Actually, the measurement method that has become most common in any kind of clinical study is fully stretched flaccid length. This is because measuring erections is problematic just in general, and the stretched length equals erect length +- like 4% in around 98% of all men. When you think about what an erection does, that makes perfect sense. It inflates and stretches out whatever tissue there is. If your cock stretches out to 7", getting a hardon isn't going to make it 8". No matter how hard you get, you can't inflate tissue that just
isn't there.
As to why this measuring method is becoming popular, it's because it's less erroneous than measuring erections. Erect cock measurements suffer less inaccuracy from
how they are measured than they do from
who is doing the measuring. The Kinsey studies, and virtually every similar study which established the "6 inch average" size, suffered from one or both of two fatal flaws:
- They allowed participants to volunteer for the study. (Below average men are less likely to volunteer.)
- They allowed participants to self-measure their own hard-ons. (Obvious problem with exaggeration.)
So, medical studies started selecting participants at random, and using a clinician to do the measurements. More recent studies of this kind show smaller average measurements (as low as 5.0"). But this technique has the defect of measuring a lot of guys who are not quite full mast when measured.
Imagine, you're at a clinic, a very unromantic, asexual sort of place to begin with. Somebody switches on some porno and you're supposed to get yourself fully hard, then some clinician will walk in with a tape and take a measurement. If the clinician is a guy, that will be it for some straight men. Instant shrinkage. If the clinician is a gal, it's guilt about being aroused in front of some "other woman." Or insecurity because she's probably measured hundreds who were bigger. A dozen different psychological scenarios could be constructed. The fact is, regardless of the gender of the measurer, quite a lot of guys are going to lose some steam when getting measured by an impersonal third party.
Which leaves: measuring clinically, but measuring fully stretched flaccid length rather than erect length. Happily, this is pretty close to right for most guys. So that's what they do.
So, dudes, if you want to know how you stack up to published averages, I suggest that you try limbering up your timber and then stretching it out soft. You'll need to measure along the side, because the act of stretching tents out the skin at the top. But in a flaccid state the side and the top are the same anyway.
Latest controlled research I've seen has debunked the myth of the 6" penis being average. A 6-incher is actually above average. The new "average" is now in the range of 5.4" to 5'8". I guess that's good news for those of us who are large. But for those women and gay men who like the be on the receiving end of big packages, it's gotta be a sad day indeed.
-DC
