Small Man Syndrome - Myth or Fact?

[mo50]

I seem to recall a number of studies indicating that taller men generally make more money, plus the (at least perceived) general trend of women preferring taller men, & there ya go, alot of insecurity & over compensation. Being a towering 5’10 (& a half! that half is very important to those of us under, say, 6’3"!) myself, I know of what I speak! Utter silliness, of course, but truth be told I wouldn’t mind being taller. It’s no big deal, really, I mean, why are we talking about it, it’s nothing, really…

As grampa Simpson said to Homer : “Son, I was always proud you weren’t a short man!”

[Xema]

@aceplace57

… A common example is James Cagney (5’ 6") or Humphrey Bogart (5’ 8") according to imdb.

Humphrey Bogart looks like a dubious example here. His height is around an inch under the current average height of US men. And that average was no doubt a bit lower in his time.

[bump]

@Sailboat

IMHO “short man syndrome” or “Napoleon complex” is an illusion born of sloppy thinking. In many cases, again IMHO, the exact same behavior that brings accusations of “short man syndrome” would be described using words like “dominant,” “dynamic,” “masterful,” “alpha male,” “exhibiting leadership,” “go-getter,” “aggressive,” “powerful,” “imposing,” and other favorable-sounding terms IF the man in question were tall.

Tall man stands up for himself, he’s called “impressive” or “firm.” Short man does the same thing, even using the exact same words, he’s lucky to be called “feisty” or “scrappy;” otherwise he’s pissy, insecure, suffering from short-man syndrome, and so on.

Out of curiosity, how tall are you?

I’m 6’1", and I haven’t really seen the short man syndrome in action as such. Generally speaking, I think it’s people confusing insecurity with something born of being short; I’ve known plenty of tall guys who had this problem, and quite a few short guys who are absolutely self assured (my grandfather, for one, a VP at work for another)

[Kimstu]

Speaking as a woman who likes short guys, I haven’t noticed any correlation between shortness and belligerence. Some short men are “feisty” and others are placid, same as tall guys.

[Turek]

@Sailboat

IMHO “short man syndrome” or “Napoleon complex” is an illusion born of sloppy thinking. In many cases, again IMHO, the exact same behavior that brings accusations of “short man syndrome” would be described using words like “dominant,” “dynamic,” “masterful,” “alpha male,” “exhibiting leadership,” “go-getter,” “aggressive,” “powerful,” “imposing,” and other favorable-sounding terms IF the man in question were tall.

Exactly. A tall guy that works out a lot is “in great shape”; a short guy that works out a lot is “overcompensating.”

[toofs]

@Gfactor

**toofs **, it’s against the rules to modify another poster’s quote inside the quote tags. Please don’t do it again. No warning issued.

Gfactor
General Questions Moderator

Won’t happen again.

[Lestrade]

While we’re here, what about very tall men? We have the “gentle giant” as a common character, do you often see it in real life? Or is this more of a hijack that belongs in IMHO?