Do you need a big dick to do porn? An average guy's answer

No. I'm around six inches, which puts me about average, and I shoot and perform in my own scenes. I think size helps if you want a particular kind of career, the studio-star, award-shelf kind. It stopped being the entry ticket once anyone with a phone and an account could publish their own work.

I'm writing this because the pages I found on this question were mostly magazine features about studio performers. I didn't find anyone currently doing the work who said "I'm average, and this is how it goes." So that's this post.

Do male porn stars have to be big?

To be a studio star, it helps a lot. To make and sell your own scenes, no. Those are two different jobs now, and much of the advice I found still describes the first one.

Recognition in this industry, as I see it, still skews hard toward a certain build and a certain size. Awards, studio bookings, the names everyone knows: being the guy with the huge dick, or the guy built like a superhero, gets you further and faster. I'm not going to pretend otherwise. But self-publishing doesn't run through a casting office. My buyers chose me. Nobody approved me first.

What does average size change on camera?

Mostly angles. Some shots that look great on camera need extra inches to work. Pulling back far enough to show the movement is one, and certain wide angles are another. With average length, some of those angles aren't available to me.

You can still do nearly every position. That's not the issue. The issue is that some of them don't read as powerful on screen, because the movement looks smaller. So I've learned which angles work for my body and I build scenes around those. That's part of the job for any performer. Mine just has a few different constraints.

Should size be the star of the scene?

Not unless it's spectacular, and mine isn't. Viewers do want to see it, so you don't hide it. But if your size isn't the headline, don't frame the scene as if it were.

What I put at the center instead is my co-star: their pleasure, whether they're having a good time, and whether what we're making together is sexy. A scene where two people are clearly into it beats a scene built around one body part, and I'd rather be good at the first kind.

What do fans say about average size?

Nothing negative, in my experience. When fans mention it, they call it thick, or nice, or say they like it. It comes down to what each viewer likes, and plenty of people like average. Now and then a woman asks to see it soft, which surprised me the first time.

Where size has come up is with collaborators. Some performers I've wanted to work with have passed, or quoted me a fee instead of a trade. Maybe I don't fit their brand, I'm not their type, or I'm not what they think their fan base wants. That's their call to make.

What matters more than size on set?

Being relaxed, and looking relaxed. Calm and in control reads well on camera, and nerves read badly. A lot of my confidence on set comes from running the cameras myself: I set them up, I know the angles, and that gives me something to steer instead of something to worry about.

The other thing that matters, more than anything about size, is whether you can get hard in front of people. In my view, some of the best scenes are shot by a camera operator, not a tripod, so you may be performing in front of a few people at once. It's a weird talent, and it may be required. I wrote about that part in staying hard on camera, because it's a head problem far more than a body one.

Was the industry always like this?

No. Ten or twenty years ago the beliefs about size were closer to true, because the only way in was a production company. You auditioned in front of a crew, the studio distributed DVDs, and your career rode on those sales. If a studio didn't want you, there was no other door.

Then everyone got a camera in their pocket, amateur footage spread, and OnlyFans and the other self-publishing platforms gave performers their own distribution. Now you can get in without a studio deciding you're the right shape. Some studios are even starting to branch out on body types, a little.

So should an average guy try?

If you want it badly enough, yes. Average size isn't what stops people. Not showing up and taking the no's to heart do. If you can get past those, the size question mostly answers itself. I laid out the practical side in how to become a male performer.

— Sly