According to a scientific examination of paintings from the 15th to the 21st centuries, the shape of the "ideal" penis appears to have increased in recent history.
"In recent years, we have noticed an increase in interest in penile enlargement procedures," according to study author Ege Can Serefoglu, a professor of urology at the Biruni University School of Medicine and the editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Impotence Research.
"This increase in demand is due to an increase in porn consumption, particularly during the epidemic period." Many young men compare their penis sizes to those of porn stars and consider their penises to be small, although their sizes are within the normal range."
“They are worried about their inability to please their partners,” Serefoglu told PsyPost.
"This disorder is called 'penile dysmorphophobia,' which is nowadays considered to be a component of body dysmorphic disorder." We wanted to investigate the ideal penis size by examining the length of this organ in nude paintings. As predicted, we have observed a dramatic increase in penis size in the recent centuries."
The researchers systematically analysed 160 paintings of nude adult men created by 99 artists from 21 countries around the world, from the Renaissance period till today.
Only paintings with the penis size that could be determined and depicted proportionally to the face were included to standardize measurements. The researchers examined the male figures' faces to ensure that the male figures' faces were accurate and proportionate.
The paintings were divided into seven groups based on the centuries they were painted, and further divided into three groups based on the history of art: Renaissance Period (1400-1599), Baroque-Rococo and Impressionism Period (1600-1899), and Contemporary Art Period (1900-2020).
The number of paintings depicting the naked male body increased significantly during the 15th and 16th centuries, but the penis remained relatively minor during this period.
The average penis size of 21st-century paintings was greater than that of all previous periods, and the average penis size of paintings from the Contemporary Art Period was significantly larger than that of previous paintings.
"We were aware that'small penis' was considered to be ideal in ancient Greece and in the Renaissance period. In the current period, we knew that penis sizes grew along with the society's perception of the 'ideal penis size," Serefoglu said.
The increasing tendency to depict larger and potentially unrealistic penises in contemporary art might stifle modern men's self-esteem and satisfaction with their own penis size, according to the researchers. Additional research is required to determine why artists depict penises in this manner and the consequences of this.
"Men should not regard porn stars as "normal" and should not be focusing on their penile size, which has no bearing on partner happiness," Serefoglu cautioned.
Murat Gül, Emre Altintas, Mehmet Serkan zkent, Annette Fenner, and Ege Can Serefoglu co-authored the research titled "Depictions of penises in historical paintings".
