Dear Dr. Holmes:
I will never forget a certain column of yours about small penises because I too have a “small” problem. It used to worry me very much, but after I read your column, it no longer worried me so much (at least, not about myself).
As you suggested to the gentleman who first wrote to you, communication is the key. I finally got the courage to ask my wife and I believe her when she says it makes no difference to her. I believe that she loves me even if my penis is not 6 inches long when erect. Besides, my wife has small breasts. Like most men, I would have preferred much larger breasts but I love her for what she is and that includes small breasts. In a way, maybe that is good so patas lang kami (we’re even). Dr. Holmes, I may no longer be worried for myself but I cannot help worrying about my son. He is 4 years old and his is rather small too. Did he inherit my size? Can I do something to make it (my son's) normal?
JERRY
Dear JERRY:When you say your four-year old son’s penis is small, I presume you mean this proportionally (such as small for his body) as opposed to small for any person’s body, Forgive me for seeming to belabor a point, but men sometimes get so emotional about this that they forget things certain things. For example, A child your son’s age has 30 inches more to grow on average (and yes, JERRY, we are talking height here).
At the moment, it is too soon to tell what your son’s erect penis size will be when he becomes a man. When a boy reaches puberty, his penis will definitely grow, and grow not only because the rest of his body is growing. Your son’s penis will definitely grow larger not only because the rest of his body is growing (possibly 30 inches in height). Your son’s penis (his baby/child penis in proportion to his baby/child body) will grow so that his man penis, in proportion to his man body, will be bigger than what his boy penis was in proportion to his boy body. This penile growth spurt is sometimes as much as by 50% more! Is that great news or what?
Genetics is a tricky business, at least for a non-geneticist like myself, so all I can give you are the broad brush strokes, so to speak. Penis size is inherited, but I have no idea if this is a recessive, dominant, or indeed some-other-kind-of-gene that we non-geneticists know nothing about. All I know is what I told you about in the first three paragraphs of my answer to you because I hounded my genetics professor about this eons ago when I was in graduate school.
Because penis size is inherited, it is possible that he inherited part of his mom’s side of the family. Or indeed, even your side, but that of your brother’s, father’s, etc. I doubt there is a single (simple) gene for penis size. It is many genes combined, how much the skin stretches, how much skin there is over there in the first place, etc., etc.
Finally, even if it turns out that the “worst case scenario” happens and he does end up having a penis like yours, then let us hope that he has inherited other qualities from you too: your inherent good taste in choosing a woman wise enough to know that the most important sex organ is not the one between your legs, but between your ears, and your basic decency in believing your wife when she says she loves you the way you are.
All the best!
MG Holmes
(BodyMind Vol. 3 No. 12 - First posted: 6-27-99)
