Is height that big of an issue in sociaety today? Give it up peeps

[docdan63]

I'm not that big a of a guy, about 5'9 not short but not he tallest. I have pretty tall friends. About all of them compared to me. Out of about 5 close ones I hang with, 3 are above 6'3. Are you a tall dude or a short dude and how would you like it? Would you want to be shoter? Is being really tall a nuisance?

Lets here it

[Buffalobiian]

I'm 5'9-5'10. I don't see my height being a problem, and I don't stand out neither, which is good in my opinion. It does help that I somehow look taller than I am.

I've always wanted to reach 5'10 since highschool, and like you, I had some rather tall friends. 5'11, 6'1, 6'3. Some were around my height, and many were shorter, but that didn't matter me. I just looked at the guys taller than me as my target or sorts. There was the 6'5 guy from our school. I wasn't that obsessed to want to be like him, but having a bit of height sure doesn't hurt.

Since I've stopped growing (for the most part) now, it doesn't really matter. You do learn to simply accept it, and you see (or at least I see) myself not being at much of a disadvantage at all. If it's sports, 5'9 is a good balance. Not too short, but not tall enough that you have trouble sprinting, and getting tackled in the gut.

If you're talking about chicks, they like a fair bit of height. How much is a fair bit? Well equal to them or a bit taller is the message I got. There's more important things to look for than height, and most know it. ;)

Disadvantages? Someone who's taller would give a better description, I'd think. One thing I found though, is buses. If you go overseas where the "standard height" is lower, even average height people can experience the pain of cramping into a bus too small for your own good.

Would I want to be a bit taller? If I can, maybe an inch or two. If (and mostly likely I can't), it's not a hassle at all.

[Kraco]

I'm 5'8, and I've never felt I should be taller (and obviously not shorter either). Anywhere near the average is fine because you'll find most of the various things out there designed to accommodate your height, or the usual selection to include your particular size.

[David75]

180cm or 5'11 if I'm correct.
Tall for my famillies, small for most of the colleagues I have, and also when I was a student. But that's also because I was involved in many sports, so the friends there tend to be a bit taller than the average.

My greatest problem is that I have troubles with my legs and thighs in most ultra sport coupé cars... like the Lotus Elise for example. Many taller and even heavier guys do not have problems at all with that car... but since I had so much biking, my legs are beefier than the average and my knee touches the wheel...

So yes being average physically prevents some problems...

Regarding society, being fat is a problem. Small yes, if you're a guy and it's clear you're small. But there are so many other things than just height and weight that can be a problem...

[Psyke]

Seems I'm the shortest so far, at 5'68 or 173cm. That's pretty average for asians I suppose. Not that short, but definately no where near the average NBA player.

[darkshadow]

173? damn then that girl in the maid oufit you made a picture with must've been suuuper tiny.
I'm 183 btw

[Psyke]

173? damn then that girl in the maid oufit you made a picture with must've been suuuper tiny.
I'm 183 btw

You'd be shocked at how short Japanese girls really are then. :eek:

[Buffalobiian]

You'd be shocked at how short Japanese girls really are then. :eek:

Back in highschool, we had Japanese exchange students come over on a yearly basis. They'd always line up to take photos with our 6'3, ex-medical student Biology teacher. (He's good looking too).

They go up to his waist.

[XanBcoo]

I'm about 6 foot or maybe about 6'1" and I enjoy often being one of the tallest in large groups. I've never wanted to be shorter, but I would like to be "bigger", since being taller makes you look skinnier.

But that's a different issue, and one I'm working on.

[Jaitne]

I'm not tall at all. I'm about 5'3" and I don't think I'll be growing anymore.

[Board of Command]

I'm about 5'8". I've never had an issue with my height.

I look shorter than I am because I'm not just skin and bones like a lot of Asian guys.

[saman]

generally in society, guys are supposed to be taller while girls are supposed to be shorter. which is why i've spent pretty much my entire life with some pakistani auntie or other being astonishing over how tall i am (5'8"), some of whom consider it a regular topic of conversation to bring up with me. it used to bug me a bit, but i now take pride in it. sometimes i even wear high heels to special occasions just for the heck of it.

[David75]

generally in society, guys are supposed to be taller while girls are supposed to be shorter. which is why i've spent pretty much my entire life with some pakistani auntie or other being astonishing over how tall i am (5'8"), some of whom consider it a regular topic of conversation to bring up with me. it used to bug me a bit, but i now take pride in it. sometimes i even wear high heels to special occasions just for the heck of it.

