- Researchers said the price and circumference ‘significantly’ affected popularity
- But length was not important showing women don’t place emphasis on size
Men need not worry, size really doesn’t matter.
For women actually prefer average sizes, according to an unusual academic study.
University of Kent researchers assessed the popularity of 265 sex toys, looking at their size, material, price and reviews.
They concluded that ‘women don’t place considerable emphasis on large phallus size’.
Analysis of over 200 toys by scientists in Kent found length was unimportant, suggesting women aren’t fussed by size. Instead, the study — believed to be the first of its kind assessing both a toy’s characteristics and dimensions — saw price and circumference rate top
This was based on them discovering bigger did not necessarily equal better, bolstering the theory that women aren’t that fussed by size.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most popular sex toys were the cheapest.
Products assessed ranged in value from less than £10 to almost £450 and were all available on Lovehoney’s website.
Yet, writing in the Journal of Sex Research, the academics said the ones best-loved by women had an ‘average’ circumference of 4.85 inches.
For comparison, the average erect penis has a girth of around 4.59 inches, according to a 2015 study involving more than 15,000 men.
They found toy length was significantly larger than the average penis, at 7.07 inches.
This was, however, ‘not a significant predictor of a toy’s popularity’, they noted.
The average length of an erect penis, meanwhile, is around 5.16 inches.
Writing in the journal, the experts said: ‘Contrary to what we expected, we found no preference for products with realistic features, other than presence of veiny texture, when not controlling for price.’
But researchers acknowledged they relied on only one average penis size measurement to compare their findings with.
‘We recognize this study itself might not be accurate given the many methodological difficulties in determining average penis size so some caution is perhaps warranted when considering presented results comparing our sample to “reality”‘, they added.
Equally, given Love Honey is a UK-retailer, the results only reflected the preferences of British consumers.
They also accepted that not all reviews they assessed may have been submitted by women, with men also able to purchase and review the toys.
The global sexual wellness device market was estimated to be worth around £15bn ($19bn) in 2021.
Celebrities are also cashing in. Model Cara Delevingne is co-owner of sex toy retailer Lora DiCarlo which has a ‘premium’ robotic massager priced at £270.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s brand Goop sells a £110 ‘wand’ vibrator hailed as ‘a thing of beauty on a nightstand’.
Demand for online sales of sex toys also boomed during the pandemic, given lockdowns and two-meter contact bans.
Surgeons, however, have long warned of dangers of such toys with hundreds of Britons requiring A&E each year for an emergency extraction.
Poorly-designed ones, lacking safety features designed to prevent them getting lost or stuck inside, can result in agony instead of ecstasy.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk