A new trend is adding weight to the argument that men are more concerned with their looks than we tend to think. With a prescribed norm provided by television, advertising, and glossy magazines, men are under more pressure than ever to look the part. However, the pursuit of perfection has reached strange new lows.
Penis fillers are being touted as the ideal way to increase your girth and put a curious spring in your step. However, while the backstreet Brazilian butt-lift was made infamous by rapper Cardi B, it also saw the tragic death of one young woman - highlighting that cosmetic procedures are often carried out illegally.
Furthermore, some medical experts are warning against penis fillers even when they are carried out by trained clinicians. But there's another reason why surrendering your member to a member of the medical profession might not be the best idea.
"All these augmentation procedures are mainly to increase your flaccid girth, and it will have no benefit on your erect length - so functionally it's not going to improve matters," explains expert Asif Muneer. Working for the British Association of Urological Surgeons, Muneer states that he would "discourage" men from having the fillers: "If anything, it might lead to complications that will impair their sexual function later on."
This seems to shed light on the motivations behind why men, like 27-year-old Abdul Hasan, opt for them. Speaking to the BBC ahead of his second set of fillers, he explains: "It makes me happy for some reason."
Hasan was undergoing the non-invasive procedure (usually an injection of around 15ml of hyaluronic acid) as a surprise gift to his girlfriend, who was also suitably surprised the first time he went through with it. "I thought, 'One more can't hurt'," he explains.
Told that he must wait four weeks before having sex, Hasan is more than happy to stick to the rules. "You don't really want complications with this sort of stuff," he explains. "Especially with your private parts."
Like many men, he is aware that it doesn't affect the erect girth or length, but can still see the benefits: "I had it done, and my confidence built back up. You've got nothing to hide any more." But is this reason for getting the procedure - which costs around $4,000 (£3,000) per time - a cause for concern?
Pornography has long suffered the finger of blame when it comes to issues as diverse as gender norms, misogyny and - of course - its unrealistic portrayal of how people look. As the embodiment of our fantasies, adult performers' relevance to what men and women desire is intrinsic.
However, some home truths underline just how unrealistic this bizarre portrayal of humankind is. While men often think of six inches as being average or even below average size, research conducted by King's College London and the NHS (National Health Service) blew these assumptions out of the water.
The 2015 study - which was actually the amalgamation of 17 different studies - looked at 15,000 men from all over the world. It found the average penis length to be only 5.1 inches when erect, with a girth of 4.6 inches. Only five per cent were longer than 6.3 inches. The flaccid penis, they found, had a greater circumference than length - with 3.6 inches for length and 3.67 inches for girth.
However, the idea that men might not impress is driving revenue for the clinics which, alarmingly, also deal with the complications. Often, the fillers cause infections which they then have to try and treat. "We then plan for surgery to either debride any dead tissue, or remove some of the filler," explains Mr Muneer. "A lot of the time, we're having to remove the whole penis shaft skin, and regraft it with skin from elsewhere in the body."
However, despite the risks, more and more men are willing to bite the bullet and opt for fillers. "I feel a lot bigger," says one patient, adding: "I feel really happy". Another, who had recently lost 50kg in weight, states: "I'd just feel a bit better if mine was a bit bigger."
This desire to gain confidence from some form of bodily transformation follows the increasing trend for men to spend more money and time than ever before on the way they look. Globalisation has, in some ways, led to the mass distribution of toxic ideas. Now, across the world, there are also men suffering from body dysmorphia - and using anabolic steroids in order to chase an inherently unattainable physique.
With increasingly medically-enhanced stars on our television screens, fillers have become an accepted part of the signature celebrity look. However, this more experimental procedure - in a far more sensitive area - is probably one to avoid, at least for now.
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