article (a generation ago): Short Guys Finish Last

[MatureDJ]

Articles by Jonathan Rauch

Selected journalism and essays...

www.jonathanrauch.com

Height discrimination begins from the moment male human beings become vertical. Give 100 mothers photographs of two 19-month-old boys who resemble each other closely, except that one is made to look taller than the other. Then ask the mothers which boy is more competent and able. The mothers consistently pick the "taller" one.

Both men and women, whether short or tall, thought that short men--heights between 5'2" and 5'5"--were less mature, less positive, less secure, less masculine; less successful, less capable, less confident, less outgoing; more inhibited, more timid, more passive; and so on.

The men who suffer are those who are noticeably short: say, 5'5" and below. In a man's world, they do not impress.

Perhaps heightism is just a western cultural prejudice? Sadly not. In Chinese surveys, young women always rate stature high among qualifications for a future mate. Indeed, the prejudice appears to be universal.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Thomas Gregor, an anthropologist at America's Vanderbilt University, lived among the Mehinaku, a tropical forest people of central Brazil who were amazed by such new-fangled gadgets as spectacles. Among the Mehinaku, attractive men should be tall: they are respectfully called wekepei. Woe unto the peritsi, as very short men are derisively called (it rhymes with itsi, the word for p#nis). Where a tall man is kaukapapai, worthy of respect, the short one is merely laughable.

"No one wants a peritsi for a son-in-law," Mr Gregor writes. By many measures--wealth, chieftainship, frequency of participation in rituals--tall men dominate in tribal life. They hog the reproductive opportunities, too. Mr Gregor looked at the number of girlfriends of Mehinaku men of varying heights. He found a pattern: the taller the man, the more girlfriends he had. As he explained, "the three tallest men had as many affairs as the seven shortest men, even though their average estimated ages were identical."

A survey in 1980 found that more than half the chief executives of America's Fortune 500 companies stood six feet tall or more. As a class, these wekepei were a good 2.5 inches taller than average; only 3% were peritsi, 5'7" or less.

Give job recruiters two invented resumes that have been carefully matched except for the candidates' height, as one study did in 1969. Fully 72% of the time, the taller man is "hired". And when they are hired, they tend also to earn rather more.

Short teenaged boys made less money when they became young adults (aged 23) than their taller peers--even after other attributes, such as scores on ability tests or parents' social status, were factored out. For every four inches of height in adolescence, earnings went up more than 2% in early adulthood. Another survey, of graduates of the University of Pittsburgh, found that those who were 6'2" or taller received starting salaries 12% higher than those under six feet.

Mating opportunities are, at least in evolutionary terms, the ultimate prize of status. And here is the final humiliation for short men. When 100 women were asked to evaluate photographs of men whom they believed to be either tall, average or short, all of them found the tall and medium specimens "significantly more attractive" than the short ones. In another study, only two of 79 women said they would go on a date with a man shorter than themselves (the rest, on average, wanted to date a man at least 1.7 inches taller). "The universally acknowledged cardinal rule of dating and mate selection is that the male will be significantly taller than his female partner," write Mr Martel and Mr Biller. "This rule is almost inviolable." For short men, the sexual pickings are therefore likely to be slim.

Try to imagine that a century hence, when genetic engineering allows designer children, parents will queue up for shorter boys.

Jews, Asians and other ethnics often favour each other for jobs, marriages and the rest. If they are disadvantaged within the majority culture, they may at least be advantaged in their own. But short men are disfavoured by more or less everybody, including other short men. If they want to flee, they need to find another planet.

my opinion:

 

[Xenom0rph]

The heightpill is real and it is merciless...... I'm 5'10.5" (maybe even 5'11" when I first wake up in the morn) and I've been called short....

A gorgeous Stacy at my work made a comment about how I appear tall at a distance but she was surprised at how short i am up close.....

It's depressing, man.....

 

[DEEZEDBRAH]

Its absolutely savage. First or last. Winner takes all.

I was reading evo of desire. Female mammals get horny after the alpha slays the male and children. Think about the following. Alpha God portrays the evo psych of the big 3 religions but fails to account for the cyclical nature of hypergamymy and female mate choice. The factors by which women desire in mate choice are evo, hind brain, and a significant amount of which is useless today. Its still hardwired and integrated into the behaviour choice.