High heels are fine, at least I'm a guy who likes to sometimes see his woman with them and a nice outfit (although heels only outfit is also a nice option in intimacy :D )

[Jaitne]

High heels are evil >O I can never walk in those things properly.

Though, being short is kind of not as fun, since I don't think I'm the average height for a female. I literally look up to a few of the people I talk to. Also, ebing the small, short one isn't fun. I believe it can also be said that being the super tall person wouldn't be fun, either.

[Ryllharu]

I'm 5'11" (180cm for you standards backward international folk ;) )

Relative to my peers at a particular time:
I was tall in junior high, 3rd tallest out of 100 or so.
I was average in high school.
I was short in college.

...and now I'm delightfully average once again in the working world. But it's really not that big of a deal. Having been at all three comparative stage, it really all comes down to how you hold yourself. It's all one big confidence game. Sure, you do get somewhat of a natural edge when you are taller than everyone else, but after a relatively short time, the personality dominates. I've seen guys that are only a little over 5 foot be some of the most confident people I've known, and tall guys so weak willed you could push them around just by looking at them in the eye.

With height comes a lot of convenience (long reach primarily), but on that same token, there's plenty of situations where being tall sucks. Like amusement parks. I'm of average height for my age in the States, but there are some roller coasters just not designed for people over 5'6" (167 cm). If the safety equipment is the kind that reaches over your head to strap you in, I get the shit kicked out of my head depending on the ride.

But being average has its problems too. When you are perfectly average, try finding a pair of 32x30" jeans. Everyone seems to wear that size where I live, so they are damn hard to find at a regular department store. Same goes for size 11 (US) shoes.

It's all in how you look at it.


(As for high heels, while I love seeing a woman who can wear them properly, there have been recent studies where anything over a 1.5" to 2" heel will give a woman serious foot problems later in life. Anything up to that slight heel will give them benefits to their leg muscles, giving them fitter looking legs :)

If a girl can't walk in them, she should either take the time to learn how or stay away from them. I've seen a girl break her ankle tripping in a pair.)

[Foomanchew24]

I'm 6'6 or 198.12 cm. I think there are alot more disadvantages to being tall than there are advantages. The world is built for average sized people and those who are above or below the average have a harder time fitting in so to speak. Height is great for sports where being above average is beneficial. But not so great around trees, chandaliers, old door ways, going down stairwells some times, fitting in a car comfortably (surprisingly Honda's are pretty roomy, that's why I buy them) ect. Some of the advantages....you can give weather forecasts because you up higher so some may ask you how the weather is. I can see over deviders in supermarkets or clothing stores depending how high they are, which makes finding my wife easier. People get to see up your nose instead of your bald spot ontop of your head if you have that afliction. If you get separated from your group, it is easier for them to find you than it is to find them because you stick out like a sore thumb. I can reach things others cannot, which leads to people using you to reach for things because they can not. Also I have heard that tall men get paid more than short men, not sure if I am benefitting from this or not ( I sure hope so). You always here that women are going to meet a tall dark handsom man in movies and that it is a great thing. You never hear that they are going to meet a short pale ugly man and think hey that sounds good. Overall with me being tall I would say my greatest dislike of being tall is just not being able to fit in most cars, so my options are rather limited.

Tall women have the greatest disadvantage as it is alot harder to find a tall male because short women like them as well, so the competition is more fierce, I guess. Plus if your slightly unatractive to unatractive and tall it must really be difficult to get a man. I would rather sacrafice a few inces to get a better looking women, but thats me and im shallow. Breast size is more important to me but a woman can be too small say under 5'5 for me just because the logistics are more difficult when it comes to being intimate. I could ramble on more but I think I will stop now.

[Jaitne]

Well, I think I have nice legs XP That's about it o.o

I always wanted to be tall, just so I could ride roller coasters. After that I was fine, until everyone grew ten times the next year.

I'm also short and I have big feet (I think), and people still buy out all the things I can wear for shoes.

Pants are only hard because you can't find anything in your size or pants that are the right length.

I've also wanted to do something that involves being tall, which I'm not, so it's one less thing I can do.

Being taller would also mean that my feet would match my height size (in my opinion). With height, walking in high heels.. might seem easier because it's just an extra step up?

