"Scientists Confirm Short Man Syndrome Is Real."

[SleepDreamThinkHuge]

To think this is a strange finding:

www.menshealth.com/uk/health/a42175436/short-man-syndrome/

From my experience, this is not true. I have met many aggressive men short, medium height and very tall. I do not understand why men who are short are more likely to be aggressive it seems like quite a generalisation. By that logic, are short women also more aggressive.

I think "short" is also subjective. A 6 foot man can be seen as short for a 5 foot 10/11 women. A man who is 5 foot 6 is not necessarily short for a 5 foot 1 women. It is relative.

First I’ve heard of it and I’ve been on the internet for a long time.

And I hate the term 'Karen' and I would never use it.

@SleepDreamThinkHuge

Indeed I have heard people gossip and say "at least my kid won't be short like him."

I have a short DH and my DS is tall. I come from a tall family (although I'm not that tall myself; my nephew, for example, is 6 8"). There is more to genetics than this.

Definitely in wide use in the US and yeah, it must be horrible to be on the receiving end of such insults.

I’m thinking you should have read the article or maybe the original study, which refers to short people as a whole, and not just short men. So, if anything, you should be upset for both genders. This study isn’t singling out men at all.

It was a scientific study called “the Napoleon complex revisited” (it’s linked in the article) and refers to people of both genders who are dissatisfied with their height:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886922004950

They asked 367 people questions to determine if they had traits for the “dark triad” - psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism. Men and women scored equally. According to the article:

”The results showed that shorter participants wished to be taller and scored more highly for all three dark triad traits – narcissism was particularly strong with the male participants.” (FROM ARTICLE)

But in the conclusion of the study itself it says that the traits are NOT affected by gender, barring that “weak” connection to narcissism:
”The correlations were not moderated by participants' sex, baring one weak effect for narcissism.” (FROM STUDY)

Which is why the study NEVER calls it “short man syndrome.” According to them, this almost equally affects both genders. And then, as far as who determines what’s short, at the VERY beginning of the article, it talks about what constitutes average height, and “short,” for study purposes, will be below that average. That’s how science works: people are classified as average, above the average, or below the average, in all kinds of areas.

I hope this was just a goady post because otherwise, the whole damn thing falls apart.

A study of 367 people means nothing.

Some depressing heightism on here.

I'm short, my husband is short and my sons, who are teens, are short. They are some of the kindest, gentlest males I know.
All the men in my family (dad, brothers, uncles etc are tall, so I have experience of both short and tall males).

My one son is 16 and 5ft 6. He's always been small for his age, and has had to deal with lots of comments (like pp said, about being in the wrong lunch queue etc, getting turned away from cinema, even with id, while his friends were let in).
Another pp said for women who are short it isn't a problem. This is not true, I've been ridiculed for my height lots too.

Why is this acceptable? I am sensitive about it, because it seems to be an acceptable form of abuse. When I saw the thread title, I knew it would attract some sweeping statements about height. The first few posts show this to great effect.

I suspect it’s pure confirmation bias. If short men are aggressive we just notice it more. Call it the Scrappy Doo Effect.

I think "short" is also subjective. A 6 foot man can be seen as short for a 5 foot 10/11 women. A man who is 5 foot 6 is not necessarily short for a 5 foot 1 women. It is relative.
I don't agree with this. A 5ft6 man is still short regardless of the woman's height.

You've started the thread with the premise of look at the findings of this study and then turned it into a moan at SOME women who prefer tall men. Then it turned into short men getting mocked for something out of their control. This type of thread comes up so often. You're not going to change people's preferences no matter how unjust or unreasonable you think them. There is stereotypes about 'dumb blond' and many other offensive and insulting comments about other aspects that people were born with. You need to find a way to not be so hung up about it. We've all got our insecurities and imperfections. Very few are born attractive, tall, fit and healthy. That's why top models are top models. Don't compare yourself up, compare yourself down.

MeetPi · Yesterday 11:11
MrsSkylerWhite · Yesterday 10:58
Seems fairly widespread through the animal kingdom. Obviously there are exceptions but small animals can be very aggressive whilst larger ones are often very gentle.

“What an odd comparison to make”

why, we’re animals?

I was going to say "silly" but thought I'd be kinder. The more aggressive animals - the apex ones - tend to be larger. Think crocodiles, hippos, water buffalo, wild boar, bears, elephants. There is little gentleness about them, except perhaps when caring for their own young. (However, peak aggression tends to occur when defending their young.)
^
There are dangerous small animals, such as ants, snakes, spiders and scorpions - but they are commonly not aggressive.^

I'm a 5 foot 3 woman and apparently that's tiny. 😅

I was going to say "silly" but thought I'd be kinder. The more aggressive animals - the apex ones - tend to be larger. Think crocodiles, hippos, water buffalo, wild boar, bears, elephants. There is little gentleness about them, except perhaps when caring for their own young. (However, peak aggression tends to occur when defending their young.)
^
There are dangerous small animals, such as ants, snakes, spiders and scorpions - but they are commonly not aggressive“

why silly? We are animals.

