Women want tall men - poll

LONDON DAILY MAIL REUTERS When women say they have high standards in choosing a partner, they may be speaking more literally than you'd think. Because 71% of women say a potential date “wouldn't stand a chance” if he was under 1.82m tall, according to a poll. The same number said their perfect man was up to 2m tall, and anyone shorter “would struggle” to get their attention. But it looks like disappointment is inevitable, as the poll of 1 400 Britons found the average man is just 1,77m. The average woman measures 1,65m. Still, 63% of women considered “taller men” sexier than their smaller rivals. Psychologist Portia Hickey said: “Research has found that women tend to describe their ideal man as taller than average. “Women's attraction to taller men is likely to be driven by both evