General Question

zachs94's avatar

Is height a big factor for men?

Asked by zachs94 (30points) September 15th, 2009

Hey my friend was wondering if you could please tell him weather or not this made a massive difference – he likes a girl, but she is a tad bit taller than him, he’s making a big thing about it and saying “she’ll never go out with me”,
So I said fine, ill fluther it.

So ladies is it a big thing? Would you go out with a guy who is a bit smaller than you, even by just a bit? Be honest he wont read the replies :)

Thanks!

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32 Answers

evegrimm's avatar

I wouldn’t, but then again, I’m 5 foot nothing.

In general, though, I prefer guys who aren’t towering over me—they tend to come across as “short” to many other people.

(I hate feeling small!)

KatawaGrey's avatar

I think anyone who makes that big of a deal about height is being ridiculous. I am currently dating someone who is much taller than I am I am a woman and there are some physical issues, but that doesn’t affect my wanting to be with him. Society has kind of told us that the men have to be taller and the women have to be smaller. Tell your friend to go for it. If he likes her, he should date her, not dwell on a few inches.

@evegrimm: I hear that. I’m a leetle bit taller than you, but not much. :)

zachs94's avatar

@evegrimm , I dont quiet understand – did you mean it does matter to you or it doesnt?

deni's avatar

It doesn’t really matter, as long as its not a huge difference. In general though I do tend to prefer men in the 5’10 ish area.

evegrimm's avatar

I’m saying that, in general, I don’t mind if a guy is considered “short”, as long as he’s not shorter than me. :D

‘Cuz then he’d be a midget.

There are intimacy issues if the guy is too tall, for me.
(Get your mind out of the gutter! I hate hugging a guy and my head is at, like, his stomach.)

hungryhungryhortence's avatar

This is my own personal opinion, not what I think most women who like men would choose. In my mind, an average height man is about 6ft, less than that is “short” for a man. Now, I’m only 5’2” so any man my height or taller doesn’t bug at all, I’ve had a longterm SO who was only 5’2” and I never had an issue, he just got the title of being the first shortie :D Living with him didn’t change how I dressed either, I usually wear 3–4” heels and he wasn’t at all bothered to be with a woman taller, all his life his women had been much taller than I was. The man’s own attitude is probably more important than how the woman sees him because she’ll pick up on any insecure or awkward vibe he’s got and that may throw her own initial feelings off.

shortysith's avatar

I am only 5’1”, so no :) But my sister is 5’10” (I know, how did that happen??) and is dating a guy who is shorter than her. And is isn’t a big deal at all. I guess it just differs for every person, but for me, it would be weird since I am so short haha :)

marinelife's avatar

I prefer guys to be taller than I am, but I am only 5’ 4½”.

Dr_C's avatar

In high school i was 6’3” (i topped out @ 6’8”).. i dated a girl who was 6’2” and ALWAYS wore heels so i looked shorter… didn’t care. (neither did she). We had a great time while it lasted. Height does not determine personality unless you are obsessed with your height.

casheroo's avatar

I’m 5’6, so I’m pretty average..or I guess taller for a woman. My husband is only 5’5.5, doesn’t bother me. Height has never been an issue for him, he has dated shorter girls than himself, and some the same height.
It’s a personal preference for women, as anybody has a person preference. I think it shows confidence when a man doesn’t care about his height and it doesn’t hold him back.

hearkat's avatar

@casheroo: Yet another thing we have in common! I am 5’6” and my ex husband was 5’5”.

I have also dated guys as tall as 6’3”. I have heard that average height is 5’3” for American Women, and 5’10” for American Men… there may be Wikipedia articles with this info, but I don’t have time to research it.

A guy should never assume that a girl won’t go out with him because of his height. This suggests that he has insecurities about it, which could present an issue if he does go out with a taller woman, and he suspects that she might dump him for a taller guy, etc. Similar issues exist for others with insecurities – too skinny, too fat, too pale, too dark, etc. If a person is always second-guessing why their partner is with them and expecting to be dumped, they are not being fair to their partner and are undermining the relationship.

gailcalled's avatar

Read about the ever-enduring love story between Julia (6’ 2”) and her shorter husband, Paul Child. Height is never mentioned.

http://marriage.about.com/od/entertainmen1/p/childjulia.htm

casheroo's avatar

@hearkat Well I hope we don’t have the “ex husband” part in common ever lol
I’ve also dated men above 6’ and I think one was 5’10, which was a decent height difference for me. I don’t really have a preference though, I go for personality overall.

