Why is it culturally ok to make fun of small penises?

[moonlightnbg]

This is probably one of the most intelligent and justified questions that has been posted in a while. But unfortunately I can't give a satisfactory answer. Why is it acceptable to mock small penises (not only in the example given; also generally) whereas ridiculing any other physical feature is considered unacceptable?

Certainly, pop culture constantly suggests that it is better to have a big penis. And a small penis is unfortunately associated with lesser manhood. But what justifies being so vocal about it? I assume it is because it is one of the few "politically incorrect" jokes you can still get away with. Like other users have suggested - nobody is going to stand up and plea justice because he feels hurt by a small dick joke. Nobody runs around with their penis size printed on their t shirt. So every guy has the opportunity to "officially" laugh it off as if he were not affected. I assume that doesn't make life easier for smaller guys, especially if they already have issues because of their size. But because only a few people are actually aware of any given man's penis size; he is at least reprieved from direct public humiliation.

 

[fournineteenfiftynine]

Some context.

Joy-Ann Reid was responding to a segment just preceding her show. This concerned the simultaneous placement of statues of a nude Donald J. Trump in prominent areas of five major American cities. They depicted him as grossly overweight, with a teeny tiny penis and no balls. Each bore a plaque reading, "The Emperor Has No Balls."

In the related segment, local newscasts showed crowds gathered around the statues, laughing, pointing and taking pictures. Their cameras mostly pointing below the waist. The one in New York's Central Park was removed by the Parks and Recreation Department, with the notification that unauthorized nude statues are not allowed to be "erected, no matter how small." *

Ms. Reid was responding to the light-hearted, rather ribald nature of the story and the humorous responses by the people on the street in the segment, laughingly referring to it as being a "small problem" and the like.


Of course, this all is an outgrowth of the charge by Marco Rubio about Trump's "tiny hands" - and "You know what that means" - which of course prompted Trump in their next televised debate to assure everyone that he had "no problem" in that area. A case of TV-TMI. The inside joke is that the Donald is terribly sensitive about the size of his hands ("Big League" or "Bigly"). In a magazine article years ago, he had been ridiculed for having tiny hands. Trump immediately indignantly responded that he had perfectly normal-sized hands, and for years thereafter the writer received xerox pictures and pencil outlines of his hands to prove the point.




* According to the Washington Post, the artist "Ginger" once considered voting for Trump, but decided against it after the Republican nominee made fun of a reporter who had a disability. He has family members with disabilities.

Yes and she made a hand gesture showing a small penis in a mocking way. I just find it hypocritical...she would be appalled if a male reporter made a hand gesture referring to a small (or big) female breast...he'd get fired.

 

[fournineteenfiftynine]

This is probably one of the most intelligent and justified questions that has been posted in a while. But unfortunately I can't give a satisfactory answer. Why is it acceptable to mock small penises (not only in the example given; also generally) whereas ridiculing any other physical feature is considered unacceptable?

Certainly, pop culture constantly suggests that it is better to have a big penis. And a small penis is unfortunately associated with lesser manhood. But what justifies being so vocal about it? I assume it is because it is one of the few "politically incorrect" jokes you can still get away with. Like other users have suggested - nobody is going to stand up and plea justice because he feels hurt by a small dick joke. Nobody runs around with their penis size printed on their t shirt. So every guy has the opportunity to "officially" laugh it off as if he were not affected. I assume that doesn't make life easier for smaller guys, especially if they already have issues because of their size. But because only a few people are actually aware of any given man's penis size; he is at least reprieved from direct public humiliation.

Thank you for a very satisfactory and thoughtful response. And actually, thank you, also for reframing the question. You said it better than I.

 

[Ruth-less]

the joke with the Trump thing is about skewering the machismo. He's playing 'the big swinging dick' role
This is just a way of undermining that rhetoric

 

[fournineteenfiftynine]

the joke with the Trump thing is about skewering the machismo. He's playing 'the big swinging dick' role
This is just a way of undermining that rhetoric

I get that, but it is really at the expense of others. It's been my experience that those with the big swinging dicks more often than not are the ones that act like they have a big swinging dick, those with smaller dicks usually aren't braggarts and tend to be more humble. The whole assumption that if a guy is a braggart he is compensating for something I think really isn't generally true. So it is just kind of ironic that it is okay to make fun of a group of people who not only don't deserve it.

