Average penis size – A solution seeking a problem

Whether such products work is part of a larger issue: Is the American male really so under endowed that he needs pills and potions?

It turns out that the penis enlargement industry is built largely on myth, and misinformation is spread around to convince men they must improve on nature.

The truth is, most penises are about the same size.

"There are a lot of people who think they are not well endowed," Thayer says. "But most people are about the same."

And, according to sex therapists, penis size is not the key to sexual satisfaction anyway.

"That's not usually that big of an issue," says Colorado Springs couples counselor Shelly Veatch.

"It's not even in the Top 20 of the issues that ever come up. I see more women individually than I do men. With women, almost never is that an issue. Even if they're having a horrible time in their sex life, that's not usually an issue. It's usually about intimacy."

Veatch says the idea probably is passed from marketers to men.

"That seems to be more of a pop advertis- ing movement," Veatch says. "Twenty years ago in the back of Cosmo, they used to have ads for creams that said, 'Make your breasts bigger and get more dates.' I guess it's a similar phenomenon."

That sentiment directly contradicts the core messages of the industry's marketing campaign, which preys on deep insecurities and ties into the general trend of men increasingly scrutinizing and enhancing their bodies.

The number of cosmetic procedures performed on men increased 28 percent from 2002 to 2003, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, with BOTOX injections, laser hair removal and nose jobs some of the more popular purchases.

Specific numbers on penis enlargement surgeries aren't available because the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Urological Association reject them as unsafe and ineffective.

But if more men are worrying about the size of their noses, it isn't a stretch to think some are buying into the spammers' message that they need genital enhancement -- and right now.

SOCIETY GETS THE BLAME

Why is it that size gets so much attention in our culture, anyway? A larger penis doesn't seem to serve an important role in reproduction. And the desire for a larger penis is not universal among humans.

Art historians note the Greco-Roman aesthetic ideal was men with small penises. Ever notice the modest member on the perfect body of Michelangelo's "David?" That wasn't accidental -- it's consistent with hundreds of other Greco-Roman depictions of the ideal male form.

Colorado College sociology professor Dana Rosenfeld thinks the American obsession with penis size is rooted in contemporary anxiety about masculinity, rather than evolutionary pressures or universal human behaviors.