Body and penis
Is my body normal? Why is my penis curved? Should it feel a certain way? What should I call my genitals? Many of us feel insecure and have questions about our bodies. As you get older and enter puberty, your body will change – which can feel weird. Perhaps you get a sudden growth spurt, or maybe it feels like you’re not getting taller at all, hair starts showing up in unexpected places and your voice can change. Anything you’re wondering about? Chat with us about your body! It can be a relief to share your thoughts with someone. We get a lot of questions about bodies and penises. You can talk to us anonymously, we’re here to support you.
Your penis
All penises are different. They can be small or big, have all kinds of colours and smells, and their hardness can vary when you have an erection. Some of the most common questions we get in our chat are about dicks, their looks, and whether they should be called dick, cock or penis. That’s entirely up to you, of course. Many of us worry that our dick is a bit curved or that our balls hang at different heights. But almost all dicks are curved and all balls are different. If you’re worried something might be wrong, you can visit a youth guidance centre – almost every city in Sweden has one. Or you can chat with us anonymously, we’ll always listen and take your concerns seriously.
Common questions
Here are some of the questions we often get about bodies and penises.
It’s very common to go through periods when it’s difficult to get hard. There can be several reasons, physical and/or psychological. Getting an erection can be difficult when you feel like you’re not good enough, for example, or when you feel performance anxiety during sex. Some guys notice they can only get hard by watching porn. That can be because you’ve watched a lot of porn and have become used to only getting horny from certain things, or because you’re not used to fantasising and getting hard without porn. If this applies to you, it can be a relief to talk to someone and ask yourself whether you’d like to watch less porn. It can be good to know that our body is regulated by our thoughts. If you’re nervous, stressed or worried, your body sometimes does the exact opposite of what you want it to do. It helps to talk to someone about those thoughts.
Watching porn makes many people wonder about the size of their penis. There are made-up rules that claim your penis should look the way penises do in porn. Men in porn often have very muscular bodies, somehow maintain their erection forever and have larger than average penises. But porn is shot from angles that make penises look bigger than they actually are. So it’s no wonder you worry about not being normal if you compare yourself to porn actors! All penises are different. They can be small or big, have all kinds of colours and smells, and their hardness can vary when you have an erection.
Your dick gets hard when you’re horny. You don’t have to worry it’ll hurt your partner during sex; just be gentle with each other and make sure everyone wants the same things. If your partner isn’t wet or you haven’t used lube, sex can hurt – then you should stop straight away. Don’t rush things, don’t go at it too quickly or too roughly: make sure everything feels good for your partner and for yourself. Stroking each other, cuddling and kissing can be good ways of getting into the mood together. Det kan vara bra att veta att kroppens funktioner styrs av våra tankar. Är du nervös, pressad eller orolig så är det lätt att kroppen gör tvärtemot vad du vill. Det hjälper att prata med någon annan om ens tankar.
Disliking the way you look
But the truth is that we all look different. All these made-up rules about our bodies and looks make many of us feel bad. Maybe you’ve heard that everyone likes muscular guys with big dicks? Or maybe someone’s told you that people with a certain skin colour are better looking than others? You’re not the only person who’s worried about these claims. But they’re not true! Advertising, social media and porn make up these rules about what we should look like and be like –it’s not weird at all to feel bad about that. It can be a relief to talk to someone about this. You can chat with us anonymously, we’ll listen to your thoughts about your body and we’ll support you.
Puberty
It can be a good idea to tank to someone who can help you figure out your thoughts and feelings. People don’t all enter puberty at the same age – there’s no right or wrong age to hit puberty.
Do you recognise yourself in any of this? How does that make you feel? Chat with us anonymously if you have a question about puberty.
Worrying about your body
Hairy or not hairy at all, short or long, fat or skinny? What should human bodies even look like? As a guy, you might worry about what your body looks like and what others will think about it. That’s not weird at all. Many of us go around thinking about our bodies. Your friend probably spends more time worrying about their own body than they do thinking about yours! Guys tend to all look the same in ads, social media and porn: they’re often really muscular, have a specific height, a specific skin colour and a specific amount of hair on their body. But in reality, we all look different. No one looks exactly like you. Chat with us anonymously if you want to talk about your body. We’ll always listen to you, no matter what you’re worried about.