Having just read a blog about unbalanced nudity on TV, I feel like it would be a good idea to discuss the public image of the penis - or more specifically, its lack of public appearance.
The blog I was reading, basically says that because there is a large amount of naked breasts on TV, there should also be just as much penis shown on TV.
The writer says that being as a man's chest does not have the same sexualisation as women's breasts, then the penis is the male equivalent of a women's breasts, in that regard. I'd like to firstly agree that the male chest does not hold the same kind of cultural sexualisation as breasts, however that is definitely not to say that the male chest is not sexually arousing. This is also true and acknowledged in TV land. I've seen many TV shows where the exposed male chest and abdomen have been directly used to demonstrate a character's attractiveness. In fact, in many instances we see the female character of a TV show, showing no sexual or romantic interest in a man, until he takes his shirt off.
But of course, a man with his shirt off is not counted as nudity or sexual imagery, in western culture. But a woman's breasts are. I'll skip the discussion about whether that is a double standard or whether breasts should be considered sexual or pornographic, in the first place. Instead, I will say that the penis is not the equivalent of breasts.
If we are going to be silly enough as to compare male and female body parts as being equivalents of one another, then it has to be said that the "equivalent" of the penis must be the vagina and that breasts really do not have a culturally sexualised equivalent.
That being said, I am not going to argue that penises should not be shown on TV. In fact, I think that there are better reasons to show penises on TV, than the argument that breasts get shown on TV and ladies should be able to have have some eye-candy, too.
The blog I was reading, basically says that because there is a large amount of naked breasts on TV, there should also be just as much penis shown on TV.
The writer says that being as a man's chest does not have the same sexualisation as women's breasts, then the penis is the male equivalent of a women's breasts, in that regard. I'd like to firstly agree that the male chest does not hold the same kind of cultural sexualisation as breasts, however that is definitely not to say that the male chest is not sexually arousing. This is also true and acknowledged in TV land. I've seen many TV shows where the exposed male chest and abdomen have been directly used to demonstrate a character's attractiveness. In fact, in many instances we see the female character of a TV show, showing no sexual or romantic interest in a man, until he takes his shirt off.
But of course, a man with his shirt off is not counted as nudity or sexual imagery, in western culture. But a woman's breasts are. I'll skip the discussion about whether that is a double standard or whether breasts should be considered sexual or pornographic, in the first place. Instead, I will say that the penis is not the equivalent of breasts.
If we are going to be silly enough as to compare male and female body parts as being equivalents of one another, then it has to be said that the "equivalent" of the penis must be the vagina and that breasts really do not have a culturally sexualised equivalent.
That being said, I am not going to argue that penises should not be shown on TV. In fact, I think that there are better reasons to show penises on TV, than the argument that breasts get shown on TV and ladies should be able to have have some eye-candy, too.
The Cock Isn't Foul
Some might say that penises are not attractive and that nobody wants to see them on TV. But perhaps we need to see penises on TV. Put simply, the penis needs to be normalised.
I'm not suggesting down-grading the status of exposed genitals, as if it should be okay to expose them at any time or place. But on TV, on the same kinds of shows that happily show breasts, we should also be seeing penises, so that the penis becomes a more normal and understood part of the male body.
Seeing a penis is mostly limited to pornography and medical books. Although some TV shows may show penises from time to time, it in no way has the same commonality as female nudity.
The culture around the penis is that it is especially taboo; either an object of mirth or of exaggeration. Both have their problems for male identity and the cultural position of men.
The exaggerated quality of the penis manifests as a kind of cultural undertone where it is understood (regardless of how true it may or may not be) that it is desirable to have a large penis. Having a large penis is synonymous with being both more of "a man" and with being a better lover. Likewise, a small penis is deemed unfavorable and sure to result in a less fulfilling sexual experience for a woman.
But what actually constitutes "big" and "small" is less defined. If a growing boy's only reference for an erect penis is pornography and his own, he may be left feeling that his penis is on the small side, when in reality it is not.
Showing penises with greater regularity on TV, would allow penises to be presented in their normality. It would help demonstrate the variety between men and their penis size and shape, rather than fostering the notion that manhood and sexual skill, are proportionate to the size of ones phallus.
Size Doesn't Matter?
No, of course size matters. But not in the way that conventional cultural wisdom would have most of us think.
The Idea that having a big penis makes you automatically good in bed, is far from accurate. Likewise, the idea that have a small penis automatically makes you bad in bed, is also wrong. Sex is about more than the size of a man's penis.
In fact, many women dislike large penises. Some women find them intimidating, others find them uncomfortable and less pleasurable than smaller penises. Then there are some women who love a big cock (to put it bluntly). Many women have their own idea of what is the perfect size for them. It may be 8 inches, 6 inches, 5 inches and so on. The point is, that all women are different and so is the way in which each man and women come together. Or perhaps I should say "fit together".
