Reading through all these, I think that “intimidate” wasn’t the appropriate word. I should have asked something along the lines of “Women: What’s your initial reaction to a very tall man?”
I have to ask: Where are all you tall women hiding? With the exception of my mom and grandmother, I don’t think I know any women over 5’6", definitely none over 5’8". This is a shame, because having a woman about shoulder high (approx. 5’8" for me) just seems right.
I really like some of your responses to the “You’re tall” announcement, especially
A semi-related question, which kelebrian@hotmail.com brought up: why is it more socially acceptable to point out that someone is tall than it is to point out that they are short?
Because being tall is considered a good thing by most people. It’s more socially acceptable to tell someone they’re beautiful than it is to tell them they are ugly. Same for thin vs. fat, clean vs. filthy, or stinky vs. less stinky.
My best friend is 4’11", and there are, indeed, plenty of people out there who don’t have a problem with remarking at her height. She’s also Chinese-American, and people often think she’s some sort of delicate china doll, which drives her crazy. (They usually realize the inaccuracy of this impression when she opens her mouth and starts swearing like a sailor.)
My dad is 6’3", and has a tendency to intimidate people who don’t know him (it’s not just the height, it’s his general appearance). Since I know he’s actually a pacifict and the world’s biggest pushover, I generally don’t find tall men particularly intimidating - at least because of their height.
It’s briefly intimidating for me to meet anyone taller than 6’8, but only for a second. All the men I’ve dated have been 5’8-6’1. I don’t even know what to consider a tall girl anymore. At my school (as in my high school), about 75% of the female population is 5’7 +, but supposedly there are many, many women that are much shorter in the world.
On the other side of the spectrum, I have not met one person socially (i.e. not including wait staff, cashiers, etc) that has not commented on how short I am. I’m about 5’1, 5’4 in shoes (I wear such shoes when I meet people). :rolleyes:
Sometimes. If they’re acting like a normal person, usually not. If they invade my personal space (I may like more space than many people, at least 3’ between me and strangers at all times) and I don’t know them, yup, they’re a lot more intimidating than a average height stranger doing the same thing would be. On the other hand, one of my friends in college was 6’4" and I was never intimated by him since he was a really nice guy who never did that “looming” thing.
For the record, I’m 5’3" and I consider anyone over 6’ tall.
i prefer tall men but thats what im used too so i guess its habit plus for some reason i feel safer… but if they are obnoxious then i will be intimidated…
Oh, hey, MyFootsZZZ, my current man is 5’8" and I think he’s smokin’ hot. Yes, I dig tall guys but sexy is sexy is sexy-- doesn’t matter if you’re short, tall, plaid, or whatever.
I’m at ease with just about everybody; so no, tall guys don’t intimidate me at all, regardless of if they’re tall and scrawny or tall and burly. It’s a person’s attitude that makes them intimidating, threatening, or anything else in my eyes. A person can have an appearance that excentuates their attitude, but appearance alone generally won’t make me feel threatened, intimidated, etc.
(On anther note, I’m one of those who like scrawny guys…tall and scrawny or short and scrawny, whatever…don’t care. So long as they’ve got the whole scrawniness thing going on. This also is nothing to do with a precieved feeling of congeniality…it just ties in with the whole rock star look, which I like).
As far as dating one goes, though: I always thought taller was definitely preferable. Now that I’m dating a guy who’s pretty close to my height (I’m 5’8" or so, and he might be a quarter of an inch shorter–and he’s definitely scrawny (((oh yeah)))), and I’ve found that being so close in height is actually sort of…useful. You don’t have to crane your neck all out of proportion trying to kiss, for instance. So at the moment, I’d have to say every height’s got it’s advantages and disadvantages, just like anything else.
However, I don’t let too much physical criteria weigh in when deciding whether or not I like somebody; if I like them I like them–the height won’t matter. If I were single and liked somebody 6’8," the fact that we were a full foot off wouldn’t touch my decision to date them.
I’m around 5’9" and grew up in a family where all the males were at least 6’ for most of my life, so tallness doesn’t intimidate me at all. As far as height/attractiveness ratios, I really don’t equate someone’s height into whether I find them attractive or not. It’s more the demeanor they project along with their general appearance. My current involvement is with a guy who’s shorter than me, and I find him incredibly sexy; in the past [and currently] I’ve been attracted to both tall and shorter men. It really doesn’t make an issue with me.
Eh…yeah, pretty much…as soon as you start getting close to '6, you start intimidating me/making me feel really short. A bit taller doesn’t bother me, but 4 inches or more, and I’m starting to balk, and the same applies for girls…but then, I’m not that tall myself, so that might contribute to it;)
You honestly thought that women might prefer short men? Or is this thread just a very transparent case of compliment fishing? Next up: “Do women prefer ugly men? Because I am really good-looking, and I feel like I intimidate people. Can anyone console me?”
What if your tall, buff, lean guy got beat up by some short fat guy with brass knuckles? Would you still feel safe?
Personally, I’m glad I figured out that being big doesn’t make me tough. I’ve seen too many fights (and been in a few) to think body type says anything about a person’s relative toughness. A better indicator is: are they fundamentally a mean person? But I doubt many women go looking for that.
I’m only 5’2" and I’m not overly fond of tall men. It’s not about being intimidated by them, specifically, it’s more the sneaking suspicion that if they tripped, they might accidentally crush me. Extreme high difference makes a lot of things – walking arm in arm, or kissing standing up for example – awkward.
Basically, about a head taller than me is perfect, which is really only 5’8", which is on the short side for a guy, I guess. I don’t think I have ever dated anyone taller than 5’10." In fact I don’t have any close male friends who are taller than that either. hmmmmm.
