This Professor Needs Thousands of Dick Pics for Her Study on Penis Size
A Missouri State researcher has launched a new investigation into penis size—and she’s asking dudes to send their nudes for science.
Earlier this month, assistant sociology professor Alicia Walker launched a new study focused on the correlation between male self-esteem and their dick size, the New York Post reports. Walker wants to get to understand how the perceived notion of having a small penis can affect a man’s confidence and emotional health, both in relationships and in day-to-day life.
“I’ve spoken to men who have been suicidal because of their anxiety and unhappiness with their size or perceived size,” Walker told the Post. “Men that haven’t been to the doctor in more than a decade or are not using a condom because they’re convinced they can’t get one that fit them.”
To do this, she’s searching for at least 3,600 men over the age of 22 to measure their junk, snap some photos both of their erect and flaccid wangs, and fill out a quick online survey. She’s looking for subjects from all around the world, recruiting participants both online and in person at nightclubs and hospitals, according to the Springfield News-Leader.
“These are not sexy pictures,” she specified to the News-Leader. The photos are supposed to be “clinical,” with very specific rules about how to measure and document your junk for the study.
As funny as the idea of a professor soliciting dick pics for science might sound, the study’s goals are pretty serious. Walker told the Post that she’s already spoken to men who have contemplated suicide or unwilling to be in a relationship, convinced that they’re well below the average penis size.
“We need to be talking about men’s body dysmorphia, and the way our society worships size and the way that worship impacts men… It really is incredibly damaging,” she said, according to the Post. “They can’t admit that they feel this. Imagine carrying around all this anxiety about your body and then imagine you can’t even tell your friends?”
Walker will be collecting photos and survey information between now and August, when she’ll stop accepting new submissions and start combing through her dick pic trove to see if she can piece together some data. If nothing else, maybe this study will help someone finally explain what the fuck “big dick energy” actually means, once and for all.
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This article originally appeared on VICE US.