Does penis size matter when it comes to sex?

Communication, technique and sexual chemistry all play a massive part in sex, but doespenis sizealso factor into it? One study suggests that it might.

One study, conducted by Kings College London set out to discover whether the size of our members really affects sexual intercourse and pleasure.

Give an inch take a mile

To conduct the study, researchers used silicone rings that sit around the base of the erect penis during sex. The bigger the ring, the less the person would be able to penetrate their partner. So, a one-inch thick ring would mean the penis size was effectively reduced by one inch; it’s exactly how a penis bumper works.

Then, researchers employed the help of 29 heterosexual couples with no pre-existing issues in the bedroom and asked them to have sex three to five times with each ring, measuring 0.5cm (0.2 inches), 2.54cm (one inch), 3.81cm (1.5 inches), 5.03 (2 inches) in thickness.

The women were asked not to check the size of the rings to avoid bias and then rate the satisfaction of each sex session out of 100. Overall, the study found that reducing the penis size by an inch lead to an 18% reduction in sexual pleasure. The authors explained:

We started with the premise that depth of penetration would not matter to most women. However, we found in our participants that reducing the depth of penetration by an average 15% with Ring B (2.54-cm [1″] reduction) led to an 18% reduction of overall sexual pleasure.

The researchers continued: ‘Furthermore, the longer the penis, the less the rings had an impact. Length may therefore matter on average if there is penile shortening.’

Size may matter more if penile shortening occurs in men who have a smaller size There is some indication of this […] as the longer the penis, the less impact of restricting the depth of penetration on sexual pleasure overall.

It’s not the size but how you use it

However, you might want to take the results with a grain of salt, as there were a few discrepancies in the study.

Firstly, there wasn’t exactly representative of a standard romp. There’s a lot more than penis size that goes into good sex, and it’s unlikely that the size of your member would suddenly shrink by two inches. Meaning it could be the change in size that caught the partner’s attention rather than the size itself.

Additionally, while the researchers asked the women not to sneak a peek at the size of the ring being used, as much as 40% admitted to seeing the silicone rings mid-sex, which could have contributed to some bias in the results.

To top it off, 30% of male participants also revealed they had changed their behaviour ‘very much’ or ‘extremely’ during sex. To be fair, operating with different machinery and knowing your performance would be rated and analysed would be enough to give anyone a little stage fright.

Some women in the study also reported that the rings themselves made penetration less pleasurable, claiming it caused friction pain and resulted in less lubrication.

The Kings College researchers disclaimed that penis size ultimately doesn’t matter in all scenarios, and other factors such as sexual confidence and communication shouldn’t be underestimated: ‘The results should not be misinterpreted as meaning that increasing penile length will increase sexual pleasure in female partners.’

They are also not generalizable to men who are not in a sexual relationship and fear being rejected as there are other determinants in such scenarios other than penis length.

If you're ever worried about size when it comes to sex, just know that penetration isn't everything. The g-spot and clitoris are easily stimulated without deep penetration. Additionally, larger penises can even cause pain for some women; that's why silicone penis bumpers exist in the first place. And, if you really wanted to enhance your size or performance, you could always try using apenis sleeve.