As men, there’s a certain amount of stigma and bravado surrounding topics like sexual health and satisfaction. In a day and age where misinformation can metamorphose into fact, it’s more important than ever to discuss men’s sexual activities. If you’ve ever felt uncertain or uncomfortable about your Johnson’s size, performance, or endurance, hopefully, this clears things up a bit!
Is 6.5 Inches Really the Average Length?
Lying about how big the tool we’re packing is probably the oldest and most prevalent lie ever told. And somehow, during all these eons of lying, a myth was distilled as fact: that the average length of the male penis was 6.5 inches in length.
Well, according to Dr. David Veale—a South London psychiatrist—and his team, this couldn’t be farther from the truth…by over an inch! Published in the British Journal of Urology International, Dr. Veale’s team compiled data from 17 research sources and over 15,500 men to bring us the truth. According to their research, the average length of the male penis when erect is actually 5.16 inches.
How Long Should Sex Last?
The second greatest lie that men like to tell has to do with their god-like endurance. We’ve all heard the stories about sex that have lasted hours and stared in awe (and most likely suspicion) at the friends who’ve regaled us with their tales of sexual prowess. But what’s the truth? From penetration to ejaculation, how long does the average man really last?
According to Dr. Brendan Zietsch, a Canadian psychologist based out of the University of Queensland, it’s much shorter than that. Zietsch had over 500 heterosexual couples time themselves (using stopwatches) and then compiled the data to give us an average. He found that while a few people could get close to the hour mark, the average length of time was actually 5.4 minutes.
However, even a statistically significant benchmark like 5.4 minutes paints an incomplete picture. Most sexual health professionals agree that the personal satisfaction of each partner is more important than the duration of sustained penetration. Plus, focusing on how long sex should last often implicitly centers the person doing the penetrating in the sexual encounter. Thinking about sex as more than penetration– including foreplay, communication, and other aspects of physical intimacy– can help dispel fears about performance being equated to the duration of penetration.
How Common is Erectile Dysfunction?
Depending on how long you’ve been sexually active, you may or may not have experienced difficulty “getting it up.” It happens to everyone: especially after a night of heavy drinking! But what about when it happens all the time? How common is ED, and what causes it?
According to a study done at the Cleveland Clinic, as many as 52 percent of men have or do experience erectile dysfunction. They go on to say that 40 percent of forty-year-old men and 70 percent of seventy-year-old men are affected by ED. This means a 1 percent increase in the probability that you will be affected starting when you turn 40. ED is, simply put, a common occurrence of growing old.
But it can also affect men of much younger ages. This is typically a result of medications (such as for blood pressure, anxiety, and depression) or other medical disorders. Regardless, treatment plans exist and are relatively easy to access through a primary healthcare provider!
Condoms: A Total Boner Killer?
Let’s take a moment to talk about using condoms during sex. As long as there have been condoms, there has been bemoaning of their use. Whether it’s because they’re too tight, don’t feel “natural,” or kill the sensitivity during sex, the laundry list of reasons men shy away from condom use is extensive.
I’ll take a moment to admit that I’ve been one of these men. I hated condoms until I met a guy who set me straight. Many of the reasons men complain about condoms stem directly from the fact that we aren’t educated on them properly and that—historically—the shape and thickness of condoms haven’t been conducive to continual usage. Thankfully we’ve entered a day and age where condoms now come in a myriad of sizes, shapes, and thicknesses.
For those of you who feel as if the condom feels too tight, explore larger condoms such as Magnum. For those of us who feel as if our sensitivity is completely stripped the second we put a condom on, explore thin or so-called “bare” condoms. And finally, for those that simply hate the unnatural feel, try talking to your sexual partners about female condoms. Female condoms are actually okay to use for anal sex as well and are a good compromise for homosexual and heterosexual sexual partners alike.
