WHILE having a large penis is generally linked to higher self-esteem, perceptions of penis size, shape or form are culture-specific.

Not so long ago Deputy Minister of Police Fikile Mbalula was hurried screaming from boyhood to manhood.

In some African cultures, especially Xhosa, you might be chronologically senior but if you are not circumcised you remain a boy.

You are despised and even excluded from some discussions with your peer group. That is how serious genital matters are taken.

So serious that two former policemen face 205 years in jail for killing four drinking pals after an argument over the size of a bar patron's genitals.

For women notwithstanding, width, rather than length, is a more important factor of sexual stimulation.

Indeed, the fear of a shrinking penis in folklore has led to a mass hysteria called penis panic.