A little height science for you. The average man is five point one inches taller than the
average woman due to later onset of puberty which allows for mens' bones to grow a little
bit longer. But what of the man who does not grow so tall? Short guys, this video is for you.
A little while back a did video comparing what life is like according to study findings
for short men versus tall women. Unsurprisingly to all of the short guys who watched the video
and commented the tall women came out on top. Since then I've also heard more in-depth from
short guys who described this particular kind of stigma they deal with that's not talked
about all that often. I recently received an email from a guy named James who described
how he's been dealing with height stigma since he was a kid. He writes, 'As for my shortness,
there have been honest to god weeks in my life when I've been shamed nearly every day
by both men and women for being short. In my childhood these times would drive me to
tears and to search the internet for mad scientist-esque ways for becoming taller but these days I
just want acceptance. I think this is a gender issue about social conceptions of masculinity
that might get more attention in the future but is still mostly unrecognized today. I
tell you what folks if you want a surefire way to get me to do a video simply pitch the
topic in the terms of being a gender issue of socialized conceptions of masculinity or
femininity often not talked about and I will immediately want to talk about it. And unfortunately
pretty much any study that you find looking at people's perceptions of men based on their
height confirms James' experience. Studies repeatedly find that compared to tall men,
people tend to perceive shorter guys as being angrier, more prone to jealousy and constantly
over-compensating for their lack of height. Judging them based not on how they act but
simply how they look. Studies on how height interact with out employment also consistently
find a short guy stigma at work both literally and figuratively. Economists estimate that
for men in particular an inch of height is worth seven hundred eighty-nine extra dollars
per year in your salary. Particularly for guys, the taller you are the more money you're
going to make. As I'm sure a lot of shorter guys watching this video can attest to, height
definitely influences your dating life. One recent study out of Rice University looked
at Yahoo personal ads and found that hey, straight ladies, we are exercising this short
man stigma all the time. Forty eight point nine percent of us said that we would not
I repeat not date a shorter guy. If you just look at Okay Cupid data, the taller a guy
is the more unsolicited messages he receives. For some reason we have this idea in our head
that taller when you're a guy is better. Even though as Michigan State University psychology
professor Linda A. Jackson told National Geographic recently there is zero data to back that up.
She explained that taller men are perceived as more socially attractive in that we think
that they're stronger, more successful, better qualified to be our leaders perhaps because
we sometimes literally look up to them. There is no scientific evidence whatsoever that
it is height per se that is the causational factor that precludes men for being better
at being leaders of being more successful or making more money. The only thing it really
precludes men for is buying longer pants. And maybe playing basketball. There's also
an evolutionary theory behind this that taller has always been better. Way, way back during
our more nomadic hunter-gatherer days, taller men were likelier to capture prey and avoid
predators thus amplifying their reproductive success. Fast-forward to today and our not
so nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyles, the fact that a short man stigma is still so prevalent
in our society is not okay. And I do think that James is right on the money when he says
that this is a gender issue about our social conceptions of masculinity. In the same way
that I do strive to promote a positive body image among girls and women in particular
of all shapes and sizes I want to do the same thing for men too. James' experience of growing
up searching the internet for mad scientist kinds of ways to make himself taller shouldn't
be the experience that short guys have to grow up with and live with through adulthood.
But shorter guys now its your turn to talk I want to hear from you in the comments below.
Share your experience and what we can do as taller folk to make life better for you.