Women want financially attractive 58% more earnings despite the fact of affirmative action, girl power, and abortions. The power play is not without consequences.

I am 6ft. By no means tall nor short. I have a buddy who is short, deezed and attractive. Some wont give him the time. What's a lad to do?

Double down. All - In! I call on 1. PURPOSE
2. Health 3. Game!

Seek self knowledge, explore consciousness, and pursue self actualization. Its all cyclical. Purpose, resourcefulness, path in life. Health, diet, sleep game, lift, cardio, meditation, wellness. Game, self actualization, approach, pull, lifestyle, etc. Order of importance.

 

[Dash Riprock]

I call BS on all this.

I'm 5'9...on a good day.. and have zero problem pulling HB8's-9's 15-20 years younger. BUT, I am very outgoing (some would say charismatic), know how to use C&F and humor, plan fun dates, am a workout machine at the gym, have $, own a business and have my f*uck game down--ALL things that can be controlled and developed.

No one is perfect. The "stud" who's 6'4, ripped, whatever, may be an absolute wimp around women (and most are as I'm a firm believer in the 3% Man Rule).

Unless you're 4'6 gargoyle, don't listen/read the BS about being"short" as the kiss of death. I'm living proof it's not.

Best,

~Dash~

 

[Who Dares Win]

Cant really tell to which degrees those lines are true but based on my own experience girls love taller guys while they have no problem at all to mock short ones.

By tall ones I mean those taller than 70% of the others and by short I mean those as short as them or even more.

I believe however than an average height guy can get the same bonus with a decent frame and packing some muscles.

I believe being short is the only thing worse than being bald when it comes of possible problems to get women.

 

[zekko]

I'm 5'9...on a good day.. and have zero problem pulling HB8's-9's 15-20 years younger.

The article did say "The men who suffer are those who are noticeably short: say, 5'5" and below." Although guys who are 6' or better get a buff.

 

[biggoal]

I was eating at steak and shake tonight and when paying a young couple like 18 to 22 was waiting in line and the girl was maybe low end hb7 typical bimbo looking 19, 20 year old. Anyway the silly height ruler thing taped to the door and they were messing around and he measured 6 foot 1 and she said " you told me you were 6 foot 3 though."

 

[Xenom0rph]

I was eating at steak and shake tonight and when paying a young couple like 18 to 22 was waiting in line and the girl was maybe low end hb7 typical bimbo looking 19, 20 year old. Anyway the silly height ruler thing taped to the door and they were messing around and he measured 6 foot 1 and she said " you told me you were 6 foot 3 though."

2 inch rule, my man...... If a guy says he's 6'3", that means he's actually 6'1".....men fib their heights....

 

[biggoal]

2 inch rule, my man...... If a guy says he's 6'3", that means he's actually 6'1".....men fib their heights....

We all do but look at pro sports especially hockey and football. Nhl players 6 foot and under the teams and scouts generally add about 3 inches to height in the nhl. Jaden schwartz, Brad Marchand, martin st. Louis, Mats Zuccarello are good examples. Mats listed 5 foot 7 to 5 foot 8 but his height is more like 5 5. Marchand isn't really 5 foot 9. He's about 5foot 6 max and even fans who have met him said hes a lot shorter than listed.

Women lie about height and weight too especially on OLD.

 

[ImTheDoubleGreatest!]

We all do but look at pro sports especially hockey and football. Nhl players 6 foot and under the teams and scouts generally add about 3 inches to height in the nhl. Jaden schwartz, Brad Marchand, martin st. Louis, Mats Zuccarello are good examples. Mats listed 5 foot 7 to 5 foot 8 but his height is more like 5 5. Marchand isn't really 5 foot 9. He's about 5foot 6 max and even fans who have met him said hes a lot shorter than listed.

Women lie about height and weight too especially on OLD.

Yeah they always do that in hockey. Hockey players are short, I can vouch for that. They just gotta be on edge all the time because the game is so fast-paced, and because of that, their focus and reflexes are given priority over growth.

But yeah, Mike Tyson was listed at 5’10, but he’s like 5’8 MAX in reality. Dude slayed like no other. Floyd Mayweather can get any woman and he’s 5’8 (maybe even shorter).

