Height Dictates Attraction: A Definitive Study by Jordyn White
When asked to describe their ideal partner, many people have an exact map of what s/he will look like. "Oh, he'll have green eyes and tan skin, curly brown hair, and he has to be tall." "Oh, she'll have blue eyes, blonde hair, and she has to be short." In fact, height is the second-most lied about detail on dating platforms (the first being occupation). So, why all this emphasis on height in our love lives? As a tall female (even though I'd hardly qualify 5'8" as overly lengthy), this whole preference puts me at a disadvantage. So, I've decided to find an answer as to why short girls are preferred over tall ones and tall guys are preferred over short ones. Without further ado, I present to you my definitive study:
We're gonna start out with the male perspective of things. I conducted an anonymous poll with x guys and asked them two questions: a.) what is the ideal height for a female, and b.) does height really matter all that much in a relationship? The answers were to be expected--58% of the guys said the ideal height was from below 5'4", 26% said between 5'5" and 5'7", 10% said 5'8" and above, and the remaining 6% said there was no ideal height (I applaud you few, you're all going to make a girl very happy one day). Now take into consideration that the average height for a fully grown female is just over 5'3", and my data shows a clear preference to shorter females. The answer to the second question was pretty polar, 13.3% said height does absolutely not matter at all and the remaining 86.6% basically said yes--as long as she's not taller than me is not a negative answer. Now that we have the statistics, I'm going to attempt to explain my way through this one.
As concluded by Dr. Simon Chu of Mersey Care NHS Trust University of Liverpool, England, certain traits are associated with being tall. Tall women are seen as confident, successful, strong, assertive, intimidating, and powerful. They are more likely to be promoted at work and are more respected throughout various aspects of their lives. So, why is this such a turnoff for guys? Human nature reflects, well, regular nature. We describe the dominant figure in a pack as an "alpha-male," and there certainly is the alpha-male instinct within males of the human variety. In our species, this instance is driven by testosterone, the same hormone that makes guys do dumb party tricks. A guy's sense of ego is threatened by a tall girl, and any height above 5'6" statistically threatens the sense of male bravado. In contrast with the intimidating nature of a tall female, short females are viewed as more nurturing, vulnerable (in a good way), friendlier, more feminine, and more reproductively successful. There is also the factor of societal norms. The media always pictures the ideal girlfriend as shorter than her male counterpart. As one of my male subjects put it, "[height] doesn't really matter if you aren't insecure."
The results from the female end of things were a lot more promising. I asked the same two questions to the female participants: a.) what is the ideal height for a male, and b.) does height really matter all that much in a relationship? I played a roll in my data, and I'll leave you guys to figure which category I fall into (leave a comment and I'll confirm or deny). In response to the first question, 0% of the participants said 5'5" or below, 13.3% said somewhere in the 5'6"-5'9" range, 60% said between 5'10"-6'1", and 26% said 6'2" or above. To validate this data, the average height of a fully grown male is 5'8". Our female participants clearly took a liking to the above-average males. The results of the second question were a lot more promising. 56.6% of the females said that height absolutely does not matter, and the remaining 43.3% said that it would be nice to have a man taller than her.
Whereas the male end of the spectrum was driven by testosterone, the females are driven by something wildly different. This is the pre-coded instincts distilled in our species since prehistoric times. The hunter-gather aspect of history we share was one deep with scientific prospects--natural selection, the survival of the fittest, etc. Tall guys were, evidently, better suited for the environment, whether it be hunting or gathering or straight up surviving. Height is also seen as a sign of virility, which is most certainly important if we're talking about anything related to reproductive attraction. A study conducted by Griffith University in Queensland, Australia confirms this theory, as their results revealed a woman's strong preference to tall and strong men. The researchers went a similar route of explaining things and blamed it all on evolution. Evolution isn't the only thing at play though. World culture has painted tall males as confident and relaxed leaders, a set of desirable traits in a partner. The media has a similar effect, painting the ideal, successful family as a tall and brawny man and a petite feminine woman. Height gives a sense of status that is clearly attractive to prospective females.
