London - When women say they have high standards in choosing a partner, they may be speaking more literally than you’d think.
Because 71 percent of women say a potential date “wouldn’t stand a chance” if he was under 6ft tall, according to a poll.
The same number said their perfect man was 6ft to 6ft 6in tall, and anyone shorter “would struggle” to get their attention.
But it looks like disappointment is inevitable, as the poll of 1 400 Britons found the average man is just 5ft 10in, two inches short of the ideal. The average woman measures 5ft 4in.
Still, 63 percent of women considered “taller men” sexier than their smaller rivals.
Psychologist Portia Hickey said: “Research has found that women tend to describe their ideal man as taller than average.
“Women’s attraction to taller men is likely to be driven by both evolution and positive stereotypes about tall men.”
It was not all about physical appearance though, with 62 percent of women admitting they believed smaller men develop an “inferiority complex linked to their height”.
This idea is sometimes called “short man syndrome”, or “Napoleon syndrome” after belligerent French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, who was just 5ft 6in tall.
Women listed height as the third most important trait to look for in a man, after a good sense of humour and kindness.
Meanwhile, 45 percent of men would date a taller woman – if she would have them – and 49 percent said the ideal woman was 5ft 7in to 5ft 10in tall, the survey by retailer High and Mighty found.
And 54 percent of the men polled said they thought their height “made no difference to their attractiveness”.- Daily Mail