Do women really rule out average height men, or is it online talk?

[Uravinalaugh]

My younger step brother who is 19 [I am male btw], told me that women only want to date much taller men, he's roughly the same height as me, 5'7 [5'9 in thicker soled trainers lol], and is very introvert and hasn't had any dating experience, he has a few friends and I have noticed girls in the past being nice to him/liking him when I have seen him socializing. I was aware of this height bias which shows up quite a lot online and on social media, even here on mumsnet I have seen dating related threads where many women appear to be very dismissive of dating shorter men [used to nose sometimes using my OHs old account ,she didn't mind ahaha]

Because of this, I have been noticing often when I am out in public the heights of men to see if this is true, and it very clearly isn't. Last weekend I went to a well known seaside town for the day, due to the weather it was packed so millions of people and I would say literally the amount of couples of all ages where the man was average/slightly shorter than average height was the majority, it very clearly isn't the case that most women are not attracted to men below 6ft, 5ft10 or whatever. I myself have also never had a huge issue dating in the past, I never even knew I was particularly short until seeing this height related stuff online, and where women are concerned my height has never been mentioned

Was curious if this is only me that's noticed this, I think it could be more of a gen z thing than millenial and above? I'm not sure, but it definitely doesn't seem to match up with what I have seen with my own eyes in real life, have tried to reassure step bro that his height is fine, I think his parents have too, but don't seem to be able to convince him

My friends husband is 6’8”, super tall but I’m 5’9” my best gender friend is 6’ and my brother is 6’4” so I’m used to a tall
grpuo around he. My husband is 5’10 so yes only an inch taller. I couldn’t care less what height he is as he’s perfect.

I dated a guy shorter than me who had an issue with it and broke my heart for being tall. I’’ve seen pictures on his subsequent wife online…a total shortarse.

I am only attracted to tall men myself, (I'm almost 5'8), however I would say I'm the only one who really cares out of my friends, most really don't care at all and it's definitely not true at all that women in general or even the majority of women will rule out shorter men, I don't know any shorter man who has been permanently single, and if anything some of the short men I know are the ones who have one woman after the next.

That’s the average height of all the men though, including men from countries and backgrounds where everyone tends to be much shorter. I once found a graph from the US that also broke it down by race. It listed the average white man as about 5’11”, the average white woman as 5’6”, and the average Black man as 5’10”, with women being 5’5”. I can’t recall any others off the top of my head but that seems about accurate imo.

I'm 5'6" and partner 5'9 so in heels I'm same height and I love it. I've never been bothered by height and my dating pattern was guys around my height or couple of inches taller. I used to prefer petite built guys too.

I'm 5ft 10 and DH is 5ft 9. I wouldn't have stuck with anyone shorter tbh. I think 5ft 7 would be my bare minimum if I was that height or less.

Im 5.1" DP is 6.2" we look silly in photographs.

I am 6ft (female) and have never dated anyone taller than me. For preference yes I would choose taller but it’s never been a deal breaker - I’d have been missing out on some great guys!

DH is 4 inches shorter than me and it was love at first sight.

Some of the most lovely men I've met have been on the short side, and I'm 4'11 so have a wide choice. DP is 5'9 so fairly average. I don't get this hankering after very tall men unless you're on the tall side yourself.

If your step-brother would rather believe online conspiracies than the evidence of his own eyes, you have more to worry about than dating preferences.

He’s gullible and easily manipulated. Think about who is doing the manipulating and why. Clue: it’s not women.

As a 6ft female myself I haven’t found this - I’ve always been chatted up by shorter men! Some men I have dated were specifically attracted to me because I was taller than them, some it wasn’t really an issue either way and some who would have preferred it if we’d had a more ‘normal’ height ratio but it wasn’t the end of the world (I just stopped wearing heels!)

I’m a millennial and wouldn’t date someone less than 6ft. I’ 5ft8 and want a man to be noticeably taller than me

I think if you ask a person to come up with a list for their ideal partner, they'll set the bar really high, possibly because they don't want to sound desperate putting "I'll give anyone a go at a relationship as long as they have a personality and we have some chemistry".