To wrap this all up, stereotypical relationships are the most desirable to both genders. But all the Amazons and leprechauns shouldn't sweat their height. A vast majority of my participants from both groups said that personality matters more than the height of a prospective partner, so really beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The only reason these height-based biases still exist is because of societal norms, let's be real. Height, much like age, is nothing but a number.
The results from the female end of things were a lot more promising. I asked the same two questions to the female participants: a.) what is the ideal height for a male, and b.) does height really matter all that much in a relationship? I played a roll in my data, and I'll leave you guys to figure which category I fall into (leave a comment and I'll confirm or deny). In response to the first question, 0% of the participants said 5'5" or below, 13.3% said somewhere in the 5'6"-5'9" range, 60% said between 5'10"-6'1", and 26% said 6'2" or above. To validate this data, the average height of a fully grown male is 5'8". Our female participants clearly took a liking to the above-average males. The results of the second question were a lot more promising. 56.6% of the females said that height absolutely does not matter, and the remaining 43.3% said that it would be nice to have a man taller than her.
Whereas the male end of the spectrum was driven by testosterone, the females are driven by something wildly different. This is the pre-coded instincts distilled in our species since prehistoric times. The hunter-gather aspect of history we share was one deep with scientific prospects--natural selection, the survival of the fittest, etc. Tall guys were, evidently, better suited for the environment, whether it be hunting or gathering or straight up surviving. Height is also seen as a sign of virility, which is most certainly important if we're talking about anything related to reproductive attraction. A study conducted by Griffith University in Queensland, Australia confirms this theory, as their results revealed a woman's strong preference to tall and strong men. The researchers went a similar route of explaining things and blamed it all on evolution. Evolution isn't the only thing at play though. World culture has painted tall males as confident and relaxed leaders, a set of desirable traits in a partner. The media has a similar effect, painting the ideal, successful family as a tall and brawny man and a petite feminine woman. Height gives a sense of status that is clearly attractive to prospective females.
To wrap this all up, stereotypical relationships are the most desirable to both genders. But all the Amazons and leprechauns shouldn't sweat their height. A vast majority of my participants from both groups said that personality matters more than the height of a prospective partner, so really beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The only reason these height-based biases still exist is because of societal norms, let's be real. Height, much like age, is nothing but a number.
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| See, Katie Holmes is 5'9" and Tom Cruise is 5'7" and they don't look ridiculous. All of Tom's wives have been taller than him (Kidman at 5'11" and Rogers at 5'9"). Be more like Tom Cruise. Via themodestman |
For more information, see the following sources:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201306/why-so-many-women-prefer-be-tall-men
https://www.quora.com/Why-do-many-women-like-tall-men
https://pandagossips.com/posts/1015
https://introvertedalpha.com/do-women-prefer-tall-guys/
https://www.quora.com/Why-do-many-women-like-tall-men
https://pandagossips.com/posts/1015
https://introvertedalpha.com/do-women-prefer-tall-guys/
Love the research (both online and through surveys) that you put into this post! As the daughter of a 6' dad and a 4'10" mother, I'd say I've grown up fully exposed to the "tall" male/ "short" female relationship status quo. While it may not be a factor that guys consider when they state preferences for shorter females, this is likely a result of societal norms and insecurity as you expressed in your blog. We always want to emulate what we see in the news, and lets be honest, we aren't really seeing a whole lot of short male/tall female relationships plastered on the cover of People Magazine. However, as your research shows, height, while a source of insecurity, isn't truly a critical part in selecting a partner as personality typically trumps this aspect of appearance. (Unless you are shallow and conceited, in which case no one really wants to be with that person anyway...)
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent post filled with the perfect mixture of research and common sense thought. Sarah's comment above is on point, but I do have to wonder why so many people lie about their heights on dating apps. Don't they know that if they meet the person one day, they will see how tall they are? This is amazing to me! Well done!
ReplyDeleteSuch an interesting poll with great research!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I love how you conducted a poll to emphasize your research, and then broke down the data in a way which was easy to interpret. In a society which definitely pushes "socially-accepted norms" on people, such as the tall boyfriend and short girlfriend complex, it was heartening to see that some are willing to not put as much of an emphasis on their significant other's height. Overall, this was a really well written and well organized blog post.
ReplyDelete