# Why do Americans care so much about height?



## Define Me (Jan 2, 2012)

I live in the tallest country of the world (Holland). And never has someone been indecent to me due to my height. I'm 5 feet 6 and most guys here are 6 feet tall! The avarage is slightly above 6 feet!

At bodybuilding.com everyone thinks about height and when they are 5 feet 9 they say they are ashamed or whatever. Using terms such as 'manlet' for people under 6 feet tall.

Wth?

Why is height so important to Americans? 

Or is that just stupid people talking?


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## SoWrongItsRight (May 9, 2012)

Stupid people talking, plus I think americans worry about looks a lot because of the media. 

I'm between 5'2" and 5'3". I'm pretty short


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## Define Me (Jan 2, 2012)

Glad it's just stupid people talking then.


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## RandomObject (Aug 31, 2011)

Please don't judge Americans based upon what you read from the meatheads at bodybuilding.com. These are the same people that will tell people to bulk (gain muscle while inevitably gaining more fat) that are at 20% body fat. If they do that, they will become obese fat %-wise. That is just one example of the ignorance on that site.


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## Define Me (Jan 2, 2012)

Haha!


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## matmad94 (Jun 8, 2012)

I think it's just the stupid people on those sites. I'm 5'8 and while I wouldn't mind being taller, I've never been made fun of for it in Britain but as soon as I made a post of one of those sites everyone acted as though I might as well have been a dwarf XD


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## aloneanddizzy (Jul 1, 2012)

Yes, it's just the stupid people on those sites, not Americans in general. I work with a guy who is very short, and I've never heard anyone make fun of his height.


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## wordscancutyoulikeglass (May 4, 2012)

I don't care about height at all.


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## Bbpuff (Sep 1, 2010)

I've had a crush on a guy who was 4'11" at the time... But he's probably taller by now.


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## scarpia (Nov 23, 2009)

Lots of guys here have trouble getting gfs if they are short. many women here are not attracted to short men. There is an old Randy Newman song called "Short People"

Short people got no reason
Short people got no reason
Short people got no reason
To live

They got little hands
Little eyes
They walk around
Tellin' great big lies
They got little noses
And tiny little teeth
They wear platform shoes
On their nasty little feet

Well, I don't want no short people
Don't want no short people
Don't want no short people
`Round here

Short people are just the same
As you and I
(A fool such as I)
All men are brothers
Until the day they die
(It's a wonderful world)

Short people got nobody
Short people got nobody
Short people got nobody
To love

They got little baby legs
That stand so low
You got to pick em up
Just to say hello
They got little cars
That go beep, beep, beep
They got little voices
Goin' peep, peep, peep
They got grubby little fingers
And dirty little minds
They're gonna get you every time
Well, I don't want no short people
Don't want no short people
Don't want no short people
'Round here


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## DesperateOne (Feb 6, 2012)

scarpia said:


> Lots of guys here have trouble getting gfs if they are short. many women here are not attracted to short men. There is an old Randy Newman song called "Short People"
> 
> Short people got no reason
> Short people got no reason
> ...


that's supposed to be funny? he's like 5'6 himself...


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## T-Bone (Oct 1, 2010)

If i was going to ask my fellow americans for reasons they believe some of the dumb things they do, this question probably wouldn't even make this list. i don't think that many people care about height.


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## saltyleaf (Dec 30, 2011)

here's another one of those if i see a few ppl like this then they're all like that. height may or may not be of some importance to ppl just depends on who you are talking to. no one on here can say americans this or americans that unless you've met every single one of them.

that being said it's obviously stupid ppl.


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## sparkplug74 (Feb 9, 2012)

I'm only 5'6. Thankfully, Filipinos are naturally short. Though I'd probably look like a midget when I go to America. :cry


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

My guess is American woman want their man to tower over them to make them feel safe on the unsafe streets of the US.


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## scarpia (Nov 23, 2009)

DesperateOne said:


> that's supposed to be funny? he's like 5'6 himself...


 Randy Newman is 6 feet tall.


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## Define Me (Jan 2, 2012)

DesperateOne said:


> that's supposed to be funny? he's like 5'6 himself...


Thank you! :3

That song is funny though; even though 5'6 is short....It's not that short lol.


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## DesperateOne (Feb 6, 2012)

scarpia said:


> Randy Newman is 6 feet tall.


wow then I guess I confused him with someone else...

IN any case...it's a stupid song, he was probably unknown and wrote this to get recognized or something.



Define Me said:


> Thank you! :3
> 
> That song is funny though; even though 5'6 is short....It's not that short lol.


Unfortunately I'm in the category of "THAT short" -below 5'6 :no :cry


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## Zyriel (May 20, 2011)

It's the idea that big is better lol. Ever see Texas donuts?


