4-8

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In primates, there is a linkage between penis size and female promiscuity. Taking this link, it is theorised that different cultures have evolved differeing average penis sizes because of differing sexual values. That is, different attitudes in relation to female promiscuity.

African is largest, white in the middle, asian and south asian smallest. Anyone who has studied African culture pre-colonisation will know that teenagers were encouraged to be promiscuous, and that once settled down into long-term relationships, these relationships were not monogamous. In our history until relatively recent times, Western culture was not monogamous, and aguably still isn't given the relatively high percentage of extra-marital sex that happens (40% of married men and 30% of married women).

So, it seems, there is an evolutionary aspect to penis size, and there are a couple of theories as to why this is so. One is that the size that brings the most pleasure to a woman has the best chance of scoring, and another is that the longest penis will deposit semen closest to the cervix. It's possible that both theories interplay, as the average racial differences in penis size are defined by both length and girth (African longer and thicker, Asian shortest and thinnest).

If that was the case, Europeans (whites) would have the smallest size. In Japan, cultuarlly speaking, they do not have the same sexual hang ups as Christian based Europeons do. The have no "sex guilt". Often, the woman they are having sex with and satisfing are not the woman they will marry. They will drop them in a heartbeat to marry into a good situation. (from the book Pink Samurai- a look a sexual practices in Japan)

Money and power decide who marrys who. And didnt they have arranged marriages in Europe?

And, in another culture similar to the New Guinea semen warriors, teenage boys are also encouraged to be promiscuous. The value is not on size, but how many times he can cum in one night.
 
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deleted356736

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If that was the case, Europeans (whites) would have the smallest size. In Japan, cultuarlly speaking, they do not have the same sexual hang ups as Christian based Europeons do. The have no "sex guilt". Often, the woman they are having sex with and satisfing are not the woman they will marry. They will drop them in a heartbeat to marry into a good situation. (from the book Pink Samurai- a look a sexual practices in Japan)

Money and power decide who marrys who. And didnt they have arranged marriages in Europe?

And, in another culture similar to the New Guinea semen warriors, teenage boys are also encouraged to be promiscuous. The value is not on size, but how many times he can cum in one night.

I was posting penis size as a factor of female promiscuity and not anything to do with the quality of sex. I have been to Japan, I had a Japanese girlfriend, and I know full well that Japanese have no sex guilt at all. The Japanese certainly had a strong understanding of the value of eros, but they were also a strongly patriarchal society, with little opportunity for women to sexually explore.

In Europe and England, only a minority of marriages were arranged, in the upper classes, and the majority (peasants and middle-class) were for love. Until relatively recent times many couples didn't even get married, they merely lived together. Monogamous marriage really only features from the early decades of the nineteenth century onwards, and for the working class such relationships didn't feature until later in the nineteenth century. There isn't any one norm that I can apply, other than to say a couple may have been married, or not married but living together, or previously married and separated (but not divorced) and living with someone else, or living together but previously had lived with someone else, or maybe in a relationship but having sex with someone else. And this broad spread of relationship types for the lower and to a lesser extent middle classes, show that Christian sexual oppression was not as big an influence as many believe. And if that wasn't enough, marriage vows in Britain were suspended during the month of May, and this is reflected by June being the big wedding month of today. Eventually Christianity brought May day and May itself under control, but this was in very recent times in an evolutionary sense.