Though.. it would seem, that a lot of people don't favour their height. Someone's trash can be another one's treasure, I guess. My biggest problem with it would probably be that I am shorter than most of the people I know. It's not that fun always being the short one.

[Board of Command]

5'3" isn't too short for a girl. You're still taller than most Asian girls.

[python862]

5'9" and a half here, and I find myself looking up at most of my peers in the high school. Especially the football players. Damn that running back.

[rockmanj]

I'm like 6'3", which is fairly inconvenient for me in terms of finding fitting clothes and such, and yea, like foomanchew said, sometimes there are technical difficulties when being intimate (I'm generally attracted to quite short women, as my gf is like 5'3"). But I don't worry too much about it; since I can't really change it.

[BioAlien]

171 cm or 5.61' or 5' 7"

It can be considered short or average depending from where you are from.
From here I think it's average. (Or a little bit under?)

I don't see any advantage/disadvantage at being of that height.

[Animeniax]

Wow this docdan guy really has a problem with tall people. He was talking crap about hero Michael Phelps during the Olympics because of his height. Let's try to guess which side of the height-meter he falls under.

I'm 5' 7"-8" (173cm), but closer to 5'9" (175cm) if you count hair height. 164lbs (75kg).

[Sapphire]

5'6" (+- one inch) here, and oddly enough, taller than most of the girls here even though my height was average in Texas (but same height as most of the guys my age or a little shorter). I like my long legs, and I wouldn't mind being a tad taller, even. I'd prefer a taller guy, but in the end it doesn't matter much.

I don't have any problems finding jeans, and I agree high heels suck! Unless you break them in first. You'd have to be a weirdo or a fashion diva to wear them for fun around here in Manhattan, though, where you walk 10,000 miles a day, and your feet get sore after wearing -normal- shoes.

[David75]

5'6" (+- one inch) here, and oddly enough, taller than most of the girls here even though my height was average in Texas (but same height as most of the guys my age or a little shorter). I like my long legs, and I wouldn't mind being a tad taller, even. I'd prefer a taller guy, but in the end it doesn't matter much.

I don't have any problems finding jeans, and I agree high heels suck! Unless you break them in first. You'd have to be a weirdo or a fashion diva to wear them for fun around here in Manhattan, though, where you walk 10,000 miles a day, and your feet get sore after wearing -normal- shoes.

I agree high-heels are for show mainly, but that's like the average guy driving his ferrari in town... it's nice, it's for show, but everyone knows it's not practical at all.

[Jaitne]

5'9" and a half here, and I find myself looking up at most of my peers in the high school. Especially the football players. Damn that running back.

You must have grown a bunch after moving, then.

[Kraco]

but that's like the average guy driving his ferrari in town... it's nice, it's for show, but everyone knows it's not practical at all.

Over here average guys don't drive Ferraris... You must live in quite a town, David.

[Abdula]

I'm about 6'2' and my height has never been much of an issue, other than having to duck alot or risk losing my head. It does become noticeable if I'm around shorter people though. Short people make me uncomfortable, especially short women:(

There are some disadvantages to being tall, I mentioned having to duck alot and it becomes a problem if you have to spend a lot of time in small cramped spaces like cars etc. There is also, the technical difficulties that Foomanchew mentioned which I think he is seriously downplaying, and really rockmanj I have no idea how that works when there is a full foot difference between you and your girlfriend. That isn't much of a problem for me though as I'm not usually attracted to short girls, my girlfriend is 5'8" oh and I've learned that hospital beds aren't made for big people. There are also other things that come with height that can be a problem too, like big feet along with numerous other little things that you would never think would be a problem.

As far as society goes, I don't think height is that big of an issue nor should it be and I hope that thing about tall men getting paid more than their shorter counterparts was just a joke because I think that's ridiculous. Although I can think of at least one occasion where that happened to me but I think I deserved to get paid more than that other guy anyway:D

I'm comfortable with my height although I would love to be taller, 6'4" would be ideal.

[Buffalobiian]

The issue with reports saying tall men get paid more is somewhat biased if you're looking on a global scale. For example, Asians are smaller than most, we'd all agree on that. You'd only find low paying jobs like sweat factory wages in Asia. Things like that tip the scales big time.

Also, there most likely isn't a causal effect between height and pay rates, but rather "what's causing the height" vs pay rates. We know that the average height of humans have increased over the last century due to things like better nutrition, public hygiene, etc. (America experienced their first drop in average height a few years back. Blame junk food). So in that regard, it's more likely a person isn't earning as much as others because of other factors, such as poor family background, malnutrition, lack of education.....all those lifestyle things that limit their opportunities in life, as well as height.