Elephants, giraffes, blue whales, manatees, newfoundlands, great Dane’s, etc 🤷‍♀️

Of course they are. The OP started this thread in a forum used mainly by women with the express purpose of defending short men to them. (And to tell us again that short men aren't really short) The study was merely their vehicle and provides a further reason why women who don't favour short men are wrong. We make them aggressive now.
Being a short man is similar to being an unattractive woman. Both have physical characteristics not deemed ideal in our society. Both are targets for mockery. Both may find their progression through the world less easy than their 'physically blessed' peers. Both will find their dating pool significantly reduced.
However given the flurry of protectivism from many women towards them, I think its safe to say they have an easier time overall than a woman who isn't aesthetically ideal.
Yet somehow they need a 'syndrome' to excuse the fact some can't seem to accept they are not the fortunate ones (despite this being only when compared with taller men) get over it and develop other aspects of themselves, personality, decency, rather than exacerbate their situation by becoming aggressive.
If an unattractive woman is aggressive you can bet your house there wouldn't be studies to explain and excuse her.

Yeah, it's interesting the anger is targeted at women rather than tall men. But if it were beauty between women, they expect the woman to be bitchy towards the other prettier women and not at men for preferring the hotter woman. It's always the woman's fault (!)
Guys can absolutely be cruel bullies towards other short guys but you're not on their forums lecturing them on giving short guys a chance. It's always on us to bend backwards, to be more kind. 'Men are visual' and woman are supposed to be motherly, sweet and sexually available for every man as it's their human right to have access to sex. It's so predictable on these threads.

Indeed. Particularly as the tall man as the ideal is based in ideas that men should be big, strong and dominant over smaller weaker females.
Women didn't create that and we don't benefit from it. Men have perpetrated this for their own advantage, and unfortunately for the shorter ones it's a bit of an own goal.

Two worst male bosses I've had definitely had short man syndrome. One also had a really bad skin conditio and was bullied at school. So come the workplace, as soon as he got a tiny bit of power he turned in to a right little H1tler, as payback for his previous bullying.
Alienated long term staff, annoyed customers & even peed off & had a go at my boyfriend for chatting to his partner at a works drink. My BF has known his partner for years before boss even met here! FFS
Result half the staff left, git boss was demoted and forced to apologise to all staff & a few who'd left in a reviewed meeting. His partner later got shot of him due to him 'not dealing with being higher up in the company than him!'
He left company 'shortly' afterwards and went to work for a housing association, where being hated is normal.

Shouldn't generalise but do think a 'large' number are effected by small man syndrome.

My worst and really aggressive nasty boss was about 6ft, however that's just one example and making claims based on that is almost as ridiculous as this study which was based on a teeny amount of people. You'd think researchers had more important things to explore.

Yet somehow they need a 'syndrome' to excuse the fact some can't seem to accept they are not the fortunate ones (despite this being only when compared with taller men) get over it and develop other aspects of themselves, personality, decency, rather than exacerbate their situation by becoming aggressive.

The article and study is literally about men and women. Also I don't think (many short) men feel they "need" an essentially made up syndrome just so that others have a stick to beat them with.

I’m 6’4” (+ big hair so look taller) and I’ve never been singled out for aggression by a short man, except maybe once, but the man in question was very very drunk, and im going to make an educated guess that it was the drunkenness that was aggravating his behaviour rather than his height.
I have noticed that short men can be initially wary of me, but I believe that’s because so many tall men act like entitled dickwands, it’s astonishing. I even get it from other tall men, that “get out the way, here I come” attitude, or a sort of lordly bearing that naturally rubs other men up the wrong way. Tbh I possibly do it myself, it’s not necessarily conscious. We’re primates and creatures of social habit, there’s a lot to unravel.
I can understand why short men would be resentful of women’s reaction to tall men, and how that might play out negatively in their heads. I can say from personal experience that it is a thing, tall men getting more attention from women, even if just on the very basic level of making you more noticeable. That said, one of the greatest casanovas I’ve ever known can’t have been much over 5’6” and looked like a troll, but had an enormous (and benign) personality.
I have come across napoleonic type characters, but I’ve come across just as many, or more, tall men who are tossers in their special tall man way.
I should probably mention that I’m a man, not a 6’4” woman, though with the big hair I always try and have a bit of stubble going to avoid confusion.

But it is researched academically...

journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0956797618772822

So was the one you quoted, But thats the intresting thing about research,

"Why Most Published Research Findings Are False"
journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.0020124

😂

I think a big difference between attractiveness (which has been subject of countless studies showing the big impact it has on your life) and height is that it's still socially acceptable to mock height. This is my issue. I'm not saying short man syndrome is "caused" by women, or that women are wrong not to be attracted to short men. Far from it. But would teachers poke fun at fat kids? Or comment on how ugly someone is? Of course not! Yet height seems to be fair game (both short men and tall women). Why is that ok?

Its not OK. And it wouldn't be condoned in my workplace or at my DCs school (and that was the case 5 years ago) While its not such a social taboo to mock height as it is weight or ugliness, most people know its inappropriate. And yes, they do it anyway, but they also mock weight and ugliness anyway.
I wonder how many 5' 6" men get heckled in the street by women in vans while they're out jogging as so frequently happens to OW women?
How difficult they find it to attract a partner compared to ugly women (threads like these are full of women who don't mind height. Find me a thread where a bunch of men are saying they don't mind ugly)?
Mocking height is wrong, but this short man thing is generally blown up out of all proportion. Basically it tends to boil down to the fact that some men can't date every woman they might want to because some women like tall men; and that sometimes they are the target for cruelty about an aspect of their appearance. Just like every human being who fails to meet society's ideal, with women being far more frequently on the receiving end.

It’s not an entitlement to date anyone (I can’t speak for everyone under average height), it’s wanting to not have the piss taken out of you and be insulted, by both men and women. Surely that’s not an unreasonable ask…

It’s just nasty stereotyping people based on physical characteristics outside one’s control. As for the science , well ‘science’ in the past has found women stupider them men and all sorts of dubious racial differences.