Hi! I’m 6’1" and I go between loving and hating it.
For one thing, the comments can be annoying. Friends that insist I can’t date anyone shorter than myself. And those crazy strangers that stop me on the street, angry to find out I don’t play basketball.
I also slouch. I think this is partially because I have mostly female friends, all of which are much shorter than I am. It’s nice to be able to look them in the eyes or hear them, so I sort of hunch down to their level. I try very hard not to, but I really have to make a conscious effort.
On the plus side, I have fabulously long legs and I wear high heels with joy, despite how much taller they may make me.
I’m female and punch in at about 5’ 10" inches. (“About”=slightly on the downside break-off from 5’ 11".) Forget inanities about super-models. I’m middle-aged, on the “lesser” side of average weight for the height and have very fine bones. Even at my most willowy adult weight–135 lbs.–nobody, including me, gave a passing thought to “glamourous” dimensions when they appeared in mundane life. I was just an ordinary female-type schmoe who happened to be damned TALL.
Disadvantage? Nope. Well, not more than every other inane physical quirk outside the “ideal”. Advantage? Weeding out idiots. (Priceless, that.) But I was fortunate in my parents, who (echoing the OP) not unsympathetically thwacked my too-tall frame out of cowering or slumping.
Frankly, I don’t worry about the vast majority of folks, male or female, who don’t fit within physical “ideals”. I worry a lot more about people, male or female, who buy into such a shifty, temporary benchmarks in the first place. The targets are fickle and no real person can reach 'em for long, even w/ the most stringent effort. That’s the ultimate doomed cause.
I’m “too tall” for a woman. Big whoop. Deal. I have. Body frame doesn’t amount to diddly squat when it comes to character, humor, loyalty, bravery, etc.; the real stuff. That’s the motherlode for ZING.
Veb
[sub]Who remembers fondly–very fondly–a certain man who was at least 6" shorter in frame but towered in ZING. He never let me feel less than comfortable, okay exactly the way I was. [/sub]
By the time I was 13 years old I had already reached my full height - so junior high was interesting!! I have to say, I didn’t love being tall when I was growing up. I did have an aunt that took me aside and told me that someday I would really like being tall because a.) I could eat more b.) Clothes would hang well on me…lol. I don’t think that helped me at the time, but now that I’m older I do like my height. My husband is an inch taller than me and sometimes I do wish he were a little taller. I like to wear heels when I get dressed up and he has made comments that he can’t see me because I’m up so high. As for slouching, I used to slouch all the time…but now I’m more comfortable with myself and I try to stand up straight. (I think yoga helped me with my posture.)…Anyway, being tall is a pretty good deal, but then there are times when I wish I were a petite little thing.
6’7" guy here…
I prefer taller (than average women, not me) women, but I realise that no matter what, I’m gonna be a lot taller than her, so it really doesn’t matter too much. Although, the girl I’m sortofkindof seeing now is 5’4", dancing can be kind of awkward, since even if she’s in heels, I’m still about a foot taller.
I’ve always been very pleased with my height, so I’ve never slouched…I’m taller than all my friends, but I don’t really care; I’ll wear four-inch heels and dwarf most men without concern.
Mr. Levins is my height exactly, so it’s a bit humorous when I do wear really tall shoes, but he’s never really minded and neither have I. (Although I do plan on wearing flats when we get married; I don’t want any Tom and Nicole-style wedding pictures.)
But no, in response to the OP, I don’t think I’d date a man significantly shorter than me. Call me an old-fashioned sexist prig, but it’s not the same as when the guy is significantly taller than the girl. I’d just feel awkward. And a lot of shorter guys do seem to have a thing with tall girls; I think it’s a primitive instinct having to do with the fact that they’re at breast-height.
Somewhat tall (6’1") man checking in. My wife is 5’10" and feels like shes too tall sometimes. She also said the northeast was the hardest place to meet guys who are taller than her. I like tall women, though height’s not that important. No offense to the vertically-challenged ladies out there, but I often felt like I was going to crush my smaller partners when, you know…Having someone fairly close to my size means I can be really, er, enthusiastic…
I’m 5’8", consider myself tall(esp when around older women), and wish I was shorter.
The important thing is for a woman to be shorter than the man you are with. I know almost no woman who would date a man shorter than she is, and I have seen surveys, and also a show on the Discovery Channel, which said that 99% of american women are shorter than their husbands.