Of course, they could do localised studies in certain areas to make it more localised, but they'll still never eliminate all other possibilities and keep the only variable control as height. I think demographic is more of an issue.

[Jaitne]

Well, if we're lying with statistics, they could be calculating in basketball players and other tall athletes. The mean is more influenced by outliers than the median is, and no one really takes the median of a data set.

[Foomanchew24]

The tall men make more money than short men was something I had heard before and it was in regards to American culture not the whole world. My view of the world is not that broad I'm rather self centered. The whole intimate thing can be awkward unless you want a girl on top of you which is fine. Missionary style and she's staring at your chest, good luck kissing while in that position.

Overall it's not whether one is better than the other because unless your going to go through some painful surgery to remove something or add something then you should just learn to be happy with the way you. It doesn't really change until you get older and your bones start to degenerate and then you actually lose inches. So if anything you will all be getting shorter at some point.

There are worst things in life than being tall or short. Being overweight is much worse, not only on how people view you, and how you view your self, but it rally effects your health. (in a bad way)

Being tall isn't really a hindrance until i think your like 6' 8 and above and being short isnt so bad until you start getting classified as a dwarf, midget, wee person etc... Not that its bad to be that tall or short its just that the world of norms really start being uncomfortable for people in the outer ranges of height.

[Jaitne]

You can be perfectly healthy when you're overweight, other than weighing too much. Overweight people can be healthier than people who are skinny. Overweight people might also have a load of muscle mass, which makes them overweight, but it's healthier weight.

Being skinny or overweight can be bad, and people can view you negatively for either one.

People can look overweight but be perfectly healthy, and technically not be overweight. They can look overweight by how tall they are and how stocky they may be.

Being too short or too tall seem worse than being overweight, since being overweight isn't the same as grossly overweight.


Why tall people make more money (http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/Careers/02/02/cb.tall.people/index.html)
It Pays to Be Tall (http://www.slate.com/?id=2063439)


From what they've said, kinda, how much you make depends on how tall you've been when you were younger.

But.. who knows if that's true? :O

[Buffalobiian]

Definitions aside, I think it's assumed that "overweight" is used for the "bad", ie fat, version.

[Jaitne]

Well, being tall and overweight makes you look better, being short and overweight.. can make you look cute, depending, or.. not so good looking. But anyone, tall or short can be not so good looking.

>.> In my opinion.

[Foomanchew24]

My point is that being in the extreme of anything is usually more disadvantageous than it is advantageous. But there are always exceptions to the rule.

Being fat is better than being ugly. You can always lose weight, but it's a lot harder to get rid of ugly. (or costly with plastic surgery)

Nice articles on being tall, now you need to research an article about the wonders of being short.....Unless most writers are tall then your screwed.

[Eurasian]

There are roles that require you to not pass a certain height, like a gymnast or a jockey. Both seem like a lot of fun!

[David75]

Over here average guys don't drive Ferraris... You must live in quite a town, David.

Monaco is the perfect example.
Do not come there for a F1 GP, you'll see too much 360 and 430 that are the base car over these week-ends. Really...
But you're right, the average rich guy :D

[XanBcoo]

Overweight people might also have a load of muscle mass, which makes them overweight, but it's healthier weight.
This is why BMI is a pretty ridiculous way to measure how "overweight" someone is. It's never given any serious consideration by anyone who realizes this, but there's always the odd person who brings it up in discussion. You pretty much pointed out all the main points though.


There are roles that require you to not pass a certain height, like a gymnast or a jockey. Both seem like a lot of fun!
What else is good about being short?

You can hide easily!
You don't have to duck through small openings!
You can jump on the bed all you want and not worry about hitting your head on the ceiling!

[Animeniax]

What else is good about being short?

You can hide easily!
You don't have to duck through small openings!
You can jump on the bed all you want and not worry about hitting your head on the ceiling!
Don't forget, when the sun moves closer to the earth and temperatures rise, shorter people will have an advantage since they aren't as close to the sun.

[Buffalobiian]

Don't forget, when the sun moves closer to the earth and temperatures rise, shorter people will have an advantage since they aren't as close to the sun.

Don't forget, being short exempts you the worry of having your eyes poked out by umbrellas!