Well take it from me, being tall is not the only thing you should concentrate on. As a youth I set great store on tallness, and by dint of hard work and perseverance, grew to be well over six feet tall, a great moral achievement. However, although I did well enough in the area of width, I COMPLETELY neglected breadth, and as a result very few women will have me. They say I am … sobs brokenly … two-dimensional! Is there no pleasing women!!!
I’ve dated women from 5’0" to 6’0"
Each height had it’s own advantages and disadvantages, but in fact the person’s personality and other physical factors far outweighed any height factor.
Consider a 5’9" fellow dancing with a very short woman and then with a very tall woman…each had challenges that I saw as benefits.
I’m not sure how something this subjective could be considered fair or unfair…
OP, the folks talking about short women are on the money; women generally like guys to be taller and you’re taller than a great many women. I’m not quite 5’4" myself, and my perferred height range is 5’7" to 6’1". You’re probably the right level of tall for a bunch of girls, so don’t worry too much about it.
The thing is, though, you’re 18. Odds are pretty decent you’ll grow more between now and age 21 because many boys continue to grow for a few years past your age. Hell, girls aren’t generally supposed to grow after 18 and I grew almost an inch in college. How old were you when to got to the height you’re at? I know I kept growing because I didn’t get around to having the grow spurt most girls have at 11 to 13 until I was nearly old enough to drive. Maybe you’re just growing slowly too.
On that “how women are usually wired” bit. I disagree. I think that is not a “wired” issue but a social preference that is imprinted on girls beginning when they are children. And the same goes for boys.
Since the average man is taller than the average woman, most sets of parents are going to have a taller man and shorter woman. It’s my thought that children see that and assume that “this is how it is supposed to be” and start looking for visual cues of height and preferring it.
It used to drive me nuts in school when my friends would try to set me up with a guy because “he’s tall enough for you.” And when I was dating guys my own height, they would complain if I wore heels. It was a lonely time.
I totally misread this thread. I totally thought the OP was female and was asking if being 5’7" would scare off men.
But, really, the only potential problem is that many women want guys who are taller than they are. But there are a lot of sub-5’7" women, so even that’s no big deal.
One of the most successful male “players” I ever knew was 5’2". However: dude was built like a Greek god, had a great sense of humor, and faciallly resembled George Clooney.
Or to southern Spain, where my 1’60m tower over the local ladies so long as they’re not walking on stepladders.
Last Saturday I had to change a couple of R75 lightbulbs: they’re long and thin and fragile and lie flat against the lamp’s base, which in both cases meant against the ceiling. At one point I thought “damn, I’ve never wanted to be a man, but it sure would be nice to be 1’70m and reach without needing to climb on the table!”
Tom Cruise is only about 5’7". He seems to do all right.
That said, being taller certainly has it’s advantages.
For some reason over the years I’ve known a number of women who are unusually tall – from around 5’11" to 6’2" – and unlike women of more average height they generally don’t have a problem with dating shorter men. Part of this is probably just being pragmatic, since if a woman refuses to date men under 6’3" then she’s going to have a pretty small dating pool, but at least one tall friend has told me she preferred dating shorter men. She said she was used to being taller than other people and found it intimidating to be around men who were taller than she was.
It all depends. At 5’7", you’re still taller than most women and probably about the height of an average woman in heels, so it doesn’t seem too bad. But it’s really more about how much it bothers you. Yes, in general, women prefer men that are taller, but that doesn’t have to be the case. I’m about 6’ tall, so it’s very seldom an issue, and so while I’d prefer a woman who was my height or shorter, I’d never turn away someone. In fact, I briefly dated both someone who was strictly taller than me (about 6’1" IIRC) and another who was a little shorter but insisted on wearing heels, so was about my heigh or slightly taller. Frankly, if everything else is great, but she turns you down just on height, such a superficial thing, she wouldn’t be much the type I’d be interested in.
So, yeah, don’t worry too much. Even if it is a deal breaker, there’s still plenty of women shorter than you out there.
I’ll argue that point. A quick look at the wikipedia entry for “Sex Differences in Humans” (not linked, because there is nudity, however educational), shows that on average, men are 15 cm taller than woman. That’s six inches. That’s a huge difference, and it shows up across all populations. I couldn’t find one country that has the average height of women greater than the average height of men.
Sexual dimorphism in body size exists in all the great apes - orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos. So we’re talking about a trait that has existed in our DNA for 8 million years or more. That’s not something that’s going to be shrugged off with a little civilization or acculturation.
Above average height for all humans implies a combination of good genes, good childhood, and overall good health, so it’s a marker that a lot of potential mates look for. Hans35 just has the bad luck to come from a genetic lineage that overall has a shorter average height than the community he’s a part of. It puts him at an initial advantage, but that doesn’t mean he’s out of the game before getting to bat.
Hans35, for what it’s worth, I don’t actively seek out men shorter than me, but I’m certainly open to being approached by them, and if I met a man who struck me as a good potential partner who happened to be shorter than me, I’d still consider him. My experience is that most women, say 70%, are in that category, with around 28% considering only taller men, and 2% considering only shorter men. A complete Wild-Assed Guess on my part.
Kill all men who are taller than you. Problem solved.
You don’t want women who will reject you because you’re “short.”
I’m 5’7". Hubby is 5’6". We’ve been married 22 years and counting. He’s a great guy, and I’d take him over a tall piece of “arm candy.” And plenty of my friends consider me a lucky woman.
He’s 5’7". Good luck with that.
Won’t affect me… I’m only 5’ 6-9/2". 
I’m 5’4. It sucks. Just gotta compensate in some other way.
Katt Williams is 5’5.
Ah, this explains my singledom. I’m shallow and not worth it. Thanks for clearing that up for me!
Indeed.
I, and several other tall women, have found [via the internet] that there is a fetish of sorts where short men (5’2" ~ 5’4") want a tall woman, someone who can pick them up and carry them around like a child (mommy issues?!) or a tall/big woman who will wrestle them and pin them to the floor.
okaaaay
Many years ago I went on a blind date of sorts, group of us went for a drink after work and a co-worker introduced me to a fella she knew who was single and taller than me. We hit it off but nothing came of it, he was so self-conscious about his male pattern baldness that he couldn’t accept the notion that I didn’t care about his hairline.
I want to address the “safe” aspect of your post. My boyfriend is 5’3", and I feel safer with him than I did when I was dating the starting lineman on our college football team. You see, my boyfriend is a police officer in a dangerous area. He is an extremely skilled shooter and usually armed. He’s also been in many physical altercations, both in his training and as part of his job. He’s become immune to tear gas and has been pepper sprayed enough to be more resistant to it than the average human. He is extremely aware of his surroundings and knows a ton about being street smart and situationally aware. He has, in the past, been an EMT and firefighter, so he is trained in first aid, CPR, building construction, hazardous materials, etc.
I’m just saying this to point out that some things are beyond your control and some things aren’t. While you can’t change your height, you can control whether you come across as weak or strong. You also still have a lot of control over your physical appearance.
The idea that women tend to go for taller guys is not a myth. I definitely have friends that will automatically dismiss short guys. It obviously varies from person to person. If I had to give an analogy, I’d say it’s like a woman who was not blessed with a curvy body. If she watches her weight and takes care of her appearance, she’s still not going to suddenly sprout some admirable boobs, and some men may dismiss her for that. But if she puts forth the effort, she’ll still be able to attract enough male attention to snag someone good.
Dude, if it makes you feel any better, consider this: I’m 6’5 and I haven’t had a girl in forever. It’s not nearly as important as everyone makes it out to be.