I have created this blog mainly as a moan zone about my life. However, I am increasingly receiving messages from those in a similar fate and those who are just interested. Whilst there are quite a few good blogs which offer guidance and support, I will not be attempting to do that. Having said that, here are some cliff-notes on what a micropenis is.
A micropenis is a penis which is under the average length. For the purposes of the term average, according to various websites the average length of a male penis is over 5″. A micropenis, is generally smaller than this number. Whilst many men grow up worrying about their size, personally speaking, those with micropenis will be aware of this condition often during their early teens. Due to this being such an emarrasing matter for teenage boys, it is often not clinically diagnosed.
What happens after diagnosis?
If a male seeks help from a doctor and gets diagnosis, they are often referred to specialists in andrology/genitalia. They will often try hormone therapy (if requested or suitable) with testosterone injections to try and promote growth. Other options include fat removal and genital reconstruction from donor sites such as the forearm or thigh.Â
Although there has been significant improvements within this area, it still remains an area which there is relatively low research and advancements outside of surgery. The causes are unknown and in some parts of the world, surgery will be unavailable.Â
I have personally been through testosterone injections from the age 11-16 and suprapubic fat pad removal. Both of these have not made a difference to the size of my body but has left me very hairy and I feel aged, I have thick fur-like hair everywhere from my face, arms, chest, back, private parts (including bum) and legs/feet. I believe this was down to the testosterone during puberty, maybe I had way too much! If anyone else is offered it, take care because it didn’t help my penis but made my body completely change. The fat removal was an attempt to find my ‘buried’ penis (which didn’t exist per se, so I’m still about 5cm stretched length).
The next option for me is to have a penile reconstruction. I have delayed this for a year whilst I decide if it is exactly what I want. It would be the same procedure used for female to male (FTM) transgender patients. They will take skin from my arm or thigh and construct a new phallus, this will be attached to my existing penis and will have tubes and pumps. The response rate for actually having feelings from the nerve endings is 50% according to my doctor. It is a major operation which will take place over a year if not longer as my body would need time to rest in between. I haven’t decided whether it is something I definitely want to go through just to have a better ‘locker room’ appearance as my doctor put it.Â
What is life like with a micropenis?
I knew from a young age that I wasn’t the right size, so apart from being in and out of hospitals and dropping my pants in front of medical staff, I stopped taking part in sports. Whenever I go to the toilet I am worried about someone seeing me, I will never use a urinal. I have never had a relationship and I have a lot of trust issues, I feel that people often say ‘size doesn’t matter’ but it does (if not to them, it does matter to me, my life has been about getting to normal size).
The problem extends for me, to non-sexual relationships as people outside of my immediate family who are unaware of my size know something is wrong with me but their imaginations and predictions just concern my sexuality; they don’t think it’s about the size. They know I have body image issues because I feel overweight and unfit but they don’t suspect there is an issue with my genitals.
What is wrong with having a small penis?
In ancient Greek times, a small penis was desirable and a larger penis was seen as comical. It is also worth mentioning that Greek pederasty existed, it was normal for older males to be involved in a sexual relationship with adolescent boys. In today’s society we look at Greek art with awe and there are jokes made at the expense of the small penises.Â
Today, bigger is almost definitely seen as better. In school and growing up, an emphasis is made on puberty and development with all of us being told ‘not to worry about size’ and quotes of 5″ being the average. Meanwhile, those of us with micropenis will just sit around trying not to draw attention. Somehow fearing that our penises may be revealed. No one generally speaks about micropenis, in fact my own doctors didn’t know what it was. I took a wikipedia page to my doctor and asked for a specialist referral.
Men are often more understanding about this problem, whereas in the media and online women are depicted as ‘penis judges’ take for example the TV show New Girl and their jokes around Micropenis. If guys had made a comment or a tv show about a girl with small breasts, it would have caused outrage. Whereas, nobody seems to take into consideration the effect having a small dick below 5″ seems to have on a guy, because it is seen as a joke.
There is nothing wrong with having a small penis necessarily, only that society makes those with this condition feel like it’s something to be ashamed about or that it is weird. I read once that it affects 0.1% of the population (but I don’t know how that would even be proved, especially since most of us live in silence).
I have only recently been offered psychological therapy but it has not worked at all. I believe my condition has caused a lot of mental health issues for myself, I have depression and anxiety but CBT and Psychosexual therapy has failed.Â
Other information/sites:
http://www.micropenis.info/
http://www.webmd.com/men/guide/is-my-penis-too-small?page=2
http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Micropenis.aspx
http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2014/11/what-its-like-to-have-a-micropenis.html
http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/love-sex/sex/news/a30489/what-women-think-sex-micro-penis/
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/11/10/penis-size-micropenis-small-interview_n_6131646.html
http://amicropenisblog.tumblr.com/