Size matters for heroes, not zeroes

Penis size influences a man's sex appeal, and the taller the man, the bigger the effect, research from ANU has revealed. Dr Brian Mautz and Professor Michael Jennions from the ANU Research School of Biology showed life-size, computer-generated male figures differing in height, body shape and penis size to 105 women and asked them to rate the figures' sexual attractiveness. "This is a topic that has captured the imagination of people all over the world for a very long time," Professor Jennions said. "If you look at the magazine rack in your local newsagent, sooner or later you'll see an article entitled 'Does size matter?' We wanted to answer this age-old question with a valid scientific approach - facts not opinions." In agreement with what research has already told us, the women preferred taller men and men with broad shoulders and narrow hips (V-shaped, rather than pear-shaped). But this time, the researchers found that penis size matters too. And the bigger, the better - the most attractive penis size appears to be even larger than the team tested, exceeding the penis size of 98 per cent of Italian men. "We've found that penis size did influence a man's sex appeal, and it was just as important as height, which is a well-known factor in male attractiveness," Professor Jennions said.