For the most part, it is the woman who will not date a shorter man(not the man who does not want to date a taller woman). On the Discovery show, they had about 20 women, and they described various very successful men, rich, doctors, authors, scientists, etc and all the women were so enthused until they “said” the man was also short, 5’6" or something, and then all the woman passed up on him, and did not even want to date or even talk to him.
The biggest drawback on being tall? It significantly reduces the pool of men available for dating/marraige. The taller a woman is, the less men she has to choose from. As a general guidline, a man usually has to be taller than a woman while she is wearing high heels, i.e., 4 inches taller than her.
If the 99% statistic is correct, than tallness is the most important attribute in a man, more than any other attribute, regardless of what women might “say”.
Jeesh…
That “statistic” may be skewed for any number of reasons. For one thing, the average man is taller than the average woman - that takes care of the bulk of your 99% figure. The neanderthal instinct of selecting a taller mate to “better the gene pool” may also come into play. For ANY person using height requirements as their ‘most important’ qualification in a mate, well…may they get what they deserve.
Based on the linked charts, and assuming that I’m reading them correctly, for 30-year-old white Americans (into which my wife and I roughly fall):[ul][li]50% of the males are between 5’8.5" and 6’0"50% of the females are between 5’3" and 5’6.5"[/ul]That alone suggests that if you paired up the populations completely at random, the male would be taller in far more than half of the couples. When thinking about that claimed 99% figure, you certainly can’t take 50/50 as a “baseline.”[/li]
It would be interesting to see just what ratio random pairing would achieve. With the data given in those charts, I think reasonable estimates could be made (use the percentiles given to extrapolate the full distributions).
I am a 5’ 8 1/2" 18 year old girl. When I was in elementary school it was extremely awkward for me because I was always the tallest in the class (even taller than the boys). When I got to highschool that was a lot better on my self-esteem because I encountered many taller girls than me and of course the guys were taller too.
I do feel like a beast sometimes cuz most of my friends are shorter than me… sometimes I wish I was shorter because I avoid wearing high-heels due to the fact that I feel I am tall enough.
About dating, I would never date a guy shorter than me. It may sound bad but I just wouldn’t. He has to be at least 5’11". I like em at least 6 foot though.
Hmmm…well, I had to go do some searching to find out that “cracker” is becoming a generic term for white people, although generally intended as a highly derogatory one, on a par with “nigger”, according to the sites I found. Apparently, the term has been around since at least Shakespeare’s time. But, almost always as an insult, which is how I’ve always thought of it.
You’re the first person I’ve heard use the term to refer to himself, outside the deep south.
Hi Linden. Welcome aboard!
It sounds like you don’t need any enemies, with friends like that. And, may I be the first to say…
So, how YOU doin’?
Okay; you’re an old-fashioned sexist prig.
Well, it could be the “eye-height headlight” effect, but I think that a lot of guys, in general, have “a thing” for tall women. It’s just more noticeable when it’s a shorter guy, because of the disparity. Who’d notice if a tall guy was hitting on a tall woman? But, when a short guy does it, people notice.
Actually, the northeast is the hardest place to meet anyone, with our suspicious nature’s and high-speed pace of life. But, I assume she meant there are proportionately fewer tall men, here, than elsewhere. I hadn’t heard that, before, either, but she could be right, I guess. I’ve generally been one of the taller men in any group, up until I started working at the company I’m with, now.
Well, there’s the other side of the equation, too. Despite the fact that many men like tall women, I think most men still prefer women who are shorter than they are.
It will get better, in time, as you get out in the “real world” more, and meet more tall people. But, never say never; you could be overlooking (Heh! Sorry) your true Prince Charming.
If I had that mentality, I’d have gotten no where. Almost all the men I’ve had intimate dealings with have been shorter than me. Not dwarfs, mind you, but they stood at least one or two inches shorter than my 5’9 frame. If the woman is confident in herself and is not overly conscious of how “perfect” she looks standing next to her man, then she shouldn’t really be hung up on the height. And I could say the same thing to men about breast size.
Short, confident men who don’t constantly whine about being short can be just as sexy as their taller brethren. Remember that, guys.
You said that the main limiting factor is “it is the woman who will not date a shorter man, (not the man who does not want to date a taller woman).” and cited the Discovery show to prove it.
Then you said the big drawback to being a tall woman is that your selection pool is limited: “The taller a woman is, the less men she has to choose from.”
Since you assert that the woman is the picky one, then the woman actually is free to choose any available man she wishes. She is unnecessarily limiting herself.
