Grower vs. shower is a term we may have heard before, but what does that mean? And is there any truth behind it?

A grower is a person with a penis that significantly varies in size between the flaccid and erect state, while the shower has a penis that doesn’t change that much from flaccid to erect.

Many factors can determine whether you are a grower or a shower, like tissue elasticity of both the skin and the inner layer of the penis, the amount of collagen, and the blood flow; therefore, age, smoking history, hypertension, diabetes, and overall health can have a significant impact on this matter.

One study published in 2018 evaluated 274 patients with erectile dysfunction. In the study, they artificially generated an erection with an intracavernous injection and determined that the mean growth of a penis from flaccid to erect is 4 cm. They used this as a cut-off value, and if the penis grew over 4cm, it was categorized as a grower; if not, it was a shower. They reported that 26% of the patients were classified as growers, while 74% were showers. The only statistically significant predictor for a grower was younger age. This makes sense because as you get older, the tissue elasticity decreases as well as the quality of tissue perfusion, even more so if the patient has comorbidities like diabetes and hypertension.

This was a study with a small sample size, and there are still multiple variables that were not considered. What determines whether a person is a grower or a shower is the sum of genetics and environmental factors. Regardless, all penises are different, and this is not a factor that determines your masculinity or if you are able to please your partner.

Sources:

https://www.healthline.com/health/shower-vs-grower#causes

Yafi FA, Alzweri L, McCaslin IR, et al. Grower or shower? Predictors of change in penile length from the flaccid to erect state. Int J Impot Res. 2018;30(6):287-291. doi:10.1038/s41443-018-0053-3