A new study published in the American Journal of Men’s Health has debunked the long-held assumption that men dissatisfied with their penis size are more likely to own guns. Contrary to popular belief, the research found that men who are more satisfied with their penis size are actually more likely to own guns.
The relationship between penis size dissatisfaction and gun ownership has been a topic of widespread speculation in popular culture for years. Many believe that men who feel insecure about their penis size may compensate by owning guns, which are often seen as symbols of power and masculinity.
This idea has been discussed in various media outlets and has persisted as a cultural trope. The researchers aimed to test this theory empirically to provide evidence-based insights into the validity of these claims.
“As a social scientist, my primary interest is to understand the role of guns in society. This includes the social causes and social consequences of gun ownership,” said study author Terrence D. Hill, a professor of sociology and demography at The University of Texas at San Antonio.
“There is a lot of speculation in society that men who have trouble with their penises (e.g., erection issues or smaller than desired penises) are more likely to own guns. This raises questions about the causes of gun ownership or which groups in society are more or less likely to own guns.”
In a previous study, the researchers found no relationship between sexual dysfunction and gun ownership among men. The findings were based on data from 780 men who had participated in the 2021 Crime, Health, and Politics Survey. But Hill and his colleagues sought to conduct a more direct test of the connection between penis size and gun ownership.
For their new study, the researchers analyzed data from the 2023 Masculinity, Sexual Health, and Politics (MSHAP) survey, which collected responses from a national probability sample of 2,024 men aged 18 and over living in the United States. Participants were sampled from the National Opinion Research Center’s AmeriSpeak panel, ensuring a representative sample across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The survey was conducted online between March 30, 2023, and April 12, 2023.
Penis size dissatisfaction was measured using a scale where respondents rated their satisfaction with their penis size when fully erect, and by noting whether they had ever used any methods for penis enlargement. Gun ownership was assessed through three questions: whether respondents owned any guns, whether they owned military-style rifles, and the total number of guns owned.
The data showed that 43% of men reported owning a gun, with 11% owning military-style rifles. Only 7% of men had attempted some form of penis enlargement.
The researchers discovered that men who were less dissatisfied with their penis size were actually more likely to own guns. Specifically, each unit increase in penis size dissatisfaction corresponded to an 11% decrease in the likelihood of owning any gun and a 20% decrease in the likelihood of owning a military-style rifle.
“Contrary to popular beliefs, our current study shows that men who are more satisfied with the size of their penises are more likely to personally own guns,” Hill told PsyPost. “Because there is no theory for why men with bigger penises would be more likely to own guns, we do not believe that this association is real. In other words, we believe that this association is likely spurious or due to factors that we failed to account for in our study.”
The researchers also found several demographic and social factors associated with gun ownership. Straight men and obese men tend to own guns at higher rates. Older men, men with higher household incomes, and rural residents are more likely to own any type of gun, although not necessarily military-style rifles, and typically own more guns overall. Men who live in the southern United States and those who identify strongly with traditional masculine traits are also more likely to own guns.
While the study provides novel insights, it also has several limitations. The cross-sectional design means that no causal or temporal inferences can be made. Future research could benefit from longitudinal studies to explore how penis size dissatisfaction and gun ownership might change over time.
In addition, the study relied on self-reported measures of penis size dissatisfaction, which can introduce bias. Developing more reliable multi-item indices and considering direct measurements of penis size could improve future research.
“Although we control for social desirability bias, our measurements of penis size are based on self-reports, not direct measurements,” Hill explained. “The reported association between penis size and gun ownership is likely due to factors that we are unaware of or failed to measure in our study. For example, the association between penis size and gun ownership could be due to the fact that men with higher levels of testosterone tend to have bigger penises and are more likely to engage in risk-taking behavior.”
“In the future, we would like to acquire funding to formally assess our testosterone hypothesis. We also have other projects in mind that test other taken-for-granted assumptions about guns.”
“The data collection for this study was supported by funding from Change The Ref, an organization that ‘uses urban art and nonviolent creative confrontation to expose the disastrous effects of the mass shooting pandemic,'” Hill added. “Although Change The Ref holds a clear political stance with respect to the role of guns in society, this organization played no part in the planning or implementation of the study. My coauthors and I are fully responsible for this research. Our universities do not endorse or sponsor this research.”
The study, “Size Matters? Penis Dissatisfaction and Gun Ownership in America,” was authored by Terrence D. Hill, Liwen Zeng, Amy M. Burdette, Benjamin Dowd-Arrow, John P. Bartkowski, and Christopher G. Ellison.
