Study: Men dislike buying condoms called 'small'

New research by the Kinsey Institute has shown that most men don't like to buy condoms labeled as 'small'. Scientists now advise producers to call even the smallest items 'large' . What does that tell us about male psychology?

Dr Richard Crosby of the University of Kentucky, and Dr Bill Yarber of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction analysed questionnaires completed by 436 condom using men between the ages of 18 and 67. The unremarkable result was that almost half of those questioned were dissatisfied with the latex implements they used for contraception and/or as a health safety measure. Physorg.com states the following concerning the research:

A remarkable 44.7 percent of the respondents said they had experiences of condoms that were ill-fitting, the doctors found.

Poorly-fitting condoms more than doubled the risk of breakage, slippage, erection loss and difficulty in reaching an orgasm, either by the user or his partner. They were also five times likelier to cause irritation of the penis.

Such problems prompted many users to remove the condom before intercourse ended -- a worrying phenomenon in the fight against unwanted pregnancies and sexually-transmitted disease.

Another aspect of the findings was more remarkable, and it shows that to most men, size matters more than it does for most women. The scientists discovered that men often used condoms much too large, and therefore not at all fitting the size of their sacred member - as the Chinese often call the penis. However, since condoms already do come in various sizes, the problem is not so much one of condom size but of the men's perception and wishful thinking concerning their penis size. To deal with this delicate matter of penis size, as the researchers have called this, they advise condom makers - one of which had sponsored the study - to call even the most small size large, going from there to extra-large and other terms to be perceived positively by the male community. So we shouldn't be surprised at all, in the future, when there will be a condom magnum or perhaps even The Giant. Adds the South African IoL News:

The findings may make some people giggle, but the researchers said the implications were serious. Men will often not buy condoms sized "small" or even "medium," they said.

As for male penile psychology in general, Dr Bill Yarber had the following to add:

"The old saying is, women don't have penis envy, men do."