New research published in the journal Psychology of Men & Masculinities provides evidence that men who feel insecure about their masculinity are more likely to place a high value on having a large penis. The findings suggest that for some men, the penis serves as a symbol of status and dominance, and the desire for a larger one is partly driven by feelings of humiliation regarding failures to meet social expectations of manhood.
“If the reason men value a large penis is not because big penises are desired by women, then what could account for it? Anecdotally, I observed that men who admired large penises seemed angry and hostile. But this was just a personal observation that needed to be tested empirically to see whether it was supported or not.”
“Based on that theory, I thought that men who are feeling like they are not succeeding in the masculine role might value large penises more, as an alternate symbol of masculinity.”
In terms of social attitudes, valuing a large penis was correlated with higher levels of religiosity and support for Donald Trump. However, statistical models suggested that the connection to political and religious views might be partially explained by the underlying masculine role stress. The strongest predictor for desiring a larger penis remained the feeling of insecurity regarding masculinity.