It seems to me that if a woman is really having trouble finding a man, she might say to herself “Hey, I’m sick of looking! I’m marrying the next rich doctor who asks, even if he IS short!”
I got measured for height when I registered with a new doctor, turns out I’m 5’6-and-a-bit" which surprised me because I felt taller! The reason for this is that all of my friends are shorter than me, including the one who insists she’s 5’8"…
My height only bothered me in school when I was the second tallest in the class, I was kind of self-conscious about it but never really seriously bothered. I was a Goth anyway, so it wasn’t like I actually fitted in anywhere!
These days I rarely wear anything less than 4" heels and date a guy who’s around 6’ tall - I’m still taller than my female friends and still not bothered about it…guess I’ve just learned to love being who I am.
I’m 5’8" and have never felt that was tall–never felt that was short either. But I blossomed rather late. I was only 5’ at the tender age of 14 and in the course of one school year I gained eight inches and a few cup sizes. Since I was the last girl in my class to develop I never felt uncomfortable about it, more like “Yes! I’ve arrived!”
I do prefer the guy to be as tall as, or taller than me. It just makes me feel uncomfortable if I know I can bench press my date.
YOu “seem” right. That would be what logic dictates.
But that does not change what most women “do”.
Most women will not get sick of looking and give up and marry a shorter man, even if he is a rich doctor. That was the whole point of the Discovery show. I saw the show twice, and it sticks in my mind. It was unreal how much they built up these guys, and how enthusiastic all the women were until they saw a short guy behind a one-way mirror. He wasnt that short, just a few inches shorter than each woman they interviewed indidually. Not one single woman wanted to persue/date the man/men, regardless of how rich or successful he was.
Ok, a few here admitted to dating shorter men, but most eventually married a taller man, like the statistics say.
We cant change how women “think”. Women like to “look up to a man”.
The shorter women, and the 1% who defy the statistics, who can choose from the entire available male pool are the lucky ones, because there are some very sweet, kind, honest, and honorable short men.
I sure do!!.. it is the woman that is the picky one, the one that ensures that most couples are: husband taller than wife.
Yeah, I know some guys that “say” they dont want to date taller women, particularly among high school kids, but that is just what they “say”. (Most guys that “say” that would jump on top of any female if she was pretty enough)
I saw that show, too, and it was a load of bullshit. I couldn’t believe that any woman with any sense would refuse to go out with the short guy. As I remember, in addition to being rich and a doctor (or whatever) he seemed very NICE. I think they picked vacuous bimbos in order to make a point.
I can honestly say height isn’t a factor for me. I said before I’m 5-9, tall by most standards. My husband is about an inch shorter. Two boyfriends I had years ago were my height or shorter. I have seen men shorter than me and, on the basis of looks alone, I’d classify them as attractive. I agree with Veb; any thinking woman is going to place height where it truly belongs: WAY down the list of “qualifications.”
I’m a girl, and I’m 5’11". I feel like a giant. When I go to the bar, jesus…I’m 5’11" without shoes on, when I wear my sandals, I’m 6’ or 6’1", and with my boots, I’m 6’1-6’2". I find people notice me more because I’m very tall.
Now that I think of it, all the guys I’ve liked in the past while, have been shorter. So guy’s height doesn’t matter.
I don’t slouch either, I’m proud to be tall.
I always get the feeling guys aren’t too fond of really tall girls, maybe it’s just me…
My last physical, my doctor said I was 5’7" and a half, but previously I was 5’9" so I think his measurey-thingy was waaay off this year cuz I haven’t shrunk.
I am also very very small framed and thin. I weigh maybe 112 or so. Because of this, I look even taller. I also get some not so nice “Ooo you’re so skinny… I hate you… giggle giggle” comments from other women. Eh whatev. I’d take axtra 10 lbs or so!
That said, I usually like being this tall. There are times I see clothes that I’d love to wear but would look silly on me. Shopping for clothes is a bitch; pants that fit my waist hit me at like, mid calf so it’s somewhat ridiculous… and shirts never quite hit my waistband so I have to watch out for “plumber’s crack”! I could gain 20 lbs without it making me overweight, something I couldn’t do if I were shorter.
I really, really like tall men… the taller the better. I once was in lust with a man who was 6’7"… ::sigh:: I don’t have a problem dating shorter men though; once dated a guy who was maybe 5’3" in shoes w/heels. Not a biggie.
