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Daniel Lombroso’s documentary Manhood takes viewers inside a world of male insecurities, where the desire for a larger penis can lead to expensive cosmetic procedures and promises of newfound confidence become the main selling point for injections. The film follows clients at a clinic in Dallas, Texas, and a man determined to make such treatments as commonplace as Botox, The Guardian reports.

At the centre of the story is Bill Moore, who promotes a procedure called PhalloFill. It involves injecting hyaluronic acid to increase penile girth. Moore tells clients that the treatment can do more than change their appearance: he suggests it can improve their sex lives, relationships and self-esteem.

But behind the pursuit of physical transformation, the documentary uncovers far more complicated issues, including childhood trauma, loneliness, shame and painful comparisons with other men.

One of the men featured is Ruben, a father of three young children who also has two children from a previous relationship. His family is struggling financially, and his partner, Lana, cannot understand why he wants to spend money enlarging an organ that already functions perfectly well. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that his fixation is rooted in a traumatic childhood experience: when he was around 10, he was sexually assaulted by another schoolboy.

Another participant, David, turns to Moore after undergoing an unsuccessful procedure with a different practitioner. The treatment left him with hard lumps that significantly altered the appearance of his penis. David is known through the OnlyFans platform, where his looks have helped him build a following. Moore not only helps him deal with the consequences of the botched treatment but gradually becomes his mentor and close friend. The documentary follows David as he grows closer to Moore and his partner, Clint.

The stories of other clients are equally revealing. One man is outraged that a small penis is so often used to explain all kinds of negative personality traits and even criminal behaviour. Another, who has an inoperable brain tumour, says his decision is about making the most of the time he has left and living as he chooses.

Lombroso explores several interconnected themes, including the influence of pornography and unrealistic body standards, male insecurity, the ideas promoted by the so-called manosphere, and the lasting effects of traumatic experiences. Yet the film offers no simple answer to why men can become so deeply distressed about their bodies.

In his review for The Guardian, critic Jack Seale says the documentary inspires both sympathy and astonishment. However, he argues that its narrative fragments into separate stories rather than developing into a convincing central argument.

One conclusion nevertheless emerges: psychological struggles, loneliness and past trauma are far more complicated than they may appear, and cosmetic injections are unlikely to make them disappear.

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