 

[Ruth-less]

it's an attempt to show somebody who is defining himself in very 50s patriarch ways as lacking manhood...
it's not an attack on small dicks, it's a very telegraphic piece of art

 

[napwayne]

Trying being black and small....you become the COMIC RELIEF...literally...in social situations (sometimes), in stories, in movies. Just throw a small dick black guy into the scene to get a good laugh..

 

[elvid]

Tonight watching Joy Ann Reid hosting on MSNBC she made a "joke" about small penises. I've seen this before on news shows and really all over the place. Why is it politically correct to make fun of small penises yet it would be definitely politically incorrect and universally shunned to make fun of any other genetically caused physical imperfection? Why is it assumed that men with small penises are somehow characteristically flawed when it would never be accepted to connect any other physical imperfection to a character flaw?

It's politically correct because men with small penises are not marginalised or excluded from opportunities in society in the way that, say, people of color, women, LBGTQ people, or disabled people are, or have been historically.

 

[fournineteenfiftynine]

it's an attempt to show somebody who is defining himself in very 50s patriarch ways as lacking manhood...
it's not an attack on small dicks, it's a very telegraphic piece of art

As you say - showing a man with a small penis even in an "artistic" way as a way to show lacking manhood extends the stereotype that having a small penis = lacking manhood. Again, I just think of the 15 year old boy that has been shamed for having a small penis in the locker room or wherever and then sees the meanness supported by popular culture. Guessing we won't see eye to eye on this one but thats ok.

 

[hzs3fg]

First of all, is she mocking small penises or is she mocking Donald Trump? There is a difference...

Having said that, it has been claimed (Hey! I read it on the internet!) that an American female made fun of Osama bin Laden's small cock while he was attending university in the US (was it Illinois?) and this was the root of his hatred of all Americans.

 

[KennF]

I think maybe be mixing up satire/comedy with 'culturally ok'.

Comedians have been making culturally unacceptable comments for a long time, probably back to the stone age. Part of the idea of comedy is to shine a light on what culture is doing and turn it into an absurdity. They hyper-stereotype in order to drive home a point.

Something said in a satire or comedy show would be totally unacceptable if said in another setting.

We laugh at the awkwardness. We laugh at the absurdity. We laugh at the stereotype.
And most comedians challenge us to think our way through those awkward and absurd stereotypes.

We look at reality through these crazy perspectives and, hopefully, see more clearly.

 

[Trott.lint]

I don;t get this - it's the worst double standard out there and the last thing not to be covered by political correctness. A guy's cock is up for ridicule if he's small - and because women don;t have cocks and most men are average or large, there are very few people who will come to the rescue of small men. In fact, if they speak up for themselves they;re automatically ridiculed for being small cocked, and if women speak up for them it's automatically assumed those women have partners with small cocks.

Grown men can take care of themselves, but vile, knuckle-dragging scum like singer Lily Allen, who encouraged women at several concerts to mock men with small penises, may be responsible for teenage boys getting lifelong complexes and in some cases harming or killing themselves.

I don;t have any problem with guys who enjoy SPH, but it unintentionally plays into this hateful sub-culture of shaming.

 

[amado]

Well I don`t think its ok. But it happens and might have been a bit common.
In teen years boys never mind with comments.
But when older and grown-up mentally it must have something to do with "ranking" for degrading someone for a specific reason.
I am on the small side and know what can happen amount adults in locker room situations.

 

[CarlaM]

This is a very interesting topic to me as a wife of a man with a small penis. My husband is generally very comfortable and confident, but I know he is self conscious about his penis size. I've seen him cringe or react when a joke is made in a movie or on TV. I've never understood why it is ok to say a man in a nice car or such must be trying to compensate for not being well endowed. Very interesting thread here. Thanks for this discussion.

 

[fournineteenfiftynine]

This is a very interesting topic to me as a wife of a man with a small penis. My husband is generally very comfortable and confident, but I know he is self conscious about his penis size. I've seen him cringe or react when a joke is made in a movie or on TV. I've never understood why it is ok to say a man in a nice car or such must be trying to compensate for not being well endowed. Very interesting thread here. Thanks for this discussion.

Thank you Carla for a very interesting perspective. I'm sure its hard for hubby to talk about...good for you for being understanding.

