Height.

Post Reply New Topic

Theory of 'Napoleon complex' is debunked:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/th ... 42338.html

I don't care about height at all.
I'm 5' even.
Not a turnoff.
Not a turnoff.

It's worth noting that I"m asexual, so nothing turns me ON in the first place.

there does not seem to be any correlation between height and shyness, so i am not sure what you are basing this on... maybe it is your own personal observations? my personal observations do not support your persepctive. i have found short and tall men have an equal chance of being either shy or outgoing.

also, the idea that short men are more aggressive has been completely put to rest.... from The_Face_of_Boo's link:

Lol -- Well, I would hardly call a 3-paragraph feature in a British paper (because we all know that British papers are a bit on the sensationalistic/tabloid side) as "completely putting to rest" the Napoleon complex. Those of us who live in the real world have had enough experience to know that there is some truth to the stereotype. Let's just take Napoleon, the person, out of it, and instead focus on the phonomena.

And yes, I'm reflecting my personal experiences. Experiences like getting thumped on the bus by older kids who were pissed off that I was a year younger than them and a head taller (and no, I did nothing to provoke them, I was shy and thought I was a nobody). I've heard very similar stories from other tall men (forced into shyness from social pressure and persecution), and John Cleese, a well-known tall man, went through many of the same experiences in his adolescence -- it's one reason for all of the anger in his 70s and 80s performances. I can even cite a local example here in California of a very tall, very shy kid who killed himself on campus because of continuous, systematic bullying and humiliation by shorter peers who he could have easily beaten into submission, had he wanted to.

I work in a company where several of the fiestiest, most aggressive men are well below 5'8", including my VP and my Director. I've seen plenty of this spunkiness from other short guys -- they are compensating for a lower profile (literally), and I don't think that this is a bad thing, it has pushed many of them to success. Those that don't do indeed suffer from their height, so I don't begrudge them for the aggressiveness when it is used constructively.

Let's not stick our heads in the sand -- we all know there are physical differences between us, and those differences evoke different reactions and end results from the people we interact with. Sometimes it helps -- Ask Marilyn Monroe mid-career if her outstanding figure was helping her or not. And yes, sometimes being tall does help -- a lot of tall guys do rise to the top, and I've probably skated by in some ways because of my height, now that I'm away from the schoolyard (though I still run into a hater now and then).

And yes, being tall does help with women. You get noticed earlier, you have an effect on certain women, and it's a conversation starter. No one wants to say "Gee, you're so short" to a short guy, but to a tall guy, it's sometimes the first thing I hear from people.

Offtopic: if you are an asexual , then you had right to tell me " Yeah, this is BS, too.." to my post in that thread :
http://www.wrongplanet.net/postxf137496-0-45.html

Damn girl, you don't even represent 5% of your gender's population.

The nature of your 'initial spark' is totally different than others.

ps: if you want to reply , reply there.

I had a girlfriend who was shorter than me, didn't mind at all.

BTW, this reminds me of the latest episode of The Inbetweeners

Which life experience? your experience?

Most bullies I knew at school were tall and large

The most aggressive soldiers are usually tall.

The most aggressive basketball players are the tallest and largest.

My height is 5'3 , much less than the average here, I was always told be to be calmest student of the class.

I personally had never initiated a fight with anyone.

Bush is tall.

Oussama bin landen is tall.

and btw , Napolean was not short , he was 5'7" whereas Wellington was like 5'4 or 5'2.


another source abt the research : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6501633.stm


honestly, a scientific study is more reliable than someone's life experience.

That's an utterly stupid generalisation. Some of our papers are tabloids (such as The Sun), and some are plain stupid (like the Daily Mail), but some are also quality papers. You don't see me saying all American news channels are lies just because Fox News is, do you?

I see the feature you're talking about is from The Independent, which is a quality paper. It is a BROADSHEET, not a TABLOID.

lol -- believe me , they say it a lot , and usually with a negative (pitiful) tone.

Lol, well you are quite the bully around here, so I think maybe you are proving my point.

I really don't know how "scientific" that article/study is -- btw, your own article contradicts you on Napoleon's height, so...

Lots of sweeping claims, and anyone who has worked as a researcher (I have) or works in Advertising/Marketing (I do) knows marketing BS when he smells it --


Wow, that's the name of the show? Sounds like a serious academic-oriented program...



Really? The WORLD's first test? Amazing!! Who knew a simple TV program could outshine years and years of psychological and sociological research with one simple test that they came up with!

Get my drift? This article reeks of PR B.S. There are lots of tests, this TV show made up one and used a limited pool of wussy volunteers, basically a self-selecting group. Probably none of those volunteers had the cajones to actually succeed in life -- instead, they participated in this study for minimum wage. Great study ya got there

Doesn't matter how shallow and silly this study published on bbc sounds , it still sounds more reliable than your life's stories.



Lol, and you aren't?

my head is not in the sand. just because i disagree with you does not mean that my experiences are less real or valid. my personal experiences show me that both short and tall people can be bullies. and according to the research tall men are more likely to be aggressive, though i did not want to make that assumption as my own experiences have not borne that out.

my team leader at work is my height, and he is a quiet and shy man. tall men often try to be physically imposing or marginally aggressive next to him, but he doesn't pull any of that kind of crap.

why do people feel it is necessary to point out your height? are you over 6'6" tall? because if not, i don't know what would be interesting about your height. honestly, i do know that some girls are into tall guys just because of their height, but that is kind of shallow... and not at all universal. one tall guy i dated was a player, and the other was a virgin (both were over 6'6"). height was only a factor for the guy who played it as a card to seduce women.

It's totally common sense that taller guys at school would be more likely to be bullies than the shorter one.

Taller usually means physically stronger, so the physically strongest guys would be more tempted to bully the physically weaker ones , while the shorter ones would be more likely to be beaten and humiliated in a fight with taller guys, a fight is riskier for the shorter guy (unless if he has some black belt). In fact, short guys would try to avoid fights with taller (stronger) guys.

And do not confuse aggressiveness with bitterness.

I'm 6'2" -- not freakishly tall. I'm about the 92 percentile for North American men, and probably a little higher in L.A., the city I live in. So, viewed that way, yes, I do stick out from the norm, and my big blond head doesn't help.


But, I think you're missing the social point here -- I am taller than most folks, and it is an easy excuse to talk to someone some more by asking them about their height. People often use other things of minor significance to make small talk. And some women do really love tall men.

Is this the same common sense that says shorter guys would have more to prove? I just want to be clear what common sense it is that you refer to.

Just because someone is taller or stronger doesn't mean they have the inclination to use that strength. In fact, because they haven't had to use it as often as a short guy, and because they haven't had to amp themselves up to intimidate, bluff, or actually physically threaten someone as much as a short guy has (e.g., less practice) means that they probably aren't nearly as good at it.

I'm 6'2" -- I haven't been in a real fight in my life (just some minor scuffles). My bet is that you have been in fights, maybe expressly because of your height.

I'll let my point rest. I would be curious to hear feedback from other men here, short and tall, on what they perceive the role of their height and that of others on life trajectory and personal experiences.

eh, some women do. and some men like short girls. whatevs. each to his or her own. in my experience, height means very little in terms of whether a person is a worthwhile human being (or even a worthwhile sex partner).