A man might be judged as both more threatening and attractive if he has a large penis, according to a recent study by the University of Western Australia.
Scientists showed more than 600 men and 200 women computer-generated images of naked men, which varied in height, body shape and penis size.
Then the women rated the figures on sexual attractiveness, while the men assessed how threatening they would find them as physical opponents or sexual rivals.
In general, researchers found that participants scored figures more highly when they had more substantial phalluses.
“The human penis, while it primarily functions for sperm transfer, serves two additional purposes: to attract mates and threaten rivals,” first author and UWA researcher Dr Upama Aich told BBC Science Focus.
“Crucially, we also found that the penis serves as a badge of status for men. Men perceive rivals with a larger penis as being more physically threatening and stronger sexual competitors.”
However, when it came to the biggest penises, women reached a point where more length didn’t matter much – whereas the men’s reactions didn’t plateau.
The authors concluded that men may overestimate the extent to which penis size impacts a woman’s choice of sexual partner, leading them to view men with the most unwieldy dongs as disproportionately alluring to women.
The scientists found similar patterns when it came to height and body shape. Taller figures, with broader shoulders and slimmer hips, were viewed as the most attractive by women and most threatening by men.
But again, the women judged the tallest and most V-shaped men similarly, whereas men were increasingly threatened by those with the most exaggerated traits.
Sometimes, subtle differences arose depending on the participants themselves. For instance, taller men and women tended to view height as more important. Meanwhile, younger men felt more intimidated by a V-shaped torso than older men.
Compared with other primates, humans have unusually large penises. The study results suggest this may be the outcome of sexual selection: women favouring well-endowed partners, and men avoiding confrontation with them.
Aich said that the study investigated dynamics in a heterosexual and cisgendered context because it aimed to answer these evolutionary questions, adding: “This also means our findings cannot be assumed to apply to other sexual orientations."
While it might be tempting to assume that body ideals are a cultural matter, the researchers believe their findings have deeper, evolutionary roots.
“Social and cultural factors clearly shape how people think and talk about bodies, and penis size in particular carries a lot of cultural baggage,” said Aich. “However, our surveys included participants from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds.
“Across all samples, people showed very similar evaluation patterns, suggesting that cultural or ethnic differences played only a minor role in how these traits were judged.”
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