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## DeeperUnderstanding (May 19, 2007)

I'm 5 foot 11 inches, and generally am considered average height. Most people, unless they're much shorter than me, don't call me tall.

I don't see what the big deal is about height, either, but a lot of people, particularly women (about men), are obsessed with it...


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## Amorphousanomaly (Jun 20, 2012)

American women probably like tall men because they are tall themselves. I guess I don't mind as long as the guy is of comparable height, and not midgey in comparison.


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## applesauce5482 (Apr 26, 2012)

The media makes a huge deal about height and the media has a huge affect on people. It's the society that is messed up


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## DMIND11 (Jul 9, 2012)

Most Americans I know don't really care about height, but there seems to be a feeling of self-pride knowing the average height is pretty tall. However, being american, I think we fail to recognize that there are other nations with taller people, for example most European nations have taller people than in America.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

I like average height. There is no reason behind it.


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## Andre (Feb 27, 2004)

I'm short and my ex-gf used to tease me about wanting a tall man. She didn't understand how much of a ***** she was because she was insecure and often put me way above herself in terms of "what will hurt a person," (and possibly because of my often confident way of being?) In case you're reading, is that right? I've got to take a stab at something and I certainly don't mean any offense.


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## Andre (Feb 27, 2004)

321kyle said:


> The media makes a huge deal about height and the media has a huge affect on people. It's the society that is messed up


Really, it's the media that causes people to hope and expect for something better than they can afford, given their own attributes. The ideal for height is clearly evolutionary, as the average height used to be a lot shorter, if you look back in time.


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## cristian (Jul 19, 2012)

Fat ratio is getting increase day by day in america also fat ratio is quite high in america right now.On the other hand media playing is vital role in the human brains.So people get more and more conscious about their health and fat


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## DesperateOne (Feb 6, 2012)

So depressing... why do I keep reading these threads knowing they'll make me upset? I dunno...

Wall of text:

As a guy who's barely above 5ft, all I'm like 1 in a 1000, at least among white population and when I researched on the subject online, all I could find is -taller people complaining they're short, and women posting how they hate them, which used to make me severely suicidal. Im a bit better now, until somebody makes yet another height thread here. I've been on the 'grow taller' forum (they were researching drugs to make you grow after like 20-30 y.o.) but that's closed now and once again, 90% of the people on there were taller than me, the rest were asians. Heck I'd love to be 5'6, but not gonna happen... I don't know what went wrong because -my dad is 5'7 and mom 5'1, boys usually growtaller than their dads and my nephew who's parents are even shorter than mine is already 5'9 at 14 y.o. I guess it must've been endless viruses/scoliosis and medications screwing up my growth years, but then again, I was shorter than everyone else from the very beginning and doctors couldn't find out why. Combine that with being freakishly quiet/shy and a bunch of health issues, and I'm basically a walking ghost. Whenever I try to fake confidence to talk to someone, they barely even notice me, unless if we're sitting... and sometimes people literally bump into me. Nobody even cares about my opinion, they all have "Im taller, so I know better" attitude. There was a time in class, when the teacher didn't see me, and I was sitting not very far from her, all because i'm so small.. Approaching girls is out of the question as I know I'm at a huge disadvantage, plus with anxiety/emotions like mine,the rejection would only make things worse, and chances of being rejected are 10 times higher compared to an average height guy. I feel inferior to 90% of population, and being smaller than most girls is just a punch in the face. It's correct guys like me must be overachievers to ever get noticed, but I only want to be average. Sometimes I think I was supposed to be a girl, because men shouldn't be like that...  

IF only I was normal height, it's possible I wouldn't even be here now, hiding in the room 24/7...

With all that in mind, I was actually hoping to go study in the states, the place where people obviously put a lot of emphasis on appearance and height, but i don't want to lose the opportunity so, I don't even care anymore, got nothing to lose now...

Ranting over...


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## Mlochail (Jul 11, 2012)

scarpia said:


> Lots of guys here have trouble getting gfs if they are short. many women here are not attracted to short men. There is an old Randy Newman song called "Short People"
> 
> Short people got no reason
> Short people got no reason
> ...


Oh American media, how shallow thy are.


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## Meli24R (Dec 9, 2008)

DesperateOne said:


> Whenever I try to fake confidence to talk to someone, they barely even notice me, unless if we're sitting... and sometimes people literally bump into me. Nobody even cares about my opinion, they all have "Im taller, so I know better" attitude. There was a time in class, when the teacher didn't see me, and I was sitting not very far from her, all because i'm so small.. Approaching girls is out of the question as I know I'm at a huge disadvantage, plus with anxiety/emotions like mine,the rejection would only make things worse, and chances of being rejected are 10 times higher compared to an average height guy. I feel inferior to 90% of population, and being smaller than most girls is just a punch in the face. It's correct guys like me must be overachievers to ever get noticed, but I only want to be average. Sometimes I think I was supposed to be a girl, because men shouldn't be like that...
> 
> IF only I was normal height, it's possible I wouldn't even be here now, hiding in the room 24/7...
> 
> ...


