What It's REALLY Like Living With A One-Inch Micropenis

No matter how often you're reassured that it's not the size of your penis but what you do with it, having a very small penis can affect your self-esteem.

Hypospadias is a birth defect in boys where the opening of the urethra isn't located in the penis. The abnormal opening can be anywhere from just below the end of the penis to the scrotum. Boys with hypospadias may have a curved penis, a micropenis, or an undescended testicle. This condition affects five boys out of one thousand in the United States, and the cause is unknown.

Photo: The Daily Mail

In a recent article on The Daily Mail, 62-year-old Steve* (name changed) talks about how hypospadias has affected his life in mostly negative ways, and how normal actions like peeing, sex, and changing in locker rooms was an embarrassing nightmare for him. Steve says that his penis is little more than an inch long, and around four inches when erect.

"There is no question it affected my self-confidence and my entire personality because of the importance that society places on the size of men's penises," Steve said.

No one, not even his parents, ever discussed Steve's condition with him, and he lived in ignorance for years about it, knowing that something wasn't right but not having any kind of diagnosis.

"Someone should have told me what was wrong with me because my life could have been very different. If my parents knew there was something wrong with me they never said, nor did the doctors who examined me as a baby."

Steve was born in Essex, but once he was an adult he moved to New Zealand for a year to work on farms, then to Saudi Arabia, and eventually ended up in Canada. He knew he was different from most men and searched to belong somewhere.

In 1976, Steve decided to do something to improve his sex life and went to a specialist in Auckland. While the doctor was a urologist, he failed to diagnose hypospadias and circumcised Steve (then aged 21), and in the process accidently removed nerves from the tip of Steve's penis, making orgasm almost impossible and damaging the penis even further.

Steve's condition had gone from bad to worse with the help of this very incompetent surgeon.

"I was left with no feeling at the tip or much sensation of any kind. I have no idea why he decided to circumcise me, and the idea of complaining about the damage wouldn't have occurred to me. It was all too embarrassing. I just had to live with it. With the combination of lack of size and lack of sensitivity, it became very difficult for me to have an orgasm."

Throughout the years, Steve had a few relationships (mostly with inexperienced women) and even married. He and his wife had two sons, but the marriage failed. 

"I have the same sex drive as anyone else, the same desire for love and intimacy, but it takes me half an hour to 45 minutes to ejaculate. It isn't a great basis for a relationship," he explained. "Basically, I have a sex drive but no ability to perform."

Steve enjoys living a quiet life of retirement and fills his time with physical activity like hiking, cycling, and badminton. He's finally been able to self-diagnose his condition and has resolved to not be quiet about it with his sons, as it can be hereditary.

"The internet groups have shown this condition is much more common than doctors think but no-one talks about it. I can't change the past, but I'm now determined to talk to my sons about this, no matter how difficult it is. It could make all the difference to them, and to any grandsons I may have."

There are a number of online support groups for men with hypospadias and their families. No one should suffer in silence.