All the romance novel Prince Charming stuff can disappear in an instant if they meet a guy they really click with.

I know plenty of women who would have said they wanted a 6 foot plus guy and had a list of other required attributes a mile long before they met the man they really fell for, who went on to happily marry or cohabit with a guy who didn't tick a single box on their original list.

I've dated men shorter than I am and taller.
The only problem I've had with men is that I tend to pick complete tossers, which is not height dependent.

It’s quite funny when men get so angry about this. Like they don’t judge women on their appearance at all 🙄.

I don't think so.

People look for a partner they find attractive and relative height or absolute height matter. I personally do not find very tall men attractive at all.

I'm five foot six and wouldn't be interested in anyone taller than 6 foot but ideally a little less like five foot eleven. The numbers don't mean a thing of course, we don't carry tape measure but it needs to feel right, it's basic nature.

Anyone lying about their height would an instant ick, it signals lack of confidence and lying in a relationship is not acceptable.

Most women in the UK aren't very tall themselves so your brother's height should be fine.

I’m 5’ 8” and I always went for same height or taller. Never shorter! Not sure why really.

I'm 5'9 and always just wanted a man taller than me. At this height though, a man who's 6ft isn't actually that tall - especially when I'm in heels. So if were to do old, I'd be looking 5'11 minimum.

Where i live (nwales/nwest) most men my age (40+) seem to be my height or shorter. Dh is a bit taller than me. I still get 'ooh, aren't you tall?' From men round here. No mate, you're just short.

I’d always dated taller men - I’m 5ft 2. I met my husband who is 5ft 5, and it was never an issue. He’s never been hung up on his height and I think that’s important. If he had been, I would have found that difficult. I know some women say they would never date a short man, and my husband was the shortest man I’d dated, but his personality was more important.

No, different women date different men. But no women date whiney boys that think women are being selfish and mean by not sharing their vagina with them.

I don't really like tall men DP is 5 10, so he claims, he doesn't feel much taller than me.

I wouldn’t date a man shorter than me but I’m 5ft 3. It is shallow but I don’t care. People are allowed preferences. I wouldn’t date someone with blonde hair either.

I’m only 5’2 so finding a man taller than me is very easy. 5’7 would be fine. I wouldn’t date a man smaller than me though.

A lot of men hate women giving opinions on height.

It's fine for them to have preferences on women's bodies though. Their height, weight, tit size, hair colour, botoxed or not etc.

I have a friend who is drop dead gorgeous, talented, confident & popular - so many guys have been obsessed with her over the years, she could have picked pretty much anyone she wanted. She’s now married to a guy who’s a little bit shorter than her, and she’s not that tall herself. I’d never really given it any thought until now - they’re just a normal, happy, successful couple! We are here on this earth for maybe around 80 years, and if we’re really lucky, we might find someone to share it with who matches our energy, who is fun, kind, interesting, supportive, makes us laugh. Who really cares that much about height?! It’s a strange world these days! Incidentally, my DP is about 5’7 and I wouldn’t change a thing about him! We’ve always had great chemistry, which is what matters! Variety is the spice of life, as they say, and I think there’s someone for everyone!

I'm 5'6", DH barely scrapes 5'8". We've been together 17 years and I'm nearly 40 now, but of the men I dated before, a majority were on the smaller side. I've only been with one man taller than 6'.

My "type" is dark haired men, not overly muscular but still strong. Celebrities I like include younger Gael García Bernal, Aaron Paul and they are both around 5'7". I didn't even realise that I tended to go for shorter men until a friend at university pointed it out.

I think it might be harder for short men to meet women via OLD now, as people do tend to filter for height. But also, spaces like the shortguys subreddit can tip over quickly into incel, misogynist thinking. Clearly you are never going to attract a long term partner with that kind of attitude.

Me and my partner are the same height, I don’t wear heels so no problem there. I would never trade height for how well he treats me and looks after me. My friend and his girlfriend had quite a big height difference (I’d say his gf is a head taller than him) but they both are very happy too!

If your talking on line preferences then only 15% of women would date a man under 6ft according to Match. In real life the lines get slightly blurred, but I think a 5'6 or less man will find a lot of women turned off by their height.