- The way that we were positioned and, like, cuddling
with one another and high schoolers.
Someone came up and said, "That's backwards.
He's supposed to be doing that to you."
And, I think that was just like...
- My name is Isidro Lopez, I'm 32 and I am 5'2".
And, I'm currently single.
- I'm Samantha, I'm 31 years old, I'm 6'4"
and recently single.
- How do I feel about my height?
Well, right now I'm okay with it,
but when I was younger I really, really hated it.
There's times, even now, that I wish I was taller.
I mean, everybody wants to be taller.
- I pretty much like my height.
There definitely are some days where it's a little bit
more difficult but, in general,
I have women that always come up to me,
complimenting me on my height, complete strangers.
I'm 6'4" and it's a struggle
for online dating.
I think a lot of guys just don't even want to go there.
Like, "No, she's taller than me,
I won't even think about it."
- I have the same struggle with online.
If I put 5'2", nobody wants to, you know, swipe right,
so I have a little difficulty with that.
I usually don't get matches and when I do get a match,
I message them back and they just disappear.
- I get a lot more of the weird, like, fetish-y,
literally getting asked if I can send pictures
of my feet because I'm so tall,
obviously I have big feet.
You know, literally been asked, "Like, I'll pay you money."
Like, okay, not that broke this month.
I think in person, my personality comes out more
and in real life, it's like oh, it's not that much
of a difference.
I don't really notice it as much.
- In real life, I have a little trouble as well.
What I try to do is, try to put my personality
at the same level so, like, if I'm short,
I'm try to beat it with my personality.
But, I do, like, think that it affects me
and I think girls do actually feel more physically
attracted to a taller guy.
- I definitely think that shorter men have it harder
when it comes to dating.
Even though, I feel like people perceive me
as more dominant or masculine, I think that's easy
for me to overcome with how I dress.
And, if you're trying to overcome your masculinity
you come off as a douchebag.
You just have to be yourself.
A common struggle that I have with just dating,
in general, is guys assume that because I'm so tall,
that I'm like, rough and tough.
It definitely gets a little bit frustrating.
Walking me home at the end of the night,
like if we're in the neighborhood,
is like, "Oh, you're fine.
You're 6'4"."
You might be right, but, I still want to feel
like a lady.
I still want them to help me feel protected
and I don't get that a lot.
And I feel like I probably over compensate with how girly
I talk or dress, to really make it like I'm feminine.
- With me, it's totally the opposite,
where they see me, they see like,
"Oh, he's like 5', what is he going to do?
He's gonna protect me?"
Ya know?
- I do think height standards reinforce gender roles
because it's the physical embodiment
of the woman is the damsel,
and the man is the breadwinner.
I would actually get that comment a lot of,
"Oh, who wears the pants here?"
- [Isidro] Really?
And, even in my last relationship, we were the same height,
mind you, we were both 6'4".
But, it was still, "Nope, this is backwards."
- I went to a bar with my friend, and there was this girl
right there and I went to talk to her, and she pushed me,
like, she physically pushed me.
She's like, "Oh you're too small for me."
- [Samantha] Oh my gosh.
- It really affected me.
I usually don't let things affect me, you know,
it really hurt me so I just walked away.
- On a constant basis, if I'm walking down the street,
I get called at.
A common phrase from, I don't even know, middle school
on is, "Damn, she's a huge (censored)"
- Really?
Wow.
- Yeah, yelling it in a car driving past,
walking on the other side of the street.
That's not obviously rejection, 'cause I'm not trying
to date that (censored) anyways.
(laughter)
But still, it definitely sits with you.
- Yeah it does.
Like sometimes, I'm walking, I can hear, like, comments,
like as I'm passing by, like, "Oh he's short,"
or something.
You know, a little something, I'm like, oh okay,
I just don't pay attention.
But I was like, oh I heard it, and I'm like damn.
It makes me question myself like,
"Oh, did I do something wrong?"
You know, and then you're like maybe it's because,
like, my height.
- I think the same as well.
I would love for people to see past my height.
My empathy, my caring-ness.
- I would just like for them to see who I am.
I'm very lovable, very giving, cares about people.
I feel that I don't get that opportunity that often.
- I think height standards are maybe not necessarily
healthy if there's a strict adherence to these standards.
This is what I need.
Understanding that you're attracted
to a certain type of person, though,
that is healthy, as long as you're not making
other people who are outside of that attraction
feel bad about themselves.
- They might not be healthy, but I think it's just natural.
Everybody has that.
- Everybody that dates is going to be dealing
with a certain issue within themselves.
Mine just happens to be my height.
(pleasant music)