In addition, if height signals physical dominance, it is likely that taller men make women feel smaller, protected, and perhaps more “feminine” as well.
In line with this idea, research has found that women with more “traditional” gender role expectations were less willing to date shorter men (Salska, et al., 2008).
Taller men may be seen as more dominant and assertive (Melamed, 1992).
In evolutionary terms, a larger man may have been able to provide more protection to their offspring, have greater genetic qualities to pass on to their future children, and thus may be awarded with greater social status.
Especially at the extremes, taller women and shorter men prefer those who are closer to their height (Hensley, 1994).
Thus, knowing that there are limited resources in this area makes people more open to accepting a wider range of acceptable possibilities.
Researchers suggest this happens to optimize our potential dating pool (Salska, et al., 2008).
If we all only dated men who were 6’4” or taller, there would be so many people who were dateless, and competition for these tall men would be tough. Height isn’t everything In general women are attracted to taller men, a preference which may be explained by evolutionary hard wiring or by societal expectations. But when choosing a man to be with, this preference is moderated by your own height, potential dating options, and relationship expectations. What’s interesting is how women use height in gauging their attraction for men.It turns out that height, like many other factors, depends on the individual – their own physical characteristics and what they’re looking for in a mate. Let’s first start with the tendency for women to prefer taller men since this idea is a common expectation.This was a far smaller percentage than expected by chance, showing that there is some selective preference for taller men.