The Height Debate: Do Men Accept Women Who are Taller than Them?

I read this article on a 26 year old, 6 feet (182.88 cm) tall woman from Texas, Saranya Kari having it difficult to find a man to date - because all the men who were shorter than her and they couldn't stomach dating a taller woman.

Now, this is the US and we can safely assume that she had crossed the paths of white American and African American men in her quest to find a soulmate.

Indian men love to complain that Indian women want tall men to date/marry, not preferring men with a short stature. My question to them: "Are you open to date/marry women who are taller than you?" Yea, coz you keep whining about women wanting taller men. So, you must be OK with a 6 footer lady towering over you, innit?

Why Saranya? As a leggy lass myself, I've made shorter men insecure; that's me during my puberty ceremony, taller than my mom at 11. My half brother won't stand next to me because I grew to be an inch taller than him. Men who were shorter than me definitely didn't like me for obvious reasons. Yeah, so, fuck your whines about women preferring taller men when tall/taller women make you insecure.

"I actually started to hunch myself, because it made me insecure that my height drew so much attention and my partners didn't like it. I have also gotten hate [online], but a majority to maybe all of the negativity is from men. They call me a liar, they say that I am a hypocrite, they say I should stay single. Honestly, as much as [shorter men] claim to love being with a taller woman, they are actually insecure about it." ~ Saranya Kari

It's public knowledge that Anushka Shetty is taller than Suriya. But in the Singam franchise, Suriya stands head and shoulders with Anushka, thanks to heeled shoes. When Anushka acted with Prabhas who is taller than her, no stool/heeled shoes were given to her so she could stand eye to eye with Prabhas. Did any Indian men who are currently so antsy about women wanting taller men question this hypocrisy?

It's totally alright for our elders, movies, and culture to perpetuate the patriarchal ideology that women must be smaller and shorter than men. It's fine to mock and tease taller women and shorter men. You will also quietly watch your favorite heroes use heeled shoes when they act with these statuesque heroines. No uproar there.

But God forbid if women who are equally immersed in the idea that men must be taller and bigger than them expect men on the lofty side. Then Indian men will start howling about it while being insecure at taller women, making dumbfuck jokes like Ashwin (Jiiva) in Ko regarding Renuka's (Kartika) height.

Real change can't be effected by accusing women of wanting taller men. Men aren't exactly going gaga over women who are taller than them either. It's okay for men to be shorter than women - I hope Indian movies show a hero who is shorter than the heroine. We must work on ourselves to dismantle fixed ideas and embrace anomalies as normal.

Going back to Sharanya's dilemma about dating and men's perception on taller women, she has decided to only date people who are taller than her as she believes that men who are shorter than her 'hate' not having the attention on them.

Quote,

"Saranya explained that many guys that she has matched with online have heights over six-foot listed in their profiles.

But when she meets them in person, she  has often been left disappointed when she discovers that they are actually shorter than her.

When you are dating behind a screen, anything can be lied about,' she continued. 

I have lost track of how many times a man has claimed they are taller than six-foot and then I show up and realize they are not.

I [once] matched with someone who claimed he was over six-foot. He was also cute, so I decided to go on the date.

I show up and I am looking around for this guy, but then someone approaches me and he was five-foot-10 at best.

He looked shocked and said: "Oh wow, I didn't expect you to actually be this tall. I was genuinely confused because on Hinge I have it stated as six foot for my height.

The rest of the night he tried to convince me he was six-foot – or that he was six foot if he wore the right shoes. Honestly, I should have left after realizing he lied to me."

Sharanya decided to date only men who are taller than her. Her decision is far from revolutionary but it's backed by men's intolerance at taller women in general. The 6 footer damsel has tried dating shorter men but the experience was far from fruitful. So, women wanting men taller than them aren't entirely culpable - men have a hand in this. 

Isn't this couple so cute? Height is not a matter, hearts are!