Graphic by Holly Nall

It’s a question that has plagued the sexes for thousands of years since the first phallic images appeared: Does penis size matter?

Depending on whom you ask you’ll get a flat-out “Penis size is everything,” or you might hear, “It’s not the size of the ship, it’s the motion of the ocean.”

I’ll break the news to you — size does matter, though it’s not the single determining factor for sexual satisfaction.

That’s right, size matters. The average length or depth of a vagina is three to four inches, but when a woman is aroused this length nearly doubles. The average rectum is even deeper than that. Filling up that space, stimulating the nerves inside, and applying pressure to the right spots is how internal pleasure is achieved.

That’s not to say that a penis has to be enormous to provide pleasure.

“On the female anatomy, the G-spot is located only 2 inches within the vagina,” said Allyson Pugh, assistant director of Associated Students, Inc.’s sex-positive program EROS. “So if you can hit that spot, if you’ve got 2 inches, then you’re good.”

The G-spot, or the Gräfenberg Spot, is an erogenous zone located on the front wall of a woman’s vagina. The only problem is that the G-spot is notoriously elusive and can be a challenge to find.

Chances are if you have a penis, you have at least two inches to work with. The average, erect male penis measures 5.6 inches in length and 4.8 inches in girth, according to a study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine in July. Fear not if you fall on either side of that average, because the sizes documented varied wildly from 1.6 inches long to 10.2 inches long.

Many men experience penis anxiety, another form of the body image problems that plague both men and women. Thirty percent of men studied by King’s College London reported dissatisfaction with their genitals and only 35 percent of the men were “very happy” with their penis size.

A study published in October in the medical journal Andrologia suggests that men should worry more about their neck size than their penis size when wondering if they’ll be able to please their partner. According to the study, men with a neck circumference of 16.3 inches or more are at a greater risk for developing erectile dysfunction.

Remembering one other thing can help ease this penis anxiety: penile penetration is not the only way or necessarily the best way to get your partner off. In fact, most women respond more strongly to clitoral stimulation than they do to internal penile stimulation.

Keeping your partner sexually satisfied means more than just banging them good and hard, the way mainstream porn has led us to believe. The most satisfying and strongest orgasms occur for people when multiple parts of their body are being stimulated, both internally and externally.

This desired combination is why penis size cannot be discounted. A bigger penis, when wielded properly, simply provides more stimulation inside of a vagina or a rectum because it’s touching more. More stimulation means more pleasure. Therefore, a bigger penis means more pleasure.

Let’s keep this in perspective though — too big of a penis can be painful and can tear the sensitive skin around the vagina and rectum. We’re looking for a penis that’s not too big, not too small, but is just right. There isn’t a magical number and it’ll be different for every partner you have; but if you have a penis, its size is one of the factors in how much internal pleasure your partner receives.

Our bodies are covered in erogenous zones — the breasts, nipples, clitoris, neck, inner thighs, anus, etc. By pleasuring these areas, there is less pressure put on the internal sensations your partner can receive from your penis. Try out oral sex, erotic massages and mutual masturbation, and see what turns your partner on most.

Just remember that confidence and technique can do a lot to make up for a lack — or perceived lack of inches. As long as you don’t leave out the kisses, licks and caresses, you’ll be able to get your partner to see fireworks no matter what you’ve got in your pants.