Men are freaking out over their small d’s & this trend is to blame…

Men have long been obsessed with the size of their members. But thanks to a confluence of contemporary circumstances, phallic fixation has only intensified.

New York magazine recently published a long feature on the “return of little penis panic.” In it, writer Brock Coylar speaks with many men and medical experts who dish on d size and the growing desire to enhance it.

The piece opens with a timid testimonial from a 30-year-old gay man named Jon, who stands at an impressive 6’6″, while his member is substantially smaller. “My d is small,” he laments. “And that’s disappointing.”

In previous eras, d size was both more personal and approachable. The ubiquity of dating and hookup apps slaps men in the face with reminders of their own under-endowment, while most of the c*cks they actually see belong to adult entertainers or OF stars. The erasure of shared nude spaces like gendered spas and locker rooms means that we seldom see our fellow man in his most natural state. As a result, our perception is warped.

How about we take this to the next level?

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“Our reference points are only p*rn,” said one millennial man. “I’ve never seen my friends’ penises. Or my father’s d. Or my brother’s d.”

Adding to the anxiety, a viral TikTok trend called “catching print” instructs bystanders how to surmise one’s d size without ever actually seeing the object in question. A dating coach named Anwar White says he came up with the method as a way to empower women, whose bodies have long been objectified by strangers without their consent.

He didn’t expect men to get so testy. “I didn’t know how sensitive men were about their penises,” he said.

Still, White understands the agita. “Men are going through a lot right now,” he added. “Things aren’t as stable for them as they used to be.”

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The Hunger Games: Catching Print

Faced with dimming economic prospects, disaffected young men are increasingly turning to “looksmaxxing.” With origins in the incel world, the appearance-enhancing lifestyle invites men to go to the extremes in order to enhance their physical appearances. Common practices reportedly include hitting one’s face with a hammer to improve bone structure and using anabolic steroids to attain chiseled physiques.

A Manhattan surgeon tells New York the concerning movement only further feeds alienation. “People are disconnecting from reality — whether it’s from looksmaxxing, social media, dating apps, or p*rn,” he said.

The world’s most famous looksmaxxer, who’s quoted in the article, boasts about boosting his penis. He says he started doing “d-ups,” an activity that involves wrapping a shopping bag filled with books around one’s waist and using the weight to tug on their penis.

Who says literacy is dead?!

Despite his regimen of “d-ups,” the notorious ‘maxxer admits his penis is average size. But what does “average” mean? In the U.S., the average penis size is often cited as five inches, though that’s an unreliable figure. The New York piece presents plenty of evidence that men probably exaggerate when they self-report.

But one group of people who see through the noise are surgeons. They often see men at their most vulnerable. As of 2024, the global penile implants market size was estimated at nearly $586 million, per Men’s Health.

Earlier this month, I reported on the “ballmaxxing” trend, which involves–you guessed it–puffing up one’s balls. The most popular method involves injecting saline.

Dr. David Shafer, a mid-town plastic surgeon, says his work changes lives. “I treated this one guy this morning, and he said, ‘Doctor, I have to thank you so much. I can wear a tighter swimsuit now. I don’t have to be embarrassed,'” he said.

With speedo season upon us, “catching print” is easier than ever. Oftentimes, it’s poking us right in the face. On IG, the bulge pics are inescapable this time of year.

To combat the social stigma, perhaps it’s time for a summertime slogan: all bulges are beautiful!

Related

What is “ballmaxxing” & why are so many men doing it?
These days, more men are opting to be inflated.

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