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: "For a fictional portrait to be actionable, it must be so accurate that a reader of the book would have no problem linking the two," said Mr. Friedman.
'"[1]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.
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.
[4] The television show QI, while discussing the small penis rule, cited Amis Smallbone as an example.