ShorT People LivE LOngeR?
It’s not easy being short—at 5’2″, I know—and a string of studies over the last few years has made it seem even harder. According to the research, tall people make more money, have higher self-esteem and may even be smarter than their more diminutive counterparts.
Good Things and Small PackagesBut a new study this week looks as though it’s on my side. In the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers report that a variant of a gene linked to very long life and small stature in animals may be linked to both in humans as well.
Short people may be short-changed when it comes to salary, status and respect, according to a University of Florida study that found tall people earn considerably more money throughout their lives.
Judge and Daniel Cable, a business professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel-Hill, analyzed the results of four large-scale research studies…
Workplace Rewards Tall People With Money, Respect, UF Study Shows
These findings are troubling in that, with a few exceptions such as professional basketball, no one could argue that height is an essential ability required for job performance nor a bona fide occupational qualification.”
Being tall may have the effect of boosting employees’ self-confidence, helping to make them more successful, as well as prompting people to ascribe more status and respect to a tall person..“When humans evolved as a species and still lived in the jungles or on the plain, they ascribed leader-like qualities to tall people because they thought they would be better able to protect them”…
It has been more than 100 years since U.S. voters chose a president who was shorter than the average man, Judge said. Elected in 1896, President William McKinley, at 5 feet 7 inches, was ridiculed in the press as a “little boy,” he said.
Conversely, the term “Napoleon complex” is used to describe how some short people compensate for their feelings of insecurity over lack of stature with aggressive, belligerent or arrogant behavior, he said.
Tall or short.
What’s your pleasure?
Do ya think height breeds respect?
Do short guys really have Napoleon’s syndrome? 
Do women prefer tall men over short men?
Being 5 foot nuthin, here are some words from school I will never forget:
“Line up kids: shortest to tallest!” 
Not much we can do to alter our heights.
What can you do if you don’t like how tall or short you are?
Needless to say, just like your weight (for the most part), shape, hair and skin– it’s your genes, which you inherited from your parents, which will largely determine your height.
Ultimately, it’s all about learning how to feel comfortable in our skin, with our bodies and yes , with our height (or lack thereof). heh.
There’s a front and back to everything eh?
There is one thing about bein petite: I never had to fret about one thing: being taller than the boys. Heh.
“Never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached the top. Then you will see how low it was.”
Dag Hammarskjold
“Better to have loved a short man than never to have loved a tall.”
G.K.Chesterton quotes
Love thy neighbor–and if he happens to be tall, debonair and devastating, it will be that much easier.”
Mae West
What say Y’all?
Sharing all 5 ft with my friends over at Rosemary’s Thoughts, 123beta, Right Truth, Leaning Straight Up, Cao’s Blog, Big Dog’s Weblog, The Amboy Times, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, third world county, Nuke Gingrich, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, Pirate’s Cove, Wolf Pangloss, Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker, Right Voices, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
March 9th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
i’ve always been tall (5’8″) for my age – and then i turned 50 a couple of years ago and started shrinking – one day i’ll be just the right height i figger…
i do believe, however, that with height comes certain privileges, for instance:
depths are one of the few things i’m cautious of…
thin air’s not so bad…
short guys never have to worry about me stealing them from their ladies…
I LOVE TALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!
March 9th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
Angel, at 6’4″ tall I guess you know how I vote.
March 10th, 2008 at 12:40 am
Most of the short guys I have known have had some strange complexes for sure, a recent coworker was a real PoS, but I am a fan of petite women as a very average height male.
Sidenote: I am waiting for your recipe after Gayle tagged you on the food meme since I know you love to cook.
March 10th, 2008 at 2:50 am
I like tall women, but then i like short women too. However i think a man should be taller than his wife, not the other way round even though i like tall women because there’s more of them… oh dear, i think i’ve said too much.
March 10th, 2008 at 5:59 am
I’m a tall woman who had a bit of a complex at school (where nobody likes to be different) but discovered my own style and dated guys who liked tall later. Meanwhile there’s loads of guys who prefer petite. There’s a Jack for every Jill (and a Jill for every Jack). What a boring world it would be if we were all the same!
As for MK, I think he likes women in general…heh.
March 10th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Humm, I don’t know how to look at this, I’m’ 6′ft tall and I eat my wheaties take my vitamins, get lots of exercise and sunshine whenever the sun is shining, so how do I figure in here?
March 10th, 2008 at 9:57 am
6′ is definitely above the average height for a man (5’9″) dd2. i prefer my men TALLLLL as i’m 5’8″ and if i wear heels i’m taller than anyone of average height or just over.
not sure it helped my daughters, much, though – while my son is not 6’4.75″ tall, neither of my daughters has made it above 5’2″. darn genes!!!
March 10th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Maybe the answer is in Stiletto Heels?
I’ve alway’s been short and it sucks!
I’m almost 5.4, I like to say almost because it makes me feel taller lol
March 10th, 2008 at 11:15 am
At the end of the year of 7th grade, I was the same height as most everyone in my class. 3 months later, we start 8th grade and I was taller than everybody, and did not quit growing until I was 18, though at a substatially slower rate. I maxed out at 5’10″, and was skinny as a rail which accentuated my “Amazonish” height. LOL But now the height kind of hides the extra baggage I carry behind me now.
