Some people have webbed fingers. Others have webbed toes. But a select few have another webbed appendage: their penis.
In basic terms, a webbed penis is an uncommon condition that happens when the scrotal skin becomes attached further up the shaft than usual. In some cases, this causes the shaft to become buried within the scrotum, making it appear smaller than it actually is. Some people are born like this, while others experience it as a complication of a botched circumcision. It’s also common to acquire it later in life as a side effect of buried penis, which occurs due to morbid obesity. In the latter case, the scrotum doesn’t re-attach to a different part of the shaft per se — it’s that the penis becomes embedded within the groin, resulting in the appearance of a webbed member.
Much like webbed fingers or toes, this isn’t terribly consequential, and is really only a problem if the person who has it thinks it is. Often, that depends on the extent of the webbing. Some guys have webbing that still allows them to put on a condom or participate in intercourse; others, however, have so much webbing that they can’t insert their penis into much, condoms included.
For those in the latter category, this can be a concern. As one guy on Reddit explained two years ago, “Mine goes so far up the shaft it makes my dick look tiny from below. Also condoms don’t roll completely down my penis and stop about an inch from the base, so [they] can’t get completely unraveled and slowly cut off circulation to my dick.”
Aesthetics are a factor, too. “I have somewhat above-average testicles,” another guy wrote in a separate thread. “Combining this with the excess scrotal skin just makes them hang a lot more. It looks like I have the penis of a 70-year-old grandpa and not of a guy who’s in his mid 20s.”
As a remedy, some men undergo surgery to remove the webbing and create some separation between the scrotum and the shaft. Others have found success with “foreskin restoration,” which involves stretching the skin on the shaft until a new foreskin develops. That said, webbing isn’t a big deal for everyone, and it certainly doesn’t require intervention in all cases. In the aforementioned Reddit thread, there was one guy who said he hadn’t even noticed he had webbing until he read the post.
With that in mind, if you have a webbed penis in a way that’s problematic, you’d likely already know it by now. If you hadn’t noticed before and now suddenly are realizing your dick is webbed, there’s no need to create an issue where there isn’t one. You’ve gotten this far without knowing, so who cares?
Consider it a little bonus feature. Maybe it helps you swim?
Magdalene Taylor
Magdalene Taylor is a staff writer at MEL. She covers internet culture, sex and the online adult industry. She lives in Brooklyn but is from God's Country, Western Massachusetts.
