It an age-old question which has remained unanswered. The science behind it is apparantly clear: a taller, bigger built man indicates a specimen who can protect and provide better for his family than his shorter counterpart – but is this actually the case? In an age where survival is no longer a major predicament, it appears the height of your mate is merely personal choice – for some even unimportant. A question that Her Campus wanted to delve further into was whether the sexes viewed this matter differently. After scouring friendship groups, the answer is no clearer as to whether height matters, but a difference in opinion between the sexes was apparent – and in many cases was quite surprising! Although at the end of the day, height really shouldn’t matter in deciding whether to enter a relationship with someone – male or female – it’s interesting to explore why men and women stick to certain patterns when it comes to the height of their partners.
With my personal preference steering me towards taller boys, I asked my female friends where their heart lies on the matter. One joined me in my preference for taller boys but said “that when she was drunk it was a different mater!” This sentiment was echoed by another girl who stated “Drunk I am definitely less picky.”
However it wasn’t just alcohol that swayed girl’s opinions. One girl replied by saying “On a personal level as long as the guy is taller than me in heels then its no issue!”. But why is there still this underlying need for taller guys? When Her Campus probed deeper many girls said that they felt a taller guy could protect them and look after them, so maybe we haven’t moved as far away from science as we thought. Dating coach Patti Feinstein agreed that women feel protected by a taller man and the necessity for height difference being psychological. Another point in favour of taller guys is apparently they gave better cuddles. Who knew!
When Her Campus posed this question to the male contingency, it swiftly became apparent that boys appeared less shallow on the height matter, with two stating that height didn’t bother them. However, one boy stated his issue lay in how the girl and him looked as a pairing “Yes, height does matter as having a particularly tall girl friend makes you as a couple look very odd.” Another boy stated that he preferred “a girl to be a couple of inches smaller, just because it’s a bit weird if they are as tall as you!”
But don’t worry tall girls, short girls fared just as badly with one stating “You wouldn’t want a really short girl for a girlfriend.” This was followed by another boy stating, “Really short is awkward especially for a few positions, but does help for some other positions!” It appears the male psyche as ever lies partially in the land of sex, but all the boys agreed that a medium height girls was the way forward “Middle of the road works best !”
It appears males and females have their own personal preferences, with females in general preferring a taller man who can protect them whilst males have a need for a shorter girl in order not to feel emasculated. However, through all the people Her Campus talked to it does appear that females are more shallow and for them height really does make that difference – until the famous beer goggles appear! However girls, tread with caution as Patti Feinstein says “The short guys are typically better husbands because they don’t get women as easily!” Despite this, HC would like to remind you at the end of the day, if a boy or girl has a fantastic personality, height should not matter at all.
Picture Credits: http://www.catalogs.com/info/bestof/top-10-short-tall-couples