I can't really imagine how difficult it is to be a short male. I'm very sorry you've been treated poorly. Not every woman cares about height though. A lot of them do yes, but not everyone. I've seen and met men my height(I'm nearly 5'4") or shorter with women (and attractive I might add) here in the states. I've personally known 2 men who were around 5'0" and both had girlfriends. I wouldn't say either one was above average in looks either, but appeared comfortable with or confident in themselves (but not cocky or arrogant) They were both very nice and had a sense of humor.


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## DesperateOne (Feb 6, 2012)

Meli24R said:


> I can't really imagine how difficult it is to be a short male. I'm very sorry you've been treated poorly. Not every woman cares about height though. A lot of them do yes, but not everyone. I've seen and met men my height(I'm nearly 5'4") or shorter with women (and attractive I might add) here in the states. I've personally known 2 men who were around 5'0" and both had girlfriends. I wouldn't say either one was above average in looks either, but appeared comfortable with or confident in themselves (but not cocky or arrogant) They were both very nice and had a sense of humor.


It's ok, and I know there are exceptions, but not when the man is a quiet weirdo like me with self-esteem and anxiety issues who's frightened to death of talking to girls and strangers. I am yet to meet a person with a set of circumstances as bad as mine. Ok, that's starting to sound seriously pathetic...


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## Mlochail (Jul 11, 2012)

DesperateOne said:


> It's ok, and I know there are exceptions, but not when the man is a quiet weirdo like me with self-esteem and anxiety issues who's frightened to death of talking to girls and strangers. I am yet to meet a person with a set of circumstances as bad as mine. Ok, that's starting to sound seriously pathetic...


That's aight man. Let it all out =)


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## DesperateOne (Feb 6, 2012)

Moasim said:


> That's aight man. Let it all out =)


Edited already lol.. it's getting offtopic.. well.. yeah  it just sucks when you got a bunch of imprefections/issues all at once, being short just tops it off..


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## AlphaSix (Jul 20, 2012)

As one short man once said to me on an afternoon...."I don't mind being short, I can motorboat boobies easier"


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## Venkska (Oct 29, 2011)

I was 4'9 and my peers thought it was funny, now i'm 5'9 and height in my honest opinion is just a bunch of bull****, who cares? You can't do much about it yes? Americas Media has GOT too be the worst media there is here in the Americas. I doubt South America and Canada has as much bull**** in their medias than we do.


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## niacin (May 26, 2012)

Define Me said:


> I live in the tallest country of the world (Holland). And never has someone been indecent to me due to my height. I'm 5 feet 6 and most guys here are 6 feet tall! The avarage is slightly above 6 feet!
> 
> At bodybuilding.com everyone thinks about height and when they are 5 feet 9 they say they are ashamed or whatever. Using terms such as 'manlet' for people under 6 feet tall.
> 
> ...


The people on bodybuilding.com are morons, brah. They are sexist, homophobic, and illiterate. Not all of them, but from what I've seen on their forums, most of them.


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## cristian (Jul 19, 2012)

cristian said:


> Fat ratio is getting increase day by day in america also fat ratio is quite high in america right now.On the other hand media playing is vital role in the human brains.So people get more and more conscious about their health and fat


Boot Camp Des Moines


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## tea111red (Nov 8, 2005)

Probably because Americans have the mentality of wanting to have an image where they are the biggest, the baddest, and the best. Naturally, having a population where it's members are tall will help them attain (or maintain, to some) that image and/or reputation easier (even if a tall guy is naturally scrawny at least he has part of the equiptment that is required to overpower someone w/o the use of weapons), so it's promoted and viewed as a "desirable trait." America doesn't want to be messed w/. 

Most of the other reasons have already been discussed on this thread, so no real use in getting into that. The ones that haven't been, I should probably keep to myself because it'd probably hurt the self-esteem of some of the guys that are short on here even more.


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## Skaterguy (Jul 21, 2012)

I would take how people act on bodybuilding.com with a grain of salt, alot of them are idiots, sorry but just saying lol


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## vianna (Feb 17, 2012)

why do you care so much what americans think


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

Women in other countries like tall guys too. It's not just Americans.


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## John The Great (Jul 23, 2012)

I don't think that I've ever come across a place more insecure online than bodybuilding.com forums...

Don't worry about it.


