Life
Fact or fiction? 6 myths black people believe about themselves
theGRIO REPORT – There are some within the black community that are believed and continuously passed down. Read to see of these six are fact and which are fiction…
Black men are well endowed
If hearsay and the images perpetuated in the pornography industry are true: black men are more endowed than men of other races.
Is it a fact?
If so, the difference in size is not huge.
There are extremes in size across every race, extremely short penises, called micropenises, and extremely long ones. But, overall, most men fall close to the average lengths, ranging between 5.5 inches and 6.3 inches. The Kinsey Data suggest that black men have similar lengths as white men or, if larger, just slightly and insignificantly so. Asian men, however, consistently measure shorter than both white and black men in various literature.
In line with that finding, the Indian Council of Medical Research measured 1,200 men and found that 60 percent were too small for the international standard size for condoms.
Six years ago, on the other hand, after South African men complained that the government standard condoms were too small, condom maker Durex created and ship special extra large condoms to the country.
Incorrectly fitting condoms is an important factor in condom failure worldwide.
As a result, the World Health Organization created size guidelines for the condoms shipped to certain regions. These measurements are based on three studies that indicate that African men require slightly longer and wider condoms, Caucasian men require medium condoms and Asian men require shorter and slightly narrower condoms.
In a study on condom fit among African-American men who have sex with men, 1 in 5 felt the condoms were too tight, 1 in 5 felt the condoms were too short. Only 1 in 10 felt the condoms were too loose. But, the actual lengths and girths were not measured.
Not all studies support such large measurements in African men, however. A study of Nigerian men in 1985 measured over 300 men age 17 to 23 and found the average length of a flaccid penis to be 3.47 inches, which is almost one inch shorter than the average flaccid length.
If one were to ignore the previous Nigerian study and assume that the hypothesis that African men have larger penises is true, it still does not necessarily translate to African-American men. The common mixtures of Caucasian, African and Native American in African-American families, as well as the addition of other ethnicities and races such as Asian populations ultimately brings the measurements closer to the average, experts say.
If this stereotype is not conclusively factual, where did it come from?
Herbert Samuels, professor at LaGuardia Community College in New York writes that this stereotype is likely linked to the opinions of 16th century West Africa that described black men and women as bestial, animalistic and hypersexual. This description also included the black man as a “sexual superman” with a penis larger than the white man and increased potency.
In the present day, Samuels describes, African-American men may perpetuate their own stereotype, since it is a rare time when a stereotype about them is not drastically negative. In some ways, it has become a sense of the black male identity.
Conclusion: Perhaps among African men, there is a slight difference in size, but among African-American men, this stereotype is likely fiction and rooted more in racist, historical rhetoric.
Source: theGrio
