Short Stature Support Group

Hi
I was 5'5-1/2" when i was younger.
And I never felt that way. I always was sure that my legs reached the floor just as well as the big guys.
And as for girls - well I always had a selection from the shorter and I always thought prettyer little ladies. Never had a lacking of troops to select from. But, then you see - I made sure that I could dance and would go out to church socials so that I could meet the ladies. When I did a cha cha with one lassie - the others would practically line up to join in the fun.
Perhaps you just need to add a few hobbies that will make you more attractive to the ladies.
Everyone has probelms that they have to deal with. No one gets off problem free. So instead of blaming being short for all of your problems - find a way to make it an asset rather than a deficit.

Raoul

5'6" is not that short. I think you're making too much of a deal about it. You're only as tall or as short as you think you are. I've known guys your same height and never noticed that they were "short" because they didn't act like they were. Girls might not look at you because you may seem self conscious. Try and be confident in yourself. There is absolutely no reason why you should have social anxiety from being short. And you can always find a nice short girl.

hahaha move to Minneapolis man. I'm 4'10" and 19 and I know several other girls who would date a guy your size.

Hi RJ,

Being short is not the easiest thing in the world. I've been a short man (5'4" and starting to shrink since I'm old!) for 44 years. I'm also not going to tell you that it's all about confidence because you can't create confidence overnight. Here is a practical, but not easy to do, suggestion. Move to New York City.

It looks like you live in Alabama? Get out before it's too late! I've lived in NYC and in the deep south. The South is a beautiful, wonderful part of the country, but it's not a good place to be a short man.

There are lots and lots and lots of beautiful petite women in NYC. And 5'6" is plenty tall for them. And there are plenty of good clothing stores in NYC that are short man friendly.
I know that sounds a little bit like an extreme solution, but it really would help.

Set yourself a goal to move within a year. It will be the best thing you ever did.

While the present average height of men in the United States is 5' 10" and women is 5' 6', did you know that historically it wasn't that way?

A few hundred years ago in any place on Earth, a man of 5' 6" would have been considered average height. Many of the great men and women in history were not tall - and I'm not jus talking about Napoleon, either. But some people find history a boring topic, so I won't delve into it here. I'll just give you a list of shorter people in more modern times, with names, heights, and vocations.