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## who da man (Dec 30, 2012)

*No you didn't!!!!*

I happen to be a member of bodybuilder.com and yeah most of the guys on post irrelevant, egotist and sometimes the odd wtf comments (like this one), it could probably be our broawn over brain complex but just like you guys we only seek to improve our self to the best we can be, i mean come don't you wanna that person who is socially successful and height is another variable, its an evolutionary psychological trait to be aesthetic. and yeah maybe the media may have psychologically influence our mind set, especially the world wide influence of american media has manifest and depicted an model of aestheticism that most of us desire, unfortunately, but we all have imperfection that we want to improve and bodybuilder.com is just another gateway for like minded people to share info how ever arrogant and egotistic you may think we are. that well be all for now. PEACE OUT :banana


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## Openyoureyes (Jun 13, 2012)

it's really not important...at all..lol


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## gof22 (Dec 25, 2012)

I am an American and I don't care about height at all.


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## Cletis (Oct 10, 2011)

Height is associated with virility and leadership traits. 

Studies have shown tall men get hired easier and promoted faster than short men.

Women have always been more attracted to taller men.

I don't think people do it on purpose. It's a subconscious thing.


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## Evo1114 (Dec 9, 2012)

I went out on a first date with a girl not too long ago. I am 5'9" she is 5'8". We were talking and she mentioned that she had never dated anybody shorter than her. So of course now my anxiety is making me wonder if she thinks I'm too short for her. Hopefully she's not one of these 'only date men 6'0" and taller' women (there are *A LOT* of them out there). I'd be so freaking annoyed if she tells me she's not interested in a second date, because this is would be the first reason I'd think of.


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## ericastooge (May 20, 2009)

Well, I'm only 4 feet 11. I'm not attracted to tall guys.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

ericastooge said:


> Well, I'm only 4 feet 11. I'm not attracted to tall guys.


Is everyone in your family very short?


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## pastels (Sep 18, 2012)

maybe i should go live in Europe where height is not that big of deal for girls! cause i hate always get ridiculed for me height . im 5'7 and people always like omg your so tall like i dont say to people omg your so short! its annoying also if someone asks if i play bball one more time yes i do but not cuz my height do you play mini golf! lol its so annoying


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## pastels (Sep 18, 2012)

Hadron said:


> 5'7" is not that tall. I know plenty of taller females.


thats what im saying i dont think im that that tall but to people im like a giant!


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## PitaMe (Sep 3, 2008)

I'm 5'5" (pretty short), and my whole life it seems I've always dated guys who were only a couple inches taller than me, but I never really minded before. My boyfriend now is 5'9" (I think), and I have to admit, I really do like it.


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## PitaMe (Sep 3, 2008)

Dr House said:


> My guess is American woman want their man to tower over them to make them feel safe on the unsafe streets of the US.


This is hilarious :teeth


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## Muddy paws (Dec 20, 2012)

To the OP - I wouldn't worry too much about comments on your height from the members of a bodybuilding forum. Remember that they will be somewhat obsessed with their appearance, and they will focus on these things far more than most people do.
Also, bodybuilding involves a "bigger is better" mentality, and bodybuilders can quote their chest measurements, bicep measurements, thigh measurements, etc to you. This statistics/numbers-based approach to one's appearance could easily lead to placing undue emphasis on your height.



scarpia said:


> Lots of guys here have trouble getting gfs if they are short. many women here are not attracted to short men. There is an old Randy Newman song called "Short People"
> 
> Short people got no reason
> Short people got no reason
> ...


I could be wrong here, but as far as I can remember, that song is supposed to be a comment on the stupidity of irrational prejudices such as racism, homophobia and sexism. I think that he was actually mocking the type of attitude which is shown in the song.


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## BusWithSquareWheels (Aug 10, 2012)

j


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## John The Great (Jul 23, 2012)

That site can seriously brainwash people. No one in real life cares that much.


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## Visionary (Apr 13, 2010)

i grew up with tall people, so i dont see the short vs tall thing at all. im 5'1"


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## straightarrows (Jun 18, 2010)

I thought that Ameircans r tall people!!,, BTW, didn't imagine that some Americans r ready to do anything just to get taller! incl surgery!.... I blam TV for all this


Bodybuiliding.com: they r just idiots! and BTW< it's not easy builiding muscles if u r tall


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## cosmicslop (Nov 24, 2012)

Every time I watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, I always notice how short looking Danny Devito is compared to everyone and am convinced I'm 20 feet taller than him. But then I remember I'm only about half an inch taller than he is.


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## Alas Babylon (Aug 28, 2012)

Height doesn't matter. If a girl or guy is shallow enough not too date you because they are shorter/taller than you, then you just dodged a bullet. 
It doesn't matter what you look like, someone out there thinks you're a complete ride.


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