Then there is the matter of performance. Perhaps you're with a woman who likes a large penis and perhaps you have a large penis. But that doesn't mean that you are going to rock her world.
Sexual performance is also about being able to read your partner's body, their motions, touching them in the right places and in the right way. Much of this comes with time and experience. Then there are those who find that they are only really able to enjoy sex once they have established a strong emotional bond with someone.
Of course, it would be difficult to get all of this across through showing penises on TV. But showing normal, healthy penises, would certainly be a start toward redressing misconceptions about the penis.
Who knows, it might even cut down on the number of spam emails that offer to "grow your penis".
Some might say that penises are not attractive and that nobody wants to see them on TV. But perhaps we need to see penises on TV. Put simply, the penis needs to be normalised.
I'm not suggesting down-grading the status of exposed genitals, as if it should be okay to expose them at any time or place. But on TV, on the same kinds of shows that happily show breasts, we should also be seeing penises, so that the penis becomes a more normal and understood part of the male body.
Seeing a penis is mostly limited to pornography and medical books. Although some TV shows may show penises from time to time, it in no way has the same commonality as female nudity.
The culture around the penis is that it is especially taboo; either an object of mirth or of exaggeration. Both have their problems for male identity and the cultural position of men.
The exaggerated quality of the penis manifests as a kind of cultural undertone where it is understood (regardless of how true it may or may not be) that it is desirable to have a large penis. Having a large penis is synonymous with being both more of "a man" and with being a better lover. Likewise, a small penis is deemed unfavorable and sure to result in a less fulfilling sexual experience for a woman.
But what actually constitutes "big" and "small" is less defined. If a growing boy's only reference for an erect penis is pornography and his own, he may be left feeling that his penis is on the small side, when in reality it is not.
Showing penises with greater regularity on TV, would allow penises to be presented in their normality. It would help demonstrate the variety between men and their penis size and shape, rather than fostering the notion that manhood and sexual skill, are proportionate to the size of ones phallus.
Size Doesn't Matter?
No, of course size matters. But not in the way that conventional cultural wisdom would have most of us think.
The Idea that having a big penis makes you automatically good in bed, is far from accurate. Likewise, the idea that have a small penis automatically makes you bad in bed, is also wrong. Sex is about more than the size of a man's penis.
In fact, many women dislike large penises. Some women find them intimidating, others find them uncomfortable and less pleasurable than smaller penises. Then there are some women who love a big cock (to put it bluntly). Many women have their own idea of what is the perfect size for them. It may be 8 inches, 6 inches, 5 inches and so on. The point is, that all women are different and so is the way in which each man and women come together. Or perhaps I should say "fit together".
Then there is the matter of performance. Perhaps you're with a woman who likes a large penis and perhaps you have a large penis. But that doesn't mean that you are going to rock her world.
Sexual performance is also about being able to read your partner's body, their motions, touching them in the right places and in the right way. Much of this comes with time and experience. Then there are those who find that they are only really able to enjoy sex once they have established a strong emotional bond with someone.
Of course, it would be difficult to get all of this across through showing penises on TV. But showing normal, healthy penises, would certainly be a start toward redressing misconceptions about the penis.
Who knows, it might even cut down on the number of spam emails that offer to "grow your penis".
Normalising the penis in this way, may also be beneficial for women, in different ways.
Those women who have bought into the large/small myth, would be presented with a more accurate and varied representation of the male body and genitals. But perhaps more importantly, it may help to make penises less intimidating to some women.
For some women, the idea of sexual penetration is scary, uncomfortable and causes great anxiety. This should be understandable, as regardless of how natural it is, it is nonetheless an invasive thing. I think that many men fail to understand that.
Penetration can have a very different meaning, when you are the one being penetrated.
Ultimately, the first step towards healthy, pleasurable sex, is promoting a healthy image of ones own body and the body of your partner. In the case of men, the taboo of our sex organs, may be working against us. If we can better represent the penis as something that is not bad, naughty, shameful or to be concealed, we help ourselves to better understand it and we also create a culture in which women can better understand it, both for their enjoyment and for ours.
Those women who have bought into the large/small myth, would be presented with a more accurate and varied representation of the male body and genitals. But perhaps more importantly, it may help to make penises less intimidating to some women.
For some women, the idea of sexual penetration is scary, uncomfortable and causes great anxiety. This should be understandable, as regardless of how natural it is, it is nonetheless an invasive thing. I think that many men fail to understand that.
Penetration can have a very different meaning, when you are the one being penetrated.
Ultimately, the first step towards healthy, pleasurable sex, is promoting a healthy image of ones own body and the body of your partner. In the case of men, the taboo of our sex organs, may be working against us. If we can better represent the penis as something that is not bad, naughty, shameful or to be concealed, we help ourselves to better understand it and we also create a culture in which women can better understand it, both for their enjoyment and for ours.
Healthy Penis Image
Treating penises with this kind of visual freedom on television, can also be a good way to shift our approach to men's health - well, penis health, anyway.
If we are readily exposed to imagery of healthy penises, we better understand what a health penis looks like and from there we can make penis health something that is better talked about - because right now, it isn't.
Imagine if the health of a man's penis were given the same degree of public awareness as women's health towards checking their breasts. We may not be able to give ourselves a prostate exam, but we can most certainly check our own penises and if there is a greater awareness of penis conditions, then we'll be better armed to do something about them. This kind of thinking towards our genitals also lends itself to improving safe sexual practices, because if we better understand our penis and its potential health issues, then that makes us mindful of such things, whereas now it is probably fair to say that most men don't have a clue about the things that could happen to their penis. This includes things which are no fault of their own and things that are perfectly normal.
Treating penises with this kind of visual freedom on television, can also be a good way to shift our approach to men's health - well, penis health, anyway.
If we are readily exposed to imagery of healthy penises, we better understand what a health penis looks like and from there we can make penis health something that is better talked about - because right now, it isn't.
Imagine if the health of a man's penis were given the same degree of public awareness as women's health towards checking their breasts. We may not be able to give ourselves a prostate exam, but we can most certainly check our own penises and if there is a greater awareness of penis conditions, then we'll be better armed to do something about them. This kind of thinking towards our genitals also lends itself to improving safe sexual practices, because if we better understand our penis and its potential health issues, then that makes us mindful of such things, whereas now it is probably fair to say that most men don't have a clue about the things that could happen to their penis. This includes things which are no fault of their own and things that are perfectly normal.
Keep It Real
Of course we are already bombarded with images of what we are told men and women should look like. A manufactured form of sexy, that is further manipulated by the wonders of photoshop.
The women that were mentioned at the start of this blog post, showing their breasts on TV, are already starting to reflect that world of pre-determined "beauty", as they are all faithfully young, with slim, athletic bodies and pert, full breasts.
It's bad that the women are already being cast this way for boob-bearing roles on TV. Not that there is anything wrong with showing the female form in this shape, but the producers of these shows are doing nothing to help promote healthy and realistic body images of women in their wide variety outside of slim and athletic.
Men, of course, already face this same pre-determined representation of beauty and while there exists the afore mentioned idea about large Vs. small penises, the penis on-screen has not yet become enveloped by this packaged beauty machine - and it should stay that way.
Much like I have said about female bodies, penises should be presented naturally and in their wide variety. Let's hope that if the penis does start gain more presentation on-screen, it does not become subject to penis models and ideas of what a penis "should" look like in order to be considered attractive. The last thing we need in our culture, is more reasons for people to feel bad about who they are and how they look, when in reality they are perfectly normal and there is nothing wrong with how they look. Our culture is body dysmorphic enough, already. So let's hope that penises aren't next.
Of course we are already bombarded with images of what we are told men and women should look like. A manufactured form of sexy, that is further manipulated by the wonders of photoshop.
The women that were mentioned at the start of this blog post, showing their breasts on TV, are already starting to reflect that world of pre-determined "beauty", as they are all faithfully young, with slim, athletic bodies and pert, full breasts.
It's bad that the women are already being cast this way for boob-bearing roles on TV. Not that there is anything wrong with showing the female form in this shape, but the producers of these shows are doing nothing to help promote healthy and realistic body images of women in their wide variety outside of slim and athletic.
Men, of course, already face this same pre-determined representation of beauty and while there exists the afore mentioned idea about large Vs. small penises, the penis on-screen has not yet become enveloped by this packaged beauty machine - and it should stay that way.
Much like I have said about female bodies, penises should be presented naturally and in their wide variety. Let's hope that if the penis does start gain more presentation on-screen, it does not become subject to penis models and ideas of what a penis "should" look like in order to be considered attractive. The last thing we need in our culture, is more reasons for people to feel bad about who they are and how they look, when in reality they are perfectly normal and there is nothing wrong with how they look. Our culture is body dysmorphic enough, already. So let's hope that penises aren't next.
Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds
So let's have bums, boobs, cocks, balls and the lot, all out there on TV, however necessity and artistry require. It is a good thing for us to be presented with healthy, normal images of the human body. But let's make sure that in so doing, television really is presenting us something healthy and normal, by showing us the human body as it really is, in its many shapes and sizes.
So let's have bums, boobs, cocks, balls and the lot, all out there on TV, however necessity and artistry require. It is a good thing for us to be presented with healthy, normal images of the human body. But let's make sure that in so doing, television really is presenting us something healthy and normal, by showing us the human body as it really is, in its many shapes and sizes.