Height really does matter in a relationship - for women at least, say scientists
The height of your partner really does matter in a relationship - for women at least, researchers have found, the Daily Mail reports.
They say having a tall partner can make women feel more feminine and protected.
They also found that men care far less about the height of their partner.
The new research from Rice University and the University of North Texas, analysed dating profiles then asked participants to fill out an online survey.
They say the results show that current theories that we look for similar people may not be true.
'Evolutionary psychology theory argues that ‘similarity is overwhelmingly the rule in human mating,’' said Michael Emerson, the Allyn and Gladys Cline Professor of Sociology, co-director of Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research and the study’s co-author.
'However, our study suggests that for physical features such as height, similarity is not the dominant rule, especially with females.'
According to the data, the main reasons females gave for preferring a tall partner were for protection and femininity.
Men were much less likely to say that height mattered, the study found, and those that did preferred shorter women, but not so short that it would cause problems with physical intimacy.
George Yancey, a professor of sociology at the University of North Texas and the study’s lead author, believes that the height preferences of men and women can be explained by traditional societal expectations and gender stereotypes.
'The masculine ability to offer physical protection is clearly connected to the gender stereotype of men as protectors,' he said.
'And in a society that encourages men to be dominant and women to be submissive, having the image of tall men hovering over short women reinforces this value.'