According to a study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, many well-endowed men are ashamed of their penises, while men with smaller penises strut their tools with confidence.

David Veale, a psychiatrist at King's College London said of penis shame, "It's an emotional feeling." Penis-size anxiety is rarely linked to reality, he told LiveScience. He added that men worry far more than women about penis size.

A study published in April in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that women preferred larger penises only up to a point (anything bigger than a flaccid length of 2.99 inches (7.59 centimeters) did not additionally impress women), and preferences also varied based on a guy's height.

Men listed penis-size anxiety as one of their top body concerns along with height and weight.

Veale and his colleagues narrowed down their scale to 10 questions that were sure to reveal a guy's inner fears about his penis. The surprising response was men agreeing with the following statement: "Others will be able to see the size or shape of my penis even when I have my trousers on."

"That must be extreme self-consciousness," he said.

Older guys and gay or bisexual men were more likely to show high penis anxiety, the researchers reported. Gay or bisexual men typically have more body-image concerns than straight men do, the researchers wrote, and also have more opportunities to compare body parts.

[Livescience]