I do know though, that my husband hopes our son got my family’s height, even just 5’8 or 5’10 and my husband would be thrilled because he knows that being a shorter guy can cause some upset feelings for them.

aphilotus's avatar

I’m a guy, and tall- 6’4 and change, and the one time I ever met a girl who was also 6’4… it was the most intimidating thing in the world, for about five minutes. She was some kind of flame, and I some kind of tallness moth, but burning sounded excellent, and explaining this to my shorter male friends, no one understood what I was talking about.

And then I talked to her and she was vapid and evil and I said “HEIGHT IS NOT LOVE!”

lukiarobecheck's avatar

My brother is 5’ 7” and he marries a girl who is 5’ 11” so it can happen.

poofandmook's avatar

I’m 5 feet tall, and my boyfriend is 6’2”. I have the same issue as @evegrimm… I hug him and my face is about at his stomach. I don’t mind it though :) Only once has height been an issue, and that was, um, something we wanted to try in the bedroom… LOL

IBERnineD's avatar

This is interesting because I used to only be attracted to guys that were above 6 feet. For instance the heights of my past boyfriends have been 6 feet 4 inches and up. But since I am going through an enlightenment period after a break up, I realized that I love salsa. I was thinking about it and when I went out with a friend I concluded that anyone above 6 “1 is going to be too tall to dance salsa with me. Just a preference I guess, I like the guy’s face close to mine. Really as long as the guy is taller than 5“5 I’m good.

Facade's avatar

I personally find men under 5’10 to be unattractive, and even 5’10 5’11 is pushing it. Fortunately, most women don’t mind.

le_inferno's avatar

I, personally, don’t care. I’m 5’3’’ so not many guys are shorter than I am. But if he’s around my height or only slightly taller.. makes no difference to me. A lot of short guys are muscular, I noticed. I guess cause they try to compensate…and I think it works. I love tall guys, though, too.

Honestly. I’m not picky. I love men. fuck.

le_inferno's avatar

Oh, and I know a couple where the woman is 5’11’’ and the guy is 5’2’’, so hey, anything’s possible :D

KatawaGrey's avatar

Point of interest: My sociology professor just told us that people tend to pick partners that are their opposites so that they will produce perfect children. I think that’s why there are a fair amount of couples where the girl is short and tiny and the guy is tall and huge. At least, I’ve seen this a fair amount.

hungryhungryhortence's avatar

@KatawaGrey: That would make some sense then. My grandfather was 7’2” and married a 4’11” woman.

Facade's avatar

@KatawaGrey Did you prof say whether this was conscious or unconscious?

KatawaGrey's avatar

@Facade: it’s somewhat unconscious. It’s more of a biological thing and it’s not just height. For example, she said she has a very small nose and her husband has a large nose.

casheroo's avatar

@KatawaGrey I thought that was overall as well. Like, women want to “breed” with men that they find to subconsciously be good gene providers or somethings like that…or is that pheromones I’m thinking of?

Sampson's avatar

Not really. I do like girls that are my height or shorter.

I’m like .5in taller than my girl so she’s perfect :)

Sarcasm's avatar

I’m a ~5’9” man adult child. For the record, my mother’s 5’2”, my sister’s 5’6”, my father’s 5’11” and my brother is 5’9”.

Honestly, it does feel a bit awkward to be with a girl who’s as tall (or taller than) me. Not massively awkward, but a little bit. And for no logical reason, just that it’s the way I’ve learned to be in this culture.

If all things were equal, I’d pick a girl who’s shorter. But honestly, that’s one of the least important details in my book.

mattbrowne's avatar

If you’re a middle school teacher in social hot spot areas.

4fun1tru1's avatar

I think it depends on the girl and the guy. I personally don’t mind dating a guy shorter than me if its just a few inches. However, I was with a guy for a short time. He dumped me because he couldn’t adjust to the fact that i was taller than him. We had so much in common and we enjoyed eachother’s company, but he couldn’t get past the height. He feels the woman should be shorter. So if your friend has an issue with the height, and can’t or won’t get over it, than i suggest instead of screwing her over later, than i would tell him not to persue her.

gailcalled's avatar

Someone, somewhere, did a survey of heights of Headmasters of Independent Day and Boarding Schools. They were taller than average.

trailsillustrated's avatar

yes ever heard of ‘napoleon complex’

hondagirrlx's avatar

Im about 5.11½ and my husband is only 5.9 and change.. It doesnt bother him or myself that I am a bit taller than him. He thinks its what makes me beautiful to him. If you like someone then it shouldnt matter who is taller. Height shouldnt be a factor in any relationship.

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