# Would you date a halfling?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-a-halfling/683716
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [March 14, 2014, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-a-halfling/683716 "2014-03-14T20:24:46Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2014, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-a-halfling/683716/1 "2014-03-14T20:24:46Z")
Well, not an actual hobbit,of course. Meriadoc Brandybuck and Elanor Gamgee and all their wretched ilk are extinct. I baked the last one into a meat pie myself.
But anyway, would you date a little person–someone under four feet tall? Assume for the sake of the discussion that the person in question is the right age for you, normally proportioned, and otherwise your type (however you define your type). Pippin or Rosie has met you at, oh, let’s say a Dopefest. You were already attracted to his or her board persona but did not know until the assembly at the tavern that she or he was fun-sized. The person is also lacking in shyness and makes no bones about inviting you for a private date.
Poll in a moment.
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### Author:  [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2014, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-a-halfling/683716/2 "2014-03-14T20:46:08Z")
Yes, yes I would (if I were available for dating). I possibly have (although he probably wasn’t really under 4’ tall, but he was very short), although only briefly. I am a smidge over 6’1" so it was a noticeable difference.
My longtime SO is maybe 5’5" or so, not a little person by any means, but he fits under my chin.
Roddy
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### Author:  [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2014, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-a-halfling/683716/3 "2014-03-14T20:52:37Z")
If she looked like Sarah McLeod (Rosie Cotton in the LOTR movies), heck yeah!
You remember the frat-boy description of the perfect woman?
“Three feet tall, big ears, no teeth, and a flat head.”
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### Author:  [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2014, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-a-halfling/683716/4 "2014-03-14T20:58:06Z")
> [@mbh](#):
>
> You remember the frat-boy description of the perfect woman?
> “Three feet tall, big ears, no teeth, and a flat head.”
That’s one. And you know what happens when we get to four. Although …
:: checks records ::
that’s actually _three_.
:: picks up knife in one hand, whetstone in other hand, strop in other other hand ::
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### Author:  [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2014, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-a-halfling/683716/5 "2014-03-14T21:01:50Z")
Without hesitation. Bi, and wouldn’t have kids with one, but only because I don’t want kids in general.
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### Author:  [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2014, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-a-halfling/683716/6 "2014-03-14T21:03:50Z")
As I said in the BBW thread, appearance takes a backseat to personality, intelligence, and skills in my book. Bring those little ladies on! (Unless they get their information from Fox News. Then it doesn’t matter how many feet of garden hose they can suck a golf ball through.)
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### Author:  [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2014, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-a-halfling/683716/7 "2014-03-14T23:36:03Z")
I’d worry about injuring her.
Yes, the water is cold here. And deep, too.
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### Author:  [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)
#### Post date: [March 14, 2014, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-a-halfling/683716/8 "2014-03-14T23:44:25Z")
I’m voting as marry and have kids, but I’ll admit that I don’t know the full set of issues that might be involved. What are the odds of a safe pregnancy and healthy/normal children? I know that midgets (or whatever term is considered acceptable now) are not just little people - there’s actually a host of health problems that go along with it and my general take on reproduction is that I’d rather adopt if I believed there was a chance of my kids getting a serious genetic problem passed down. So we’d do some consultations and genetic counseling first. But I suppose adopting could be a form of having kids.
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2014, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-a-halfling/683716/9 "2014-03-15T00:05:47Z")
Is Peter Dinklage available? 'Cause he’s fucking hot, I don’t care how short he is. (I suspect his wife would take offense, however.)
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### Author:  [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2014, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-a-halfling/683716/10 "2014-03-15T00:23:09Z")
> [@WhyNot](#):
>
> .
The user name that keeps on giving 🙂
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2014, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-a-halfling/683716/11 "2014-03-15T00:27:41Z")
> [@WhyNot](#):
>
> Is Peter Dinklage available? 'Cause he’s fucking hot, I don’t care how short he is. (I suspect his wife would take offense, however.)
No, he’s married. And I agree, he’s hot.
I put down marry and have kids with the caveat I’m pretty close to ending my childbearing years, so the kids parts would be presuming we had met when I was young enough to have them.
On the other hand, not having kids is OK, too.
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2014, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-a-halfling/683716/12 "2014-03-15T00:56:48Z")
Of course. Much easier to put her on a pedestal.
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### Author:  [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2014, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-a-halfling/683716/13 "2014-03-15T02:22:14Z")
Ugh! Hairy feet! ☹
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2014, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-a-halfling/683716/14 "2014-03-15T03:23:14Z")
If I weren’t already attached, I wouldn’t mind dating - or marrying - a little person. But I don’t think I’d refer to him as a “halfling.”
My actual partner is 6’11", so it’d be nice to be the taller one for a change.
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### Author:  [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2014, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-a-halfling/683716/15 "2014-03-15T04:25:25Z")
> [@dracoi](#):
>
> I’m voting as marry and have kids, but I’ll admit that I don’t know the full set of issues that might be involved. What are the odds of a safe pregnancy and healthy/normal children? I know that midgets (or whatever term is considered acceptable now) are not just little people - there’s actually a host of health problems that go along with it and my general take on reproduction is that I’d rather adopt if I believed there was a chance of my kids getting a serious genetic problem passed down. So we’d do some consultations and genetic counseling first. But I suppose adopting could be a form of having kids.
One of the criteria in the OP is that the person is “normally proportioned”, which I took to mean that the person did not evince dwarfism. Just very short.
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### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2014, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-a-halfling/683716/16 "2014-03-15T04:59:20Z")
Probably not. I’ve been with someone well under 5 feet and I usually like em short but not that short.
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### Author:  [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2014, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-a-halfling/683716/17 "2014-03-15T05:21:19Z")
There’s a kid who works at my gym and he’s a little person. And when he’s not at work he works out and often works out by doing pull-ups in a sleeveless shirt and uh…I dig it.
He’s also a sweetie and talks to me and thinks I’m cool cuz I know what Steampunk is.
Turns out he is only 18 (17 when I first met him) and I am 34 so whoops.
But, having had plenty of time to think about it (I tend to think about the gym when I’m at the gym) I definitely would go out with that kid if he were more age appropriate.
Oh, and I wouldn’t have kids with anyone.
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### Author:  [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2014, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-a-halfling/683716/18 "2014-03-15T06:47:58Z")
I’m about 16 inchs taller than my girlfriend.
Her size isn’t really a problem unless she puts her arms around your neck on a descending escalator and it hits the bottom. Ouch!
If I was single, I’d be open to it if she was otherwise a perfect match.
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### Author:  [@Askthepizzaguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askthepizzaguy)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2014, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-a-halfling/683716/19 "2014-03-15T08:28:28Z")
Height differences don’t bother me much.
I’ve had a thing for a couple of my very petite friends, and I’ve admired women taller than myself. Assuming she finds my taller/shorter frame appealing, I really don’t care what anyone else thinks of us. Same for older/younger pairings and dating outside of one’s “ethnicity”.
A winning personality and charm go a long way. Sometimes differences attract.
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### Author:  [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2014, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-a-halfling/683716/20 "2014-03-15T08:54:29Z")
I’ve never even met a little person in real life. But I wouldn’t have a problem with dating one.
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