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Ordinary Hindus and Hindu scholars do not consider Shivalingan a phallic symbol. For them, the formless representation of Shiva has no likeness to any human anatomy.
Arvind Sharma, the Birks Professor of Comparative Religion at Canada’s McGill University, doesn’t deny the possibility of an anatomically accurate interpretation of Shivalingam. However, he blames such misrepresentation on the cult of phallic worship that mistakenly identified Shivalingam as a phallic symbol.
Even Mahatma Gandhi was not aware of any such interpretation. On September 15, 1927 Gandhji wrote in Young India that “It was in a missionary book that I first learnt that shivalingam had any obscene significance at all. And even now, when I see a Shivalingam, neither the shape nor the association in which I see it suggests any obscenity.”
Like any other language, Sanskrit also has words with many meanings depending on the context. The term ‘linga’ in Sanskrit means ‘mark’ or ‘sign’ as well as ‘phallus.’ Hindus use the word ‘linga’ in the former sense. As the sign of Shiva, writes Eck, “the linga is honoured in the sancta of many temples and shrines of India.”
Shiva represents the pure light of consciousness. The linga, or sign, is a physical manifestation of a more intuitively understood phenomena. It is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva.
The significance of Shivalingam in Hinduism in general and Shaivite tradition in particular is immense. According to Shiva Purana (Vidyesvara Samhita: Chapter 5 to 11) the Shiva lingam is a fiery column of light–Niskala Lingam which has no beginning and end. Niskala means nameless and formless aspect of Brahman. There is no mention of any likeness to human anatomy.
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Source: https://theprint.in/opinion/western-reading-of-shivalingam-as-phallic-symbol-is-incorrect-for-hindus-shiva-is-formless/971907/
Other reading material:
Relevant videos: Sex & Shiva Lingam
Contributor: Avatans Kumar
Location of this post (2g): https://www.hinduspeakers.org/ufaqs/why-is-shivlingam-not-a-phallic-symbol/
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02. God Forms