# Questions about height & sexual attraction? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 12, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664 "2011-05-12T15:58:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Giltathriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b38774/32.png) [@Giltathriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giltathriel)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664/41 "2011-05-13T17:55:50Z")
I’ve dated men both taller and shorter than me and I don’t care about it that much, but most of my boyfriends have been about my height, +/- 2 inches. It feels more natural being able to look them straight in the eyes ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664/42 "2011-05-13T18:02:09Z")
I never paid attention to height. I am 5 7 and lived with a 6 foot woman for 4 years. I have dated shorter ,taller and the same height. I can not imagine judging a person by height. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664/43 "2011-05-13T18:09:06Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > I never paid attention to height. I am 5 7 and lived with a 6 foot woman for 4 years. I have dated shorter ,taller and the same height. I can not imagine judging a person by height. I didn’t _write judge_ in the OP. I asked which was most likely to catch your eye. I don’t have anything against big-breasted blondes, but I’m more likely to be sexually attracted to a small-bosomed brunette, raven, or ginger. Likewise, a woman who, while standing, fits under my chin is more attractive to me than, say, Cindy Crawford, who is nonetheless a hottie. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664/44 "2011-05-13T18:30:41Z")
I’m a big girl - 5’8" but also fat - so I really like the idea of feeling small. You can’t feel small unless a guy is bigger than you. That being said, all the guys I’ve ever dated except two have been my height, so it’s not like I require tall guys. I just find it to be an extra perk. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664/45 "2011-05-13T22:13:18Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > I’m 6’6"…I can count the number of women I’ve met that are my height or taller on about 2 fingers. I’m 6’5’, and I can count the number of woman I’ve met who are taller than me on ONE finger. I did date a girl in college who was six foot - I think she only went out with me so she could wear heels. It was nice to walk across campus at the same pace, and be able to talk face to face while doing so. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664/46 "2011-05-13T22:19:54Z")
Gay man: It wouldn’t matter (even though my partner is exactly 1 foot taller than I am). ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664/47 "2011-05-16T21:02:22Z")
Straight male, both extremes peg my meter for different reasons. I prefer slender, and slender short women are _tiny_, and slender tall women are inspiring. But women around my height are just as likely to peg my meter. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664/48 "2011-05-16T21:07:04Z")
Straight man; doesn’t matter to me. I’ve been attracted to (and dated) women who were considerably shorter than me, as well as women close to my own height. I’ve been very attracted to several women who were at least an inch taller than me (I’m 5’10", so there aren’t terribly many women who are much taller than me), though I never actually dated any of them. (A long-time friend of mine, when asked to describe what my “type” of woman is, gave this answer: “ehh, he just likes women.” 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664/49 "2011-05-16T21:13:12Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > Ditto. (I’m 6’8".) Being with someone my height or taller would just be too surreal. Say what?! You should think about going by a moniker that represents that. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664/50 "2011-05-16T22:03:06Z")
I prefer taller than me, say 5"-10". Since I’m not quite 5’4" it’s a pretty low bar, so to speak. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664/51 "2011-05-16T22:32:16Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > \*\*Once I did wonder aloud why tall women seemed to wear very high heels (I think its the heels that I notice), and a woman told me that tall women want to find very tall men, taller than they were in heels. That was one woman’s opinion, but there does seem to be a cultural attitude that a man should be taller than a woman in a relationship. > > A little off track, but someone claimed that women selecting their mates will form a mental picture of the two of them together, while men will picture the woman alone, usually wearing less clothes. I’m a tall female, and I generally don’t care that much about whether I am taller than a partner, in heels or barefoot. However, I grew up in a bicultural household where height wasn’t a big deal; I was a “normal” height among my family friends and I didn’t really think about height differences that much. I towered over the boys until they caught up around 8th and 9th grade. > [@kapri](#): > > I hate these polls because I’ve been 5’8" since I was about 12 and when I read men’s responses about how tiny women make them feel like he-men I feel like a big ol’ unattractive klunker. (Until I look in the mirror and realize no! I’m not!) > > I prefer taller, but I’d be happy with someone around my height, too. Shorter is a problem for me. I know saying that makes short men feel the way I feel when tall men like short women, but that’s the thing. We like what we like. I was 5’7" in the fifth grade, and shot up to 5’9.5" by the end of middle school. I realized very quickly that, if I went with “he has to be taller than me” I was going to be a very lonely girl. [I also learned really quickly that variety is the spice of life, so though the “tall, dark and lanky” I liked when I was younger is still great, a lot of other types of men make me swoon.] I’ve dated men who were taller and shorter than me, and most guys tend to be within a few inches of my height, so I don’t have a major preference beyond “right around my height is more comfortable”. My husband and I get teased occasionally because he’s shorter than me, but we’re at a cozy height combination for the both of us. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JR\_Brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JR\_Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JR_Brown)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664/52 "2011-05-18T01:43:22Z")
