#79572 - Tall guys

[Katya]

http://theboard.byu.edu/questions/79572/

I'm with Tally in that there's definitely such a thing as too tall. (More than a foot taller than me—so, around 6'4"—and I start to feel like a miniature person.) I'm not saying love couldn't find a way if I liked a guy who was that tall, just that guys that tall aren't inherently my "type." Plus, there are many more guys who are under 6'4" than over (and very few guys who are too short for me), so I'm happy to let the tall girls have the super tall guys.

[Whistler]

I found it annoying to limit myself to guys who were taller than me. But I'm from a tall family, so I don't think I ever met a guy I felt was "too" tall.

[Marduk]

I'd always wanted to date a woman who was significantly taller than me, just to try it.

Unfortunately, being 6' really limited my options.

[Katya]

I found it annoying to limit myself to guys who were taller than me. But I'm from a tall family, so I don't think I ever met a guy I felt was "too" tall.

Well, when it comes to height preference, I think you also have to take your own height percentile into account. So, if I say that I've generally been interested in guys who were taller than me, that's something like 90-95% of the population. (Possibly less if I associated with a perfectly ethnically balanced group of men, but I grew up in Utah, which is full of the descendants of Scandinavian immigrants and other Northern Europeans.) But if you, Whistler, limited yourself to guys who were taller than you, that might have been only 50% of the population and then I think you have to ask yourself if it's worth it to toss out 50% of your potential dating pool based on a fairly arbitrary qualification.

[Whistler]

yes, pretty much XD

[Portia]

'Women are likely to associate a tall man with higher social and professional status as well as reproductive potential, making them seem more attractive.'

Not honoring the Daily Mail (shudder) with a link, but now I'm intrigued whether there is in fact any connection between adult male height and fertility.

[Genuine Article]

I agree that a height difference of more than a foot is just too much. My sister and her husband are 5'2" and 6'2" respectively, and all I can think is that they must have to stoop and strain to get any decent kissing done. My husband and I are only 3 or 4 inches apart height-wise, which is just about right.

My oldest sister used to work with the football team at BYU, and all the guys talked about wanting big football-playing sons, but they would date these teeny-tiny girls. And my sister was like, "What are you doing!? I am tall and have great birthing hips! Marry me!"

[Zedability]

My parents are 10 inches apart, as are my dad's parents. My grandpa and grandma got my mom a "kissing stool" for their wedding. It has a little heart on it. It's adorable.

[Marduk]

Bob and I are eight inches. I've never had the slightest bit of difficulty. You folks know that necks can move heads up and down, and not just side to side, right?

[Portia]

My parents are 10 inches apart, as are my dad's parents. My grandpa and grandma got my mom a "kissing stool" for their wedding. It has a little heart on it. It's adorable.

My parents were, too. (My bio dad was like 6 ft. Why aren't I taller?!?! My brother is shorter than I expected too, only about 5'10".) I dated a guy 10 inches taller than me for a long time. I think body type is more important to me than height, but it's definitely a bell curve. Like a hot 5'8" could outdo a meh 5'11" .... but honestly, I don't see that many ugly guys over 5'10" walking around. I guess I like the Nordic types? (Um, yes.) And wanting a "football playing son" is ... a good life goal for others. :-P I'm hoping for a quiet, well-mannered cellist/snowboarder/debate team captain, thanks.

Is there really a short-guy syndrome? I've never been involved with one (I never felt that they were attracted to me.) I have read plenty of research that taller, fitter guys reap all sorts of benefits, from being paid more to being more confident to being assumed to have better personalities. Ugh, it sounds stressful, because you can't even control it.

And LOL to Marduk. Maybe people aren't experiencing prone kissing enough? That, um, helps.

[the anglophile]

Is there really a short-guy syndrome? I've never been involved with one (I never felt that they were attracted to me.) I have read plenty of research that taller, fitter guys reap all sorts of benefits, from being paid more to being more confident to being assumed to have better personalities. Ugh, it sounds stressful, because you can't even control it.

Nah, depends. I am involved with a guy about an inch and a half shorter than I am (he's 5'5 1/2"), so yeah, he's pretty short. But he's confident (but in a humble way. Being full of yourself is a huge turnoff for me, and he's definitely not.) and he's also one of the nicest people I've ever met. Seriously, and I thought that before I liked him.

On the other hand, I once had a guy that liked me that was the same height as me (5'7") and he's just about the biggest, condescending d-bag I've ever met.

So yeah, depends!

[Portia]

Jon Hamm is 6'2" so by definition that seems like a good height for male attractiveness. :P

[Emiliana]

And LOL to Marduk. Maybe people aren't experiencing prone kissing enough? That, um, helps.

It's also quite possible to kiss sitting down, for those who are a bit less adventurous.

[NerdGirl]

My parents are fairly close to the same height, but my mom has bigger feet than my dad. Slightly bigger. Back in the 90s they had pairs of identical Teva sandals, and my dad finally had to paint little dots on his because my mom kept wearing his by accident and stretching them out.

[Portia]

And LOL to Marduk. Maybe people aren't experiencing prone kissing enough? That, um, helps.

It's also quite possible to kiss sitting down, for those who are a bit less adventurous.

Can confirm.

[TheBlackSheep]

I'm 5'6"is and I dated someone who was 6'11"ish in high school. We just did all of our kissing sitting down. No worries.