JAKARTA - A recent academic study reveals that penis size plays a role in women's sexual interest in men. This study, published in the scientific journal PLOS Biology, concludes that women find men with larger penis sizes very attractive.
The lead author of the study, Dr. Upama Aich from the University of Western Australia, said the findings reinforced previous research.
"We confirm previous findings that women find larger penises more attractive," he wrote in a scientific review discussing the results of the study, quoted from the New York Post website.
This research starts from an evolutionary question about why the human penis, compared to body size, is much longer and thicker than other great apes. Although biologically, the main function of the organ is to channel sperm.
The results of the study show that a large penis size has two important functions. First, as a sexual attraction to attract a partner. Second, as a threat signal for other male competitors, similar to the antlers on deer or the mane on a lion.
To test the hypothesis, the researchers involved more than 600 men and about 200 women as participants. They were asked to assess the figures of men from computer visualizations that differed in terms of height, body shape, and penis size.
Female participants were asked to rate the level of sexual attractiveness, while male participants rated how threatening the figure was, both in terms of fighting ability and as a sexual competitor.
The results showed that women tend to be more attracted to men who are taller, have a V-shaped upper body, and a larger penis. However, researchers also found a certain limit.
After reaching a certain size, adding height or penis size no longer significantly increases attractiveness.
Meanwhile, the male participants rated men with large penises as stronger competitors. Researchers call this an indicator of higher fighting ability as well as a more serious sexual competitor.
Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that penis size evolved as a result of two main pressures, namely female sexual preferences and male competition. However, sexual preferences are considered to have a greater influence.
"The effect of penis size on sexual attractiveness is four to seven times stronger than its effect as a signal of fighting ability," the research team wrote in their study report.
Michael D. Jennions, Professor Emeritus of Evolutionary Biology from the Australian National University and one of the study's authors, stressed that biological function is not the only factor.
"Although the human penis serves primarily to channel sperm, our results show that its unusual size evolved as a sexual ornament to attract females, not merely as a status symbol to scare other men, although both play a role," he said.
However, researchers also acknowledged limitations in this study. The assessment is based only on physical factors such as penis size, height, and body shape, without considering other aspects such as personality or facial features.
In addition, they remind that the standard of masculinity is greatly influenced by culture and can be different in every country and change over time.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