 

[biggoal]

Yeah they always do that in hockey. Hockey players are short, I can vouch for that. They just gotta be on edge all the time because the game is so fast-paced, and because of that, their focus and reflexes are given priority over growth.

But yeah, Mike Tyson was listed at 5’10, but he’s like 5’8 MAX in reality. Dude slayed like no other. Floyd Mayweather can get any woman and he’s 5’8 (maybe even shorter).

Also note in hockey players under 6 foot are generally drafted really low or drafted, even the big name stars. Look at St. Louis, Brad Marchand and Johnny Gaudreau. High end players. Crosby's height is beefed up too.

Another player who's shorter than listed is Cam Atkinson. Listed as 5-8 but a few inches shorter than that.

 

[Snag87]

We all do but look at pro sports especially hockey and football. Nhl players 6 foot and under the teams and scouts generally add about 3 inches to height in the nhl. Jaden schwartz, Brad Marchand, martin st. Louis, Mats Zuccarello are good examples. Mats listed 5 foot 7 to 5 foot 8 but his height is more like 5 5. Marchand isn't really 5 foot 9. He's about 5foot 6 max and even fans who have met him said hes a lot shorter than listed.

Women lie about height and weight too especially on OLD.

I play hockey. I've looked up some players I've played against and flat out laughed at their listed heights. 5'8" at best guys listed at 6"

 

[Snag87]

Also note in hockey players under 6 foot are generally drafted really low or drafted, even the big name stars. Look at St. Louis, Brad Marchand and Johnny Gaudreau. High end players. Crosby's height is beefed up too.

Another player who's shorter than listed is Cam Atkinson. Listed as 5-8 but a few inches shorter than that.

Yea athletes with hundreds of millions in earnings can pull women despite their height. How does this help any of us average Joe's?

 

[biggoal]

Yea athletes with hundreds of millions in earnings can pull women despite their height. How does this help any of us average Joe's?

Get into shape. Look how ugly Brad Marchand is and he isn't a super high paid player. Martin St. Louis met his wife while in college at a time he didn't even think he'd make the NHL. Actually his wife is taller than him. Not a lot of college pics of his wife but she's still attractive looking at her age. Probably was solid HB8 in college.

 

[Trump]

I keep telling sosuave; every piece of advice on how to attract, date, and seduce women should first have the disclaimer.

”You have to be genetically lucky, or this advice won’t work for you.”

Yet the replies are: “social circle with women in it.”

Rock on.

 

[Snag87]

Get into shape. Look how ugly Brad Marchand is and he isn't a super high paid player. Martin St. Louis met his wife while in college at a time he didn't even think he'd make the NHL. Actually his wife is taller than him. Not a lot of college pics of his wife but she's still attractive looking at her age. Probably was solid HB8 in college.

Getting into shape will transform us into multi-millionaire pro athletes? News to me...

 

[biggoal]

Getting into shape will transform us into multi-millionaire pro athletes? News to me...

No but it wont hurt unless you're super short like under 5 6. If you use old and 5 7 and have good body you can add plus 3 and list 5 10.

Also, having lean muscle and being slim helps too and makes you look less short because your legs are thinner.

 

[Sponty]

As a 6'3 guy I'll tell you one thing. When I was fat no woman would look at me and even give me the time of day. Look maxing is probably the best thing you can do to attract women not height. Low body fat % in the 8% to 15% range followed by clothes that fit you and a good haircut go farther in attracting a woman then height ever will.

 

[Robert28]

The heightpill is real and it is merciless...... I'm 5'10.5" (maybe even 5'11" when I first wake up in the morn) and I've been called short....

A gorgeous Stacy at my work made a comment about how I appear tall at a distance but she was surprised at how short i am up close.....

It's depressing, man.....

“Yeah and you look much better from far off, yourself”

 

[EyeBRollin]

If you’re short, you have to be best in other areas. Your physique can’t ever be enough to get the immediately. I’m pretty short (5’7), and while I have less one night stands I do tend to bed them over time through displaying strong inner game.

Also, other aspects of your physique help a lot. One can be short but fit. Having a strong, muscular build and sense of style can at least blunt a height disadvantage.

Also, I’ve noticed that all my one night stands are with really short (5’2 or shorter) women. Perhaps when there’s any significant height difference they don’t notice a guys overall height as much..?