Being tall makes a difference

In short, a guy’s height does matter to women.

As a 21-year-old female, it’s easy for me to walk tall at 5-foot-3 (or 5-foot-6 depending on my heels), but for my 5-foot-3 male counterparts, I cannot say the same.

Make no mistake about it. Height matters.

Ask any group of women if dating a man noticeably shorter would bother them.

A petite girl measuring 5 feet might tell you men more than 6 feet are her greatest weakness. A socially-minded female might recall former boyfriends’ insecurities whenever she wore heels that made her as tall as them.

Many females will try and say they don’t think a height difference would bother them, but most haven’t experienced life with a shorter significant other.

After all, the often-repeated phrase for the physically ideal man is “tall, dark and handsome.”

According to U.S. statistics compiled in 2004 by the Centers for Disease Control, 5-foot-9 is the average height for men above 20 years old. For women above 20 years old, 5-foot-3 is average.

For more than 200 years, America carried the title of tallest country in the world. However, in 2007, Holland edged out the U.S. with a marvelous 6-foot average for males and 5-foot-7 average for females.

Nutritionists like to cite these statistics as proof that diets within the U.S. are becoming increasingly unhealthy and stunting our growth.

However shallow it may be, after factoring in the fact that accents are almost as surefire of a turn-on as being above 6 feet, I could see another reason to visit the Netherlands.

I know I’m not the only one either.

Society is obsessed with male-female height ratio.

In “Casablanca,” leading man Humphrey Bogart wore shoes that rivaled the Spice Girls’ platforms to appear taller than his taller costar Ingrid Bergman.

There are countless other examples in Hollywood of actresses walking in built-in trenches and men wearing platform shoes.

Filmmakers will go to great lengths to hide height disparities and stay aligned with the societal idea that men are the statelier protectors over the frail, weak women.

Ask any woman who admits to liking tall men to explain why. The most common response is: “He makes me feel small.”

Women feed into this sexist stereotype just as much as men. It goes hand-in-hand with the collective female obsession to be thin. The more built a man is, the smaller the woman beside him will appear to be.

Scientists and social critics have suggested that biology is the root of this heightism. A taller caveman, their argument says, would have a better chance of protecting his female. Therefore, women are inclined to be attracted to them.

However, in our modern jungle, a woman simply looking to survive would know that a man’s wallet is much more important than his physical stature.

Remember, it isn’t the fact that Bill Gates is a reported 5-foot-10 that makes him appealing to women.

Furthermore, it’s 2008. A woman is running for president. Glass ceilings are cracking left and right. The gender gap still exists but is closing. Most women have started to realize, if not already acted on, the fact that their own intelligence and ability is their key to survival.

So, when it comes to this obsession with gender to height ratio in relationships, women and men need to grow up.

After all, most women wouldn’t turn down a night with 5-foot-7 Tom Cruise, at least not for height reasons. Neither ex-wife Nicole Kidman (5-foot-10) nor current wife Katie Holmes (5-foot-9) did anyway.

Because the average man is taller than the average woman, simple reasoning might suggest that this engrained heightism is relatively harmless but for short males and taller women, getting the short end of the stick can be quite devastating.

In October, researchers from Denmark released a report showing that short people suffer worse physical and mental health than average-height individuals.

It could be, researchers suggested, that societal biases in education, romance and business add additional stress to short people, which translates into more anxiety, insecurity and physical unhealthiness.

A taller person, studies have shown, will likely get hired over a shorter person with equal qualifications.

Websites, like shortsupport.org, have even been created to assist the vertically challenged. They offer everything from feel-good testimonials about tall women’s love for short men to links about the painful medical process of “leg-lengthening.”

Admittedly, embarrassment is probably the greatest side effect of shortness. Tall women feel awkward dating guys shorter than them because they’re aware that everyone is looking at them.

By April Corbin,

View Source