If you follow fashion and celebrity gossip, you’ve probably heard of the size controversy surrounding Rob Pattinson.

The actor and model’s genitals have been the subject of intense scrutiny, as his penis has been dubbed “the monster” and “the gift that keeps on giving.”

Pattinson’s penis has been compared to that of a gorilla, an alligator, and even a snake. Some experts have said that it’s too big to fit inside a person’s mouth. One blogger even wrote that it was “bigger than the size of a rugby ball.”

But is it really that big?

The Evolution Of A Phenomenon

Pattinson’s penis has become an internet phenomenon, largely due to its massive size compared to that of other famous men. But this wasn’t always the case. As Pattinson put it in an interview, “I’ve had people say, ‘No way, your penis is so small,’ but then they’d find out I’m circumcised and they’d change their minds. People love to hate on the uncut. It’s very confusing.”

While the majority of men are born with a fully developed penis, somewhere between 90% and 50% of American men are circumcised. Circumcision, which is most commonly performed on newborns, is a surgical procedure in which the foreskin of the penis is surgically removed. It’s a common misconception that uncircumcised men are less vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases, as there is no scientific evidence to support this theory. In fact, circumcising a baby boy can reduce their risk of both urinary tract infections and penile cancer by 40%.

Although research hasn’t proven it, many parents choose to believe that their baby’s penis is too small because they were circumcised as a child. This common belief, known as “circumcision bias,” has greatly contributed to the controversy surrounding Rob Pattinson’s penis. Many people simply assumed that he was less than adult-sized due to his circumcision, even though he’s actually an adult. In the interview above, Pattinson jokes about the issue, saying, “I was at a party a couple of weeks ago and there was a girl there who worked for Vogue. She was like, ‘Your penis will never fit in my mouth,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, it does.’… It was really strange.”

But while bias may have played a role in the hype surrounding Rob Pattinson’s penis, it’s certainly not the only factor. As the interview above reveals, there’s also a huge emphasis on size in today’s culture.

Why Is Size So Important?

There are several reasons why size is so important to men, especially those who have been circumcised. First, there’s the physical aspect. A doctor or scientist may have measured and calculated Rob Pattinson’s penis size, and seeing that number printed on a lab report may well have been a source of embarrassment for the celebrity. Even now, whenever Pattinson gets a medical checkup, his penis is measured and examined – a process that he’s had to go through multiple times throughout his life.

But there’s also a psychological aspect to size. As the interview above reveals, Rob Pattinson is quite proud of the size of his penis and often poses for pictures with it in mind. The image of a giant ball rolling around in your mother’s vagina may not be something you’d wish to display, and so you’re forced to hide it under your clothing. Even now, whenever Patton dons his underware, he has to tuck his penis underneath to keep it from being seen. This sort of thing can really eat away at a man’s self-esteem. If you want to see Rob Pattinson’s penis, you’ll have to look closely as he tends to keep it well-hidden.

But perhaps the most important reason why size is such an issue is that, as the interview reveals, men who are smaller generally have a harder time getting aroused. It’s well-established that, when an American man isn’t attracted to his partner, the first thing that he’ll do is check out her friends and family to see if she’s “the one.” If he happens to find that her brothers are also good-looking and fit, but she turns him down because he’s not a perfect 10, he’ll feel that he’s not good enough for her. This sort of thing can really put a damper on a budding romance. But if there’s any chance that he could make her happy, he’ll keep trying, even if it takes a few tries.

Ultimately, while we may never know precisely how big Rob Pattinson’s penis is, we do know that it’s had a profound impact on our culture. There’s no question that people have found it fascinating and even somewhat erotic – which may well be why he enjoys posing with it so much.