November 2, 2019

"Probably the most annoying thing is when someone asks you about your height and you tell them, and then they say, 'OMG! That short?'"

"It's like, 'Dude, I'm standing here, did I suddenly get shorter when I told you my height in numbers?'... I'm aware that short guys often complain that it's hard to find a woman, but I have never felt that way at all. It's always been easy for me to befriend women. It just comes naturally and maybe that is the key, not trying too hard and not feeling that your height is a handicap. If I'm on a date I don't give my height a second thought. The women I have dated have ranged from 155cm (my height) to 175cm (5ft 9in)."

From "Dating as a short man: The highs and lows" (BBC). The man I'm quoting is 5'1". The article collects statements of 3 men — the others are 5'4", 5'7" — and one woman who is 5'9". The woman says:
I have found that smaller men have assumed, for whatever reason, that I'm a threat and try to belittle me by making out that I'm not very bright!... In my teens, small men would laugh... I found small men to be arrogant, with something to prove....

34 comments:

Temujin said...

Small man syndrome is a real thing.

Lucid-Ideas said...

"...befriend women."

As the later tail of what the WSJ would call my generation would say on the internet these days...

"Friendzone x1000"

MadisonMan said...

Short Man Syndrome is a real thing. But I'm tall -- what do I know?

AllenS said...

Jockeys are usually very short men, and some of them have very tall good looking women. Probably because it isn't how short you are, but how much money you have.

Same goes with ugly.

Laslo Spatula said...

I researched it on Google for about thirty seconds so I know what I am saying is accurate: dominant gay men prefer their partner to be shorter.

So short men have an option. There are fish in the other pond.

I am Laslo.

tcrosse said...

The men in my Mother's family were all short but muscular, descended from Voyageurs. She said they all had the Napoleon Complex. Her three brothers would go into taverns and start fights. Lucky for me I inherited from my Scots-Irish father instead, which accounts for my peaceful disposition.

Richard said...

Short people have no reason to live!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bfyS-S-IJs

Michael K said...

Probably because it isn't how short you are, but how much money you have.

The jockey in the movie "Secretariat" explaining his tall gorgeous girlfriend, "I stood on my wallet."

When I was a kid, I knew many jockeys as they almost all play golf. They also usually had tall blond wives and girlfriends.

tim in vermont said...

You read the whole thing and they all had to deal with douches. Short men, tall women. This is why you have to give your child a good foundation of self confidence.

tim in vermont said...

I have a jockey friend with a taller beautiful wife. Not rich, but they both love horses. He hated that movie Secretariat because he said that the horse playing Secretariat “ran like a claimer."

Rory said...

From my days on dating sites c. 15 years, it seemed that everyone could get paired up if women would drop the height requirement.

Francisco D said...

I am of average height (5'11" and shrinking) and find tall women attractive. However, when I dated taller women, I felt uncomfortable, especially when they wore 3' heels.

I don't know if it is a guy thing or if it is because I had a 6'4" stepfather. Maybe it is because I was a great basketball player (in my own mind) until I flopped in HS. I stopped growing at an early age while little 5'6" twerps in 7th grade grew to 6'2" in HS. Damn genetics.

In any case, I am happily married to a 5'1" woman. She seems to handle her height issues better than I do.

n.n said...

Diversity, maybe. Small dogs tend to be nervous and proactive. Large dogs tend to overestimate their stature and delay their action. Medium dogs are just the right balance of confidence and ability.

mockturtle said...

Two of my female cousins are over 6' tall. One married a man about 5'4". And no, he didn't have money--his father was an Episcopalian priest. I've never been concerned about a man's height and often found short men attractive--if they are well-built. I'm 5'5" and my husbands were 5'7", 6'1" and 5'9", respectively.

Michael K observes: The jockey in the movie "Secretariat" explaining his tall gorgeous girlfriend, "I stood on my wallet."

What a great movie that was! I watched it again last year and was just as delighted as the first time.

Fernandinande said...

5'1" is 0.224 percentile for men, same rarity as 6'5.6" - though my impression is that there are far more ~6'6" men than there are 5'1" men, but maybe they're just easier to spot.

iowan2 said...

Short mans disease. Haven't experience it from the woman's point of view. But for guys? Its a real thing. Too many set out to prove their superiority in short order. Regardless of height, it comes across as arrogant, and needy at the same time. Some devolve into being almost impossible to do business with.

iowan2 said...

Short mans disease. Haven't experience it from the woman's point of view. But for guys? Its a real thing. Too many set out to prove their superiority in short order. Regardless of height, it comes across as arrogant, and needy at the same time. Some devolve into being almost impossible to do business with.