 

[Trott.lint]

@CarlaM it sounds like we're being weak but trust me nobody understands the humiliation and potential fear a man with a short penis has. If you're gay, non-white, etc you have support groups out there to deal with prejudice & the knowledge that there is a brother or sisterhood to stand with you. If you're shortchanged on the cock side, there'll always be people out there like you and my gf who don't care but there are many others who ridicule, humiliate & downgrade & they are the louder voices because they have popular culture to back them up. Its pretty cruel, but yr hubby is lucky to have you.

 

[pluto]

For the same reason it's okay to make fun of gays, minorities and any other group that is perceived as weak and not mainstream. Small penises are a sign that the man is not powerful, and so people immediately assume he's a wimp, can't satisfy a woman - is basically not a man.

 

[amazzzed2]

This is a very interesting topic to me as a wife of a man with a small penis. My husband is generally very comfortable and confident, but I know he is self conscious about his penis size. I've seen him cringe or react when a joke is made in a movie or on TV. I've never understood why it is ok to say a man in a nice car or such must be trying to compensate for not being well endowed. Very interesting thread here. Thanks for this discussion.

Like your husband, I am very confident in every other part of my life. I too react to jokes about a small penis, but I like being teased about having a small one!
Especially by a gorgeous woman like you!

 

[398956]

I was thinking about that too, earlier today, wrt the Trump statue. Generally I haven't given it too much thought, but it's really quite nasty.

Part of the rationalization is that most often the jokes are directed towards men in positions of power and privilege – the macho tough guy, the Ferrari/Hummer driver, the overachieving executive, etc, etc. I guess the idea is that these men are fair game because they're in positions of power, so, to suggest they're compensating for a deficit at the "core" of their masculinity somehow undermines the patriarchy they embody.

The problem I see is that while some guys with smaller penises probably have compensated in ways that are immoral, hurtful, laughable, whatever, I'm sure for many more, it's just another struggle in life, another thing nagging at their self confidence.

And, if we really do believe that all these bad actors are formed through this particular insecurity (which I see no particular reason to believe), wouldn't mocking them for it just make things worse? Give birth to more macho dickheads, shitty real estate developers, demagogues, dictators, mass murderers (whatever we believe people do to compensate) in the next generation? Wouldn't de-stigmatizing having a smaller penis, ending the lionization of men with larger ones, and ending our insistence that men must be sexually dominant and hyper-masculine generally do more to further humanity's future?

I played out a thought experiment recently, where I put myself in Ancient Greece, where small penises were the ideal and men with large penises were laughed at as lascivious buffoons, and I managed to genuinely feel kinda bad about myself for it. I thought: "am I a bit of a lascivious buffoon?", and I think it did me some good.

Thanks for the thoughtful topic @fournineteenfiftynine.

 

[fournineteenfiftynine]

I was thinking about that too, earlier today, wrt the Trump statue. Generally I haven't given it too much thought, but it's really quite nasty.

Part of the rationalization is that most often the jokes are directed towards men in positions of power and privilege – the macho tough guy, the Ferrari/Hummer driver, the overachieving executive, etc, etc. I guess the idea is that these men are fair game because they're in positions of power, so, to suggest they're compensating for a deficit at the "core" of their masculinity somehow undermines the patriarchy they embody.

The problem I see is that while some guys with smaller penises probably have compensated in ways that are immoral, hurtful, laughable, whatever, I'm sure for many more, it's just another struggle in life, another thing nagging at their self confidence.

And, if we really do believe that all these bad actors are formed through this particular insecurity (which I see no particular reason to believe), wouldn't mocking them for it just make things worse? Give birth to more macho dickheads, shitty real estate developers, demagogues, dictators, mass murderers (whatever we believe people do to compensate) in the next generation? Wouldn't de-stigmatizing having a smaller penis, ending the lionization of men with larger ones, and ending our insistence that men must be sexually dominant and hyper-masculine generally do more to further humanity's future?

I played out a thought experiment recently, where I put myself in Ancient Greece, where small penises were the ideal and men with large penises were laughed at as lascivious buffoons, and I managed to genuinely feel kinda bad about myself for it. I thought: "am I a bit of a lascivious buffoon?", and I think it did me some good.

Thanks for the thoughtful topic @fournineteenfiftynine.

Your welcome. And thanks for your very thoughtful response. I know the assumption is that these blustery fellows must be "compensating for a deficit at the "core" of their masculinity" but I really wonder if this is true. I wonder if it more often the fact that the blustery powerful men maybe actually do have the bigger penises and that they might tend to have bigger egos because of the ego boosts they have gotten through the culture because of their endowment? I wonder. I don't know.