Jason Alexander
5'5"
Entertainment

Woody Allen
5'6"
Entertainment

Mario Andretti
5' 7½"
Sports

Sean Astin
5'6"
Entertainment

Ludwig Van Beethoven
5' 3¾"
Music

David Ben-Gurion
5'0"
Politics

Humphrey Bogart
5'8"
Entertainment

Napoleon Bonaparte
5'6"
Politics

Bono
5'7"
Entertainment

Matthew Broderick
5'8"
Entertainment

Mel Brooks
5'4"
Entertainment

Gary Burghoff
5' 5"
Entertainment

Richard Burton
5'8"
Entertainment

James Cagney
5'7"
Entertainment

Truman Capote
5'4"
Literature

Andrew Carnegie
5'0"
Entrepreneur

Gary Coleman
4'8"
Entertainment

Phil Collins
5' 6"
Entertainment

Lou Costello
5' 5"
Entertainment

Tom Cruise
5'8"
Entertainment

Billy Crystal
5'8"
Entertainment

Salvador Dali
5'7"
Art

Sammy Davis Jr.
5'3"
Entertainment

Danny DeVito
5'0"
Entertainment

Robert Downey Jr.
5'7"
Entertainment

Richard Dreyfuss
5' 5"
Entertainment

Bob Dylan
5'6"
Entertainment

Emilio Estevez
5'7"
Entertainment

Peter Falk
5'6"
Entertainment

William Faulkner
5'6"
Literature

F. Scott Fitzgerald
5'7"
Literature

Michael J. Fox
5'4"
Entertainment

Buckminster Fuller
5'2"
Scientist

Ghandi
5'3"
Politics

Paul Giamatti
5'7"
Entertainment

Maurice & Robin Gibb (Bee Gees)
5'8"
Entertainment

Joel Grey
5'5"
Entertainment

Gus Grissom
5' 5"
Astronaut

Scott Hamilton
5'4"
Sports

Armand Hammer
5'5"
Entrepreneur

Alfred Hitchcock
5'6"
Entertainment

Dustin Hoffman
5'6"
Entertainment

Anthony Hopkins
5'8"
Entertainment

Bob Hoskins
5' 5½"
Entertainment

Harry Houdini
5'5"
Entertainment

Curly Howard
5' 5"
Entertainment

Moe Howard
5'4"
Entertainment

Elton John
5'4"
Entertainment

Davy Jones
5'3"
Entertainment

John Keats
5'1"
Literature

Ben Kingsley
5'8"
Entertainment

Nikita Khrushchev
5'3"
Politics

Martin Luther King
5'7"
Politics

Alan Ladd
5'4"
Entertainment

Fiorello Henry LaGuardia
5'0"
Politics

Nathan Lane
5'5"
Entertainment

Martin Lawrence
5'8"
Entertainment

T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia)
5'6"
Politics

Spike Lee
5'5"
Entertainment

John Leguizamo
5'8"
Entertainment

Guy Lombardo
5'4"
Entertainment

Peter Lorre
5'5"
Entertainment

James Madison
5'4"
Politics

Cheech Marin
5'6"
Entertainment

Chico Marx
5' 5"
Entertainment

Harpo Marx
5' 5"
Entertainment

Dudley Moore
5'2"
Entertainment

Noriyuki (Pat) Morita
5' 3"
Entertainment

Mike Myers
5'7"
Entertainment

George "Baby Face" Nelson
5' 5"
Criminal

Aristotle Onassis
5'5"
Entrepreneur

Al Pacino
5'6"
Entertainment

Ross Perot
5'7"
Entrepreneur

Joe Pesci
5'5"
Entertainment

Pablo Picasso
5'4"
Art

Roman Polanski
5'4"
Entertainment

Jason Priestly
5'6"
Entertainment

Prince
5'3"
Entertainment

Lou Reed
5'5"
Entertainment

Edward G. Robinson
5' 5"
Entertainment

Auguste Rodin
5' 4"
Art

Mickey Rooney
5'3"
Entertainment

Marquis de Sade
5' 3"
Literature

Leo Sayer
5' 4"
Entertainment

Martin Scorsese
5'3"
Entertainment

Ryan Seacrest
5'7"
Entertainment

Rod Serling
5' 4"
Entertainment

Martin Sheen
5'7"
Entertainment

Willie Shoemaker
4'11"
Sports

Paul Simon
5'2"
Entertainment

David Spade
5'7"
Entertainment

Steven Spielberg
5' 7½"
Entertainment

Joseph Stalin
5'6"
Politics

Ringo Starr
5'8"
Entertainment

Ben Stiller
5'8"
Entertainment

Jerry Stiller
5'6"
Entertainment

Igor Stravinsky
5' 4"
Composer

Kurt Thomas
5' 5"
Sports

J. R. R. Tolkien
5' 5"
Literature

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
4'11"
Art

Ray Walston
5'8"
Entertainment

Spud Webb
5'7"
Sports

Paul Williams
5'2"
Entertainment

Robin Williams
5'8"
Entertainment

Henry Winkler
5'7"
Entertainment

Elijah Wood
5'6"
Entertainment

And this list is far from complete!

I have always been short and always looked at it from the good point of views, although I know for a guy it is harder, although I prefer shorter guys, tall guys are kind of intimaidating and lanky not that nice. Im only 4'11 but i think it as awesome and makes me unique from my friends and everyone always remembers ya when youre short.

The recommendation of hounddog20 is very valid.. I had never realized the preponderance of short people until I visited NYC years ago.. it was a big lift (so to speak) to see lots of women AND men that were as short as I was.

I feel your pain. I am 5'6 and a 34 year old man. I've been disrespected my entire life because of my short stature. I do find however that if I am in good physical condition (being thinner/fit) my natural confidence is higher causing people to be attracted to me. Combining being physically fit with a nice set of 3-inch "lifter" shoes, has allowed me to suffer a lot less ridicule socially. The only problem with this, is that people believe I am 5'9 and I can't get involved with "shoeless" activities like swimming or going to the beach because I don't want to be discovered. I find that people definitely treat me different when I am wearing lifter shoes and when I am not. Those three inches make a world of difference.

I think there is a natural breakpoint around 5'9 where men don't get harassed about their height. I think men under 5'9 catch a lot more flack. But honestly, I have found the lifter shoes to be a lifesaver, socially. I discovered lifters when I was about your age, because my dad is 5'7 and wears them as well. Just getting to that 5'9 stature changes so much socially.

If I were you, I would invest in a nice pair of lift shoes, you'd be amazed at the difference. I have found as well that women I meet/date will understand once they discover I wear lifters. Lifter shoes open a lot of doors, and once you are "in" a woman's heart, they can be understanding about it. It's all about getting your foot in the door. You get more chances if you are of "average" height.

I also agree about "getting out" of the South. I live in the Midwest and like the South, it is a macho environment. I am stuck in the Midwest because I have a daughter here and she needs her dad around, but I wish I would have left for a better place when I was younger. You have the opportunity, if you don't have a child, to move to a place where people judge you on your interests and talants and not on your physical stature.

I would suggest a place like Portland, Oregon. Many women in Portland don't buy into the whole big, tall "machoman" thing that is so popular in the Midwest and South. If you are a gentle, friendly, respectful, cultured, well-groomed, smart type of guy with a good sense of style and an understanding/respect of feminism/social justice, your height won't hold you back in Portland. Portland is the type of place where "misfits" can fit in, if that makes any sense. People flock to Portland (from all over the country) because they are disgusted with the culture of their hometowns. However, if you are not a fan of feminism/social justice, Portland is probably not the place for you.

I actually wish I knew when I was your age what I know now, you are in a great position to change your life and get out of an unhealthy environment with no strings attached. Good luck and I hope this helps.

When i was younger, I dated several guys around 5'4". I am that height myself and it never bothered me. I hated wearing high heels and with them I didn't. In that group, there was a doctor, a teacher, a black belt Karate teacher and a musician. It isn't the height but the personality for a lot of people. If you are unhappy, though, it shows in how you act. Expand your horizons and maybe move to another area. Good luck.

Seems like I’ve been 5’6” all of my life and it really hasn’t been a hindrance. In high school, I dated some of the cutest girls around. Of course, I was always the taller of the two. In college, I dated a gorgeous young lady who won the “Miss Legs” contest in her area of the state [Texas is not a small state, either.] Beyond that point, I’ve been married twice and neither wife was unattractive. In fact, the topic of my height never arose until I was in the army. Someone asked me if being short ever bothered me. I told them no because “I’m not short.” I believe a lot of a person’s stature has to do with how they present themselves. If you think you’re short you are…If you think you’re not popular, you’re not…Also, my second wife was 2 inches taller than me…So what….