Paul Mac said...

Taller women are much more often dismissive, sometimes cruelly so, to shorter men however than I've ever seen indication shorter men are to taller women

mockturtle said...

Many years ago I was in a popular night spot when a cute short guy came in doing a double back flip. I was smitten. Never got to meet him [I was there with someone else] but still remember it clearly. Most male gymnasts are short, as are many rock climbers. Think ninjas. I think a lot of women are more concerned about how they will appear to others.

Josephbleau said...

When answered as to height by a boot Gunnery Sgt. Hartmann replied “5 foot 2, I didn’t know they stacked shit that high! Are you trying to squeeze an inch in on me somewhere?” The short suffer.

Kelly said...

I remember years ago sitting at a bar. A guy sat down next to me and we talked. He asked if I wanted to dance and I said sure. We stood up and I towered over him. I’m 5’8, he must have been maybe 5’5. We looked at each other and we both sat back down without saying a word.

DavidUW said...

I thought only men were visually oriented. Heh.

Unknown said...

I've noticed that taller women often pair up with short (not shorter, but short men). Perhaps 5'9" plus women are so used to being taller than many men they meet that they don't care that a man is shorter than average.

RK said...

Small man syndrome is a real thing.

It definitely is. They're 65% more likely to have a chip on their shoulder and act like a dick.

Yancey Ward said...

I am 5'10". Most of the women I have dated over the years were shorter than me, but I did date a volleyball player for about 6 months when I was a post doc who was 6'3". She didn't seem to care, and I certainly didn't. Of course, it is different for me than the men in the article- I am average in height, the men in the article aren't. I don't really know how I would feel if I were 5'6" or shorter.

tim in vermont said...

I am 5 10 now, used to be 5 11 and 3/4. I do get self conscious when the rare woman taller than me stands near me, I guess, because it so rarely happens. I always check for heels, and if they are wearing them, it’s “Ah hah!” and if not, its “Aww damn.”

If I don’t know a woman, I am right away attracted to 5-2 or less. But once I get to know one, I am unaware of their height. I couldn’t tell you my girlfriend’s height right now, except it’s probably higher than 5-2 and lower than 5-8. Next time I see her now though, I will probably notice it, since I wrote this.

My advice on the dating sites is to lie. Just like with the chapstick lady. Let her be an asshole or get over it. Of course I have never been on a dating site, so maybe I am full of shit.

Achilles said...

My younger brother is 5’11. I am 5’7.

I have watched this movie my whole life.

People just assume he is in charge. The women of course know what they want. So many of my ideas people assume he came up with.

I love watching people disbelieve reality.

Unknown said...

Blogger Francisco D said...
I am of average height (5'11" and shrinking) and find tall women attractive. However, when I dated taller women, I felt uncomfortable, especially when they wore 3' heels.

I'd be uncomfortable around a woman in 3' heels, too, Francisco! Now 3", or even 4" is just fine (and you've got a couple of inches on me.)

Darleen said...

My grandfather was barely 5'5" my grandmother 5'6" - They were great dancers and he loved my grandmother in heels. They were happily married for 59 years, passing away within months of each other.

Both me and my hubby are 5'8"... no issues.

The assumptions about "short men" or "tall women" usually don't hold when you get to know the individuals involved.

Yancey Ward said...

"I'd be uncomfortable around a woman in 3' heels, too"

I don't know, women who can install drywall professionally are pretty hot.

tcrosse said...

Ann Landers said that high heels were invented by woman who had been kissed on the forehead.

virgil xenophon said...

"short" viz "tall" varies with the times. When I played tennis in HS& College in late fifties/early sixties my ht of 5'8 1/2" was smack in the middle for avg ht of tennis players with guys like Stan Smith@ 6'3" on the upper bound. Now the sport is flooded with 6'11" types and I would decidedly be considered a "shorty."

BTW my wife is 5'6"

Josephbleau said...

I don't know, women who can install drywall professionally are pretty hot.

Don't want to dis your fantasy but sheetrockers use extended boots (stilts) or a gypsum jack lift.

Skeptical Voter said...

Short man syndrome--I'm out towards the end of the height bell curve at 6" 5" tall. One summer in college I worked as a camp counselor. One of the other counselors was 5" 5" tall. He played a pretty good guitar and surfed a bit (this was in Southern California). He was generally a good guy, but if he saw me grinning at him (or if he thought I was grinning at him) he just exploded.

For tall guys it works the other way with short girls. My wife is 5" 8" and my two daughters are both very close to six feet tall. But during college I dated a very smart and otherwise acceptable girl--but she was just five feet tall and things just weren't going to work