Size more of an issue now than it was?

[steve2727]

I recently finished reading Atomised by Michel Houellebecq, a good thought provoking book as long as you know to take a lot of it with a pinch of salt, but one line of it that gave me pause for thought was 'I only recently started to notice I had a small penis, nobody cared about the size of your penis in the 70's' (I'm paraphrasing there). I wasn't around in the 70's so I wouldn't know, but I'd just like to ask older members if they've noticed any change, are guys (and people generally) more hung up about penis size now than they were in the past, or has it always been there?

 

[goodguy2244]

That is absolutely true. In college during the 70's, nudity among the guys was just accepted, and guys with smaller penises didn't seem ashamed to shower with bigger guys. Sure, I can remember occasional comments about penis size, and the concept of the size queen was well established, but in general it was NO WHERE NEAR as big a deal as it is today. No wonder younger guys today are fearful of nudity in the gym -- they're all afraid their penis is too small!

 

[rope9839]

I think the proliferation of porn, the Lorena Bobbitt incident (which made it ok to talk about dicks on tv) and a general trend toward the emasculation of men have all lead to penis size being a much bigger deal than it was 10 or 20 years ago.

 

[SpoiledPrincess]

Now I've painted my fridge in dayglo lime, it looks MASSIVE, I suggest everyone paint their cock green.

 

[WellHung83]

Male acceptance of male/male casual nudity has definately gone on the downside for years now, thanks to women wanting men to all but cover up the most obvious sign of them being male, to tv and films and even theatre productions changing and censoring the male penis and even male physique in general has been overkill and plainly quite disturbing.

 

[viking1]

I grew up in, and went to school in, the 60's and 70's. Penis size was an issue then, and there was picking and fun making in school. I do think people are more uptight about things now, but it was still an issue back then.

 

[whatireallywant]

I think it's always been an issue.

I know that I was daydreaming about big guys when I was 12 years old Didn't know at that time that I was actually made for them (or seem to be, anyway...) At the same time I can relate to some of the difficulties that smaller guys face socially, since I have my own issues and insecurities.

As for women wanting men to cover up, maybe women like some of the prudes I went to college with would be that way, but I doubt that most women are that way. Of course I LOVE male anatomy (or I wouldn't be here! :tongue: ), and love to see it.

 

[Fire Stick]

The concept of "the well hung man" receives a lot more play in the mainstream media nowadays then what used to be the case. As a result, I do believe that people have become increasingly conscious of the issue of penis size. I think there are growing numbers of guys with average sized penises who, 10, 20, or 30 years ago, would have felt fine about their endowments -- based on their own comparative observations -- but who now are more likley to be mindful that they are not well-hung and perhaps more likely to feel deprived or short-changed. Rationally, this seems rather silly, but then again, I am pleased as punch that I have a big dick.

 

[viking1]

The concept of "the well hung man" receives a lot more play in the mainstream media nowadays then what used to be the case. As a result, I do believe that people have become increasingly conscious of the issue of penis size. I think there are growing numbers of guys with average sized penises who, 10, 20, or 30 years ago, would have felt fine about their endowments -- based on their own comparative observations -- but who now are more likley to be mindful that they are not well-hung and perhaps more likely to feel deprived or short-changed. Rationally, this seems rather silly, but then again, I am pleased as punch that I have a big dick.

I believe you have the right idea. We are more aware and uptight now.

I think all guys with a big cock are quite pleased that they have it.
You don't exactly hear guys wishing for a small one...

 

[Simon9]

I remember "streaking". It was a fad for a while in the 70's and was ending while I was in college. I woulda done it, too, but I went to college way up North and it got damned cold at night when some guys organized streaking runs. No, not a "shrinkage" issue, but afraid of freezing and getting locked out of the dorm...

I doubt streaking would fare well these days. I do remember thinking at the time (when they streaked) that a lot of guys were smaller than I assumed they would be. But it was cold.

And I remember a couple of guys in high school getting teased for their small size. But still, apart from the clothes...and the hairstyles....and the music....and gaslines and inflation, the 70's were fun.

 

[viking1]

the 70's were fun.