5’10" female, and I picked “taller than me”, but that’s purely on a “everything else equal” status as requested in the OP. In real life, I’ve met lots of guys shorter than me who I thought were totally hot. On the other hand, guys who are a _lot_ shorter have a tendency to get hung up on it, so I’m a bit biased against very short guys because of that. I’ll leave them to the petite gals. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664/53 "2011-05-18T02:08:29Z")
Consider me shallow. I like tall men. All else being equal (as in the OP), I’d pick the tall guy every time. I don’t know why, it’s just a characteristic that I like. I realized a while ago while having a similar discussion that the men in my life growing up have been tall. My father is 5’11", my brother is 6’2", my BIL is 6’2" all my male cousins are over 6’, my best guy friend is 6’3", etc. I guess in a way it’s just what I’m used to, so I assume that has something to do with my attraction to tall men. My husband is 6’, a good 4" taller than me. That’s a good size. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664/54 "2011-05-18T03:41:42Z")
Straight man here. I’m about 6’ tall. Height really doesn’t really matter to me. Short - well, women tend to be shorter. Tall - I saw a gorgeous woman a few months ago that easily had at least a foot on me. I nearly asked her to marry me outright (not really) 😃 The only hangup I’d have would be if the woman had a problem with height difference. I was genuinely surprised, polling female friends, to find that many of them had an absolute, deal-breaker rule - the man must be taller, or I’m not attracted. Not much of a problem for me, but I was surprised to hear that many of them did really prefer taller men. Strange. /One of my former male co-workers was 5’4", tops //He had the opposite of “short man syndrome”. He was humble, charming and friendly above all. ///He was an absolute lady-killer. His wife was a smoking-hot 6-footer. ////I’m still jealous of his style ---
**Author:** ![sjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664/55 "2011-05-22T00:45:06Z")
I’m a straight guy and I’m pretty much attracted to any height. I’m 5’4" (like **GameHat’s** co-worker) and there are a lot of women who are taller than I am, though there are also plenty of women who are shorter than me too (though I’d say most of them aren’t _that_ much shorter than me). I’ve sometimes found a woman’s height increasing her attractiveness, but it’s sometimes the fact that she’s so much taller than me; sometimes the fact that she’s so much shorter than me; and sometimes the fact that she’s just exactly my height. I suppose it’s that her height is notable in some way that makes it attractive to me. I seem to have avoided “small man syndrome”; I’m pretty laid back and friendly. I’ve not had a lot of success with the ladies, but I’m pretty sure that’s more to do with shyness and difficulty reading people than anything else\*. The women who I’ve slept with seemed very attracted to me (they’d probably have to be or I wouldn’t have caught on). \*I will say that I’m pretty sure some women have written me off as a potential lover because they thought I was too short, but that’s just one of the many possible reasons they might not be into me. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664/56 "2011-05-23T20:53:24Z")
Irishfella is much taller than me. I’m 5". Before I dated Irishfella my SOs ranged in height from 5’3" to 6’6". Height was never an issue. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664/57 "2011-05-23T21:00:47Z")
Why is there always some frikken stupid off-topic clodhopper of an attempt at humor always/almost always an option in so many polls? Like, “Is that chocolate-chocolate cake you’re eating? Can I have some?” Some people have no idea how to be funny, and shouldn’t try. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664/58 "2011-05-23T21:43:00Z")
> [@irishgirl](#): > > Irishfella is much taller than me. > > I’m 5". Wow, you really are tiny. 😉 > [@colonial](#): > > Why is there always some frikken stupid off-topic clodhopper of an > attempt at humor always/almost always an option in so many polls? It’s an option for “You left out \_\_\_ obvious answer” or “my answer is more nuanced than your slots provide”. It’s also a chance to be funny. Funny is subjective. ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664/59 "2011-05-23T21:50:18Z")
Straight woman. I voted “it wouldn’t matter”. However, I like small guys, guys my height and guys little bit taller but I _don’t_ like very tall or broad guys. I mean, it’s not the end of the world if you’re otherwise great, but I’d much rather a guy were small than really big. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664/60 "2011-05-23T22:07:39Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Wow, you really are tiny. 😉 > > It’s an option for “You left out \_\_\_ obvious answer” or “my answer is more nuanced than your slots provide”. It’s also a chance to be funny. Funny is subjective. Also, I sometimes do it when I want to be able to easily see the poll results but don’t want to actually vote (or when I think someone may have such a desire). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-height-sexual-attraction/581664.md?page=4)