In his book about human mating systems, Primatologist Alan Dixson has said that the human penis is not "exceptionally long in relation to those of other primate species, especially when their body sizes are taken into account." Ī more likely mechanical explanation for the evolution of the human penis that does not require the invoking of sperm competition can be found in a 2008 paper by Edwin Bowman. Smith reported measurements of 8cm for the chimpanzee, 4cm for the orang-utan, and 3cm for the gorilla. It should also be noted that all the above measurements are greater than what was originally claimed by Smith 1984, an influential proponent of the idea that the human penis is unique compared to other great apes. It is similar to the chimpanzee in erect length, only slightly smaller, and has a shorter penis than the bonobo (Stretched length and erect length are approximately the same lengths). Erect Length 14.4cm (Dixson and Mundy 1994) Īs we can see, the human penis is not as magnificent as some would make it out to be.Let's see what other primates look like in comparison: calcSD penis size calculators and charts.The average human penis is between 13-15cm in length and 10-12cm in circumference when erect (measured with a bonepressed ruler): The human penis is more visually accessible than other primate penises and thus has evolved via sexual selection.The size of the penis has evolved to promote female orgasm as female orgasm influences sperm retention and transport, larger penises will be selected in order to gain an advantage during sperm competition.The size and shape of the human penis have evolved to displace rival sperm and thus gain an advantage during sperm competition.The length of the Human Penis has evolved to deliver sperm as close as possible to the cervix so as to gain an advantage during sperm competition.Typically to account for the purported unique status of the human penis in comparison to other primates, one of four following theories are offered as an explanation: It should be interesting to note the both Miller and Ryan are evolutionary psychologists, not biologists (and they are both notorious for their highly speculative and dubious theories) as well as polyamorists. Ī more recent example can be seen in the popular book Sex at Dawn (a book that can only be described as the largest collection of pseudoscientific claims on human sexuality to have ever existed) by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha, who luridly describe humans as the "great ape with the great penis". In 2000, Geoffrey Miller published a book where he wrote that "adult human males have the longest, thickest and most flexible penises of any living primate". This view has been further advanced by the likes of Robin Baker (the author of Sperm Wars) and Mark Bellis (the pioneers for the idea that sperm competition has played a major role influencing human evolution), who made dubious claims that the human penis "is nearly twice as long and over twice as wide as that of the chimpanzee."Īlison Jolly has also made similar remarks in her book saying that the "peculiarity of humans is that the penis is twice the size for body weight as that of any other primate". Smith described the human penis as "extraordinary relative to the other hominoids." Smith, heavily influenced these assertions about the evolutionary history of the human penis. These hypotheses largely center around the idea that the morphology and size of the human penis are highly unusual compared to other great apes, especially humanity's closest extant evolutionary cousins, the apes of the genus Pan (chimps and bonobos). The human penis has been subject to many theories about how its specific morphology has been influenced by evolution. 5.2 Penile length and sexual satisfationĬontroversy about evolution.5.1 Issues with the research on female orgasm.4.6 Crude Re-estimation of Partner Size and Sexual Satisfaction.4.5 Male and Female Perception of Penis size.4.2 Abdominal fat and judgements of penis length.3.8 Testes size comparisons amongst great apes.3.5 Polyspermy and reproductive success.
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