If you’ve been watching the new cringe-comedy series The Curse, you’ll undoubtedly remember the first episode’s graphic urination scenes, in which it is revealed that Asher (Nathan Fielder) and his father in law Paul (Corbin Bernsen) both have a micropenis.
The sight gags in the show are achieved via prosthetics. The conversations they might prompt about sex and male insecurity, though, are very real.
Hooking up with a new partner for the first time can make anyone nervous, and the pre-conceived notions we have around what sex ‘should’ be like can only add to the pressure. In a male culture where size and sexual performance are still stereotypically linked, making the first move is even more difficult.
Over on Reddit, in a post titled, “What is the right moment to tell your date/fling that you have a micropenis? And how do you go about it?”, a man opened up about his insecurities in this department, leading to a conversation about whether or not penis size really does matter.
“Not asking for a friend,” the post begins. “I never expected to ever have sex, let alone get someone on a date, but it happened last week. Everything went well and the second time we met, we both went to her apartment to drink and watch a movie. After we kissed, I just noped the fuck out and cycled home because I couldn’t handle the stress. When do I tell women this info, if at all?”
To be clear, a micropenis is “2.5 standard deviations smaller than the mean size of the adult human penis.” If you are an adult and your erection is two inches, you qualify for a micropenis, as Dr. Leo Doumanian, a reconstruction surgeon at the USC Institute of Urology, previously told Men’s Health.
As for how to go about starting that conversation, one commenter suggested that the poster “set expectations as soon as possible,” saying: “I haven’t figured this out either, and I’m not looking forward to this situation.”
