The world’s preoccupation with size is truly frustrating. We’re obsessed with it on an unhealthy level, and I have to admit I am guilty of it too. As a plus-size woman who struggles accepting and loving her body, I think about it all the time. Am I “too big” to wear this top? Do I look like I am taking up too much space in this booth? Does everyone see how far my chair sticks out? It’s exhausting. I’m not sure if men suffer from the same body image issues when it comes to weight — though I know there are plenty of men who do struggle and don’t want to discount them — but I do know they get rather preoccupied with the size of another body part.
According to an article in the National Library of Medicine, a survey of 52,031 heterosexual men and women regarding views on penis size revealed 55% of men were not fulfilled with their penis size despite 85% of women claiming to be satisfied with their partner’s penis size.
You really can’t blame men. Penis size is hyper fixated on in society. The first thing a lot of people insult or question is the size of a man’s penis when he displays certain characteristics, but the truth is, just like your eye color or bone structure, it’s what you’re born with. And for men dealing with the health issue of having a micropenis, it can be a harrowing experience functioning in society.
The Mirror recently highlighted the story of Michael Phillips, 38, a North Carolina native who recently opened up with ITV to talk about the reality of living with a .38-inch penis on its show This Morning. He first talked about all of the complications that stem from the situation physically and emotionally.
“I was probably in high school, and dealing with girlfriends and stuff like that, I thought I was a late bloomer, maybe one day it would be normal size,” he said on ITV. “But it never happened.”
He explained that he never felt comfortable talking to family about it or really anyone. “I kept it to myself, when I was in my teens and twenties, I was always single even though I had friends,” he shared. “They wondered why I wasn’t dating and I didn’t want to go through that.”
He went on to elaborate how it has massively affected his adult love life and daily interactions.
“I kept it secret, I didn’t get picked on because nobody knew,” he admitted. “I can’t go out and have a one night stand but it also affects my ability to use a restroom, my confidence. Even sitting down can be tricky with the clean up and everything. I’ve tried everything possible. You can be upfront, you can try to talk to somebody, sometimes you don’t say nothing at all.”
He made the decision to talk about it publicly as a way to help other men going through a similar experience and has used his Instagram to discuss the topic more openly with a lot of honesty and dark humor. It’s a move he considered to have been largely positive, which helped him in addressing confidence issues.
“There really isn’t very much representation for small sizes in media and almost zero mention of micro penis being portrayed as being a real medical condition and not a slang joke term,” he said.