March 10th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
I’m 5’2” like you Angel. It bothers me only when it comes to fashions – mostly designed for leggy women. My hubby is 6’7” and all the tall women hate me. No I didn’t pick him for his height. We were friends for several years but I never would have considered such an overly tall guy for me. Fortunately, Cupid got his way! When tall gals ask me, “Why tall guys always pick runts like you?,” I always answer, “It’s nature’s way of evening out the species.”
March 10th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
A fun post, Angel. How refreshing!
I’m almost 5’10″. The one downside to being a tall woman is that many people think you are stuckup just because your head is so much higher than theirs is, LOL! I don’t get that very much anymore but sure did when I was in High School. Also, “how’s the weather up there?” Everyone asking that seems to think they are so very clever, like they are the first person who ever asked it. Sheesh! My answer: “It’s lovely… too bad you can’t enjoy it.”
Short or tall shouldn’t matter a hill of beans. I came to a conclusion a long time ago that if people don’t like it, tough. I wear heels too, but I don’t go in for real high heels because they make me taller than my husband who is 6′.
Don’t forget about the recipe!
March 10th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
As a 5’10″ guy I’ve been cast in the role of the Big Guy and the Shrimp.
I’ve got to say that competing against the little guys in sports can be frustrating as they often take liberties in their efforts to compensate through aggression and to be frank …. I’ve been guilty of that when confronted by bigger men in hockey or football and certainly in basketball.
My own family are ALL short and until my son grew up I was the tallest EVER …. now he’s at 6’2″ and still growing … he does get more respect from his peers and attention from girls. But it does not make him any less prone to all the usual insecurities and angst of the teen years.
My professional life has been in the midst of taller men and women as there certainly is a tendency to assume that stature equals confidence and ability.
But to counter that …. one of the most aggressive and successful business men I’ve ever known is a 5’8″ guy … he’s definitely got the Napoleon complex and in spades …. but he makes it work.
Now I am certainly not interested in philandering but in general I find women of stature to be much more fun and easy going … so here’s to the tall gals!
March 10th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
At 5′ 11′, I thank the Lord for every inch.
He also gave me a 6′ 5″ husband to love. My Mother was much shorter than me, but always taught me to be proud of my height, never let people make me feel bad about it. I have tall and short friends.
My daughter is also 5′ 11″, but her daughter only made it to 5′ 8″, which is easier on the pocketbook when it comes to clothes, believe me! Her son took after Papa at 6′ 4″!
Don’t know what the polls really mean about who lives longer, considering all my grandparents lived to be ninety (men) and 84 1/2 (women). One grandmother was tall for a woman while her husband was considerably shorter than any of his boys (my Mother’s parents). My Daddy’s Dad was tall, and his Mother was short. My Mother is short and alive at 91 and my Dad die at the age of 78 1/2 (he was tall). I think God has it all under control and height has nothing to do with it.
March 10th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Dang, looks like my brothers and myself better start counting our days!
I’m 6’5″, two older brothers are 6’4″ and younger bro is 6’3″…..oldest sister though comes in packing a mean one at 5’2″. Coming from Swedish/Norwgian bloodline, our family tree has most of us going into the 80′s and 90′s.
About the only bad thing(s) about being tall is going to concerts and shopping for clothes.
March 10th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
I’m just over 6′ tall, but I think I’m shrinking. I believe the Lord likes short people, though. That’s why we have mini-vans.
March 10th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
shopping sounded ghey……..make that buying, if it ain’t at the store I set out going to, more than not I schedule another trip.
March 10th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
I don’t buy this nonsense and I am sure you do not either. But it is interesting reading. I also read once that if your neck is short you will live longer than a person with a long neck. I also read that if you have blue eyes vs. brown, green or hazel – that you are a cold person with no heart. LOL! I take it all like a grain of salt, water off a ducks back!
March 10th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Short people ain’t got no body…
March 10th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Most men in my family are well over 6′ tall with large builds, but not fat. Unfortunately, I am not one of them. I really got the short end of the stick. I am about 6′ but I got the large build and that just makes me on the short and fat side.
March 10th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
SHEESH I AM THE ONLY PETITE BLOGGER IT SEEMS…
well at least I can look UP to y’all..haha
March 10th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
As the average Joe…i always thought “standing tall” had nothing to do with height but everything to do with depth!!! but that’s just me…
I look at those that tower above me in quality as the one’s i “look up” to.
March 11th, 2008 at 1:52 am
Well, I am definitely in the short camp. 5′ 2 1/2 inches did you get the 1/2 inch there?
I never minded, real comfortable with short guys and tall guys.
Only problem is when you gain weight later on, it does not have as many places to go but you know….just sayin….
March 11th, 2008 at 4:12 am
“As for MK, I think he likes women in general…heh.”
Guilty as charged..
March 11th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Angel, count me in at 5’9″. It seems I was born tall. As a teenager it’s difficult, because I seemed taller then the guys. But now I’m glad I’m tall.
March 11th, 2008 at 9:19 am
I’m waffling between 5′ 9″ and 5′ 10″; a male coworker of mine seems to fluctuate between 1/2″ shorter and 1 1/2″ taller than I. Hm.
It explains why Bilbo had his eleventy-first birthday, among other things!
March 13th, 2008 at 8:02 am
I like my women tall. I like my women short. I like women.
Me? I’m a shade over 6′ and my brother is a tad taller. Mom is – or was – 5’7″, and Dad was 6′. Big Sis is a measly 5’2″. And she’s been doted on forever. Height means nothing. It’s what is inside that matters most.
April 5th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
i am gonna show this to my friend, guy
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