The small penis rule is an informal strategy used by authors to evade libel lawsuits. It was described in a New York Times article by Dinitia Smith in 1998:
In Nebraska Law Review: Bulletin, Professor Michael Conklin writes that the use of the small penis rule would be ineffective to defend against defamation lawsuits. The reasons given are that the statement that a person has a small penis can be taken as defamatory in itself; the use of the rule is effectively an admission that defamation did occur; and the libelled person need not necessarily admit to having a small penis in order to claim damages. Conklin argues that its effectiveness is that the potential humiliation of being associated with a character with a small penis may deter legal action from being initiated.[1]
The small penis rule was referenced in a 2006 dispute between Michael Crowley and Michael Crichton. Crowley alleged that after he wrote an unflattering review of Crichton's novel State of Fear, Crichton included a character named "Mick Crowley" in the novel Next. The character is a child rapist, described as being a Washington, D.C.–based journalist and Yale graduate with a small penis.[2]
In response to being snubbed by former classmate Martin Amis, crime writer Peter James included in his novel Not Dead Yet a villainous character named Amis Smallbone. In the novel, Smallbone's penis is mocked by a prostitute, who refers to it as "like a tiny little pencil stub".[3] The television show QI, while discussing the small penis rule, cited Amis Smallbone as an example.[4]