Yeah, a hell of a lot more fun than anything since, or ever again...

 

[Bbucko]

That is absolutely true. In college during the 70's, nudity among the guys was just accepted, and guys with smaller penises didn't seem ashamed to shower with bigger guys. Sure, I can remember occasional comments about penis size, and the concept of the size queen was well established, but in general it was NO WHERE NEAR as big a deal as it is today. No wonder younger guys today are fearful of nudity in the gym -- they're all afraid their penis is too small!

Your profile says you are 37. Did you go to college when you were 7?

I must be slow. I'm 10 years older than you and graduated high school in 1978.

Trust me, the size-queen phenom is by no means new. I've been sexually active since 1977 and having a big dick was just as much a big deal then as it is now.

 

[Cale2]

From what I've read, in Greek and Roman times, people favored smaller penises (e.g. the Statue of David). Guys with big ones were generally laughed at and people thought they looked ridiculous. Granted, this favoritism toward smaller johnsons might have had something to do with a lot of men's affinity for young boys during that time...but still.

 

[mindseye]

The digital age gives rise to what seems to me to be some obvious reasons why there are more hangups about size than there used to be:

• Easier, and nearly limitless, access to photographs of other penises. Seeing the occasional John Holmes is one thing; seeing dozens of "John Holmes" is quite another.
• Photoshopping and appropriation of other people's images misrepresents true "average" slzes to trusting or gullible people, or to those who lack an understanding of how much is possible with Photoshop.
• Pseudo-anonymity encourages:
  • exaggeration of one's true size. (Photoshop helps with this, but we have a lot of 14, 15, 16-inch guys who expect our trust despite not owning a camera.)
  • less discretion from size queens. (It used to be unfashionable to admit to such preferences.)
  • female impersonation -- allowing men to project their own insecurities onto heterosexual men in a deceptive way.

If my hypotheses are correct, then the bulk of the reasons for size hangups are based on fictions, and if men had more of a sensible skepticism about them, they might feel a little more comfortable with themselves.

 

[DeepCurve]

In the 60's or 70's (or even 80's) there was no internet as we know it, and so it was impossible for everyone of both genders to get bombarded with a dozen penis enlargement / performance enhancement / viagra type spams every single day. Likewise, breast augmentations were relatively rare, and the typical non-celebrity client was a 30-something woman with kids who just wanted her body to look like it did when she was 20, not random 19-year old girls who aren't happy with what nature gave them. The focus on size (and performance) is clearly more of an issue in contemporary society, because technological advances have made it so. At the same time, size issues have been around forever. We just see their implications more readily today.

 

[simcha]

Now I've painted my fridge in dayglo lime, it looks MASSIVE, I suggest everyone paint their cock green.

That's brilliant! :clap:

 

[roamingapril]

I remember "streaking". It was a fad for a while in the 70's and was ending while I was in college. I woulda done it, too, but I went to college way up North and it got damned cold at night when some guys organized streaking runs. No, not a "shrinkage" issue, but afraid of freezing and getting locked out of the dorm...

I doubt streaking would fare well these days.

Not to mention that streaking would be considered a sex-crime nowadays--you might even get put on a sex-offender registry, be forbidden from ever working with children, be forced to tell all your neighbors and employers that you are a sex-offender, etc.

I guess this is because a lot of people would claim that the streaker is "harming" any children who see him.

 

[rich-9.8]

Well, I think about it more often now than I did when I was a kid. I'm not sure that counts.

 

[Henryclan]

I'm on the small side and it seemed worse for me in the 70's. I was teased a few times in the 70'sby women I was dating when they saw mine and that seemed to end as I got older and we all matured. While I saw lots of streaking in the 70's, I wouldn't have dreamed of doing it since I was trying to hide my little guy as much as possible. Nowadays I get the occassional chuckle from someone in the men's room when they notice my size but it's certainly not as bad (for me) as it was in the good old days.

 

[B_Just Joe]

well i dont know about the 70s. i was born in 80. but it seemed to me alot of men in my generation were pretty big. only reason i say this is cause ive heard younger women say how small men their age are and how huge older men are.