Missouri State University Professor Asks Men in Her Class for Penis Descriptions for Project

A Missouri State University professor has asked men in her class for penis descriptions for a research project.

According to The College Fix, Professor Alicia Walker is curious to see what correlations may or may not exist between a man’s self-esteem and their penis size so she is asking men from her class, as well as all over the nation, to share photos and measurements.

“The purpose is to investigate how men feel about their bodies in a culture where we place emphasis on size, including size of penises,” Walker told the news outlet. “And to further look at how that impacts their tendency toward safe sex, relationships, and more.”

She has also enlisted the help of Reddit to assist with the research, something that has had many users of the social media site wondering why she needs “pics.”

“The photographs are only required for the survey portion,” Walker replies to the frequently asked question. “This is because we ask for specific measurements of length and girth and to ensure data validity and uniform measurement we must ensure all participants are correctly using the bone press method.”

Prof. Walker does make sure to stress, however, that men can volunteer to take part in the study by way of being interviewed without sending in photos of their genitalia.

“The interview is a way for people to participate in the study in addition to the survey so we can get more open responses from them and learn more about how they feel, but it’s also a way to allow men who don’t want to share photographs of their penis to participate and be a part of our study if they’d like,” she explained.

Additionally, in her email, Prof. Walker revealed that so far the study has been somewhat of a success.

“The men I’ve talked to thus far are in a great deal of distress because of how we view penis size at present. And how they feel is absolutely impacting their condom use, their willingness to even attempt to approach potential sexual partners, and even going to the doctor for a physical exam,” she stated. “Their physical health is actually impacted by how they feel about their penis. This isn’t a frivolous study.”

“I am a researcher who investigates topics related to intimate sexual relationships and sexual behavior, so it’s completely appropriate that I conduct it,” she later added.

Finally, Prof. Walker explained that the study is open to all men who identify as such, including Intersex and Genderqueer.

“I want to get the LGBT — and particularly transgender — community more visibility in terms of formal academic studies,” she said. “There are many individuals who could contribute to the study that were not [Assigned Male At Birth] or that [do] not identify as being male.”

Notably, Prof. Walker’s study is not government-funded, and Missouri State University leadership reportedly did not reply to inquires for comment on the research project.