New Delhi: Men and women who care about height when choosing their romantic partners generally believe in traditional gender norms. In other words, they are sexist.
“Women who placed greater importance on height scored higher on sexism, lower on feminism and were less likely to find a short partner acceptable than women who placed less importance on partner height,” according to a study published in Springer Nature.
Men who identify as traditionally masculine were less attracted to a taller partner. The study, conducted in the UK, also noted that women’s preference for a taller partner was stronger than men’s preference for a shorter partner. These things are highly influenced by the gender politics of the region.
“Height preferences were related to gender norm endorsement, suggesting that gene–culture co-evolutionary processes could potentially influence human height dimorphism,” the study noted. Local customs shape who we find attractive.
Researchers Alexandra Dial and Gillian R Brown at the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of St Andrews in the United Kingdom surveyed 242 heterosexual young adults to test if embracing traditional femininity, masculinity, or sexist attitudes correlated with specific dating preferences. The sample pool had 122 women and 120 men aged between 18 and 29. The participants revealed their own height and how tall they want their partner to be. They also answered how tall or how short they would date. Additionally, they also revealed how important a partner’s height is, according to them, on a scale of 0 to five.
They also answered if they supported gender equality in life choices and whether they felt women were not treated as equals in society.
When it came to height, men and women clearly weren’t seeing eye to eye. Around 43 percent of women said a partner’s height was important or very important. Only 26 percent of men felt the same. Flip the numbers around and the gap becomes even starker: more than 60 percent of men said height didn’t matter, while far fewer women were willing to say the same.
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Short queens for short kings
The last few years have seen a new wave of culture when it comes to women’s height preference in romantic partners. The viral trending term ‘Short King’ was popularised on social media by women who seem to be moving away from the conventional tall, dark, handsome prince charming fantasy. They seem to want short men now.
However, The Economist has reported that it was all a lie.
“Supporters celebrate Short King Appreciation Day on June 21st. Yet short men are still not appreciated in the dating pool, whatever anecdotal evidence might suggest,” the report read. “Our analysis of American survey data suggests that short kings are no more likely to partner with taller women today than they were two decades ago.”
Men on dating apps have a better chance of getting a match if they are of a certain height in the US. “Short, single men in their mid-30s are only about half as likely to marry as tall ones.”
There’s no need to panic because short queens are there for short kings. Moreover, while these studies and surveys do reveal some social reality, they cannot be taken as the only representation of the modern dating scenario. The UK study researchers said participants may say they want one thing in a survey and act totally differently when they are actually dating in real life.