Today's "research proving the obvious" entry:
We always thought men and women saw things differently. Now it's been proved. For it seems that while women want their perfect man to be eight inches taller than them, men are most satisfied when they are closer to their ideal partner, and look for someone who is only three inches shorter.
Researchers quizzed 700 men and women about their ideal partner height, as well as what would be the minimum and maximum acceptable. A second part of the study asked 50,000 men and women how satisfied they were with their own height. The most satisfying height for a man is 6ft 3in; for a woman, it's 5ft 9in.
I usually ignore blather about sexual stereotypes. People are individuals and should be able to follow their own instincts instead of worrying about things like "men don't do housework" and "women shouldn't fix cars." But that height thing must be so deeply imbedded in us that no one can escape it. I've never felt entirely comfortable around women taller than me and couldn't imagine being in a long-term relationship with one. At the same time, I'm not that crazy about women a lot shorter, either. The right fit seems to be women who are about a head shorter than me, a tad more than that "three inches shorter" standard. Can't explain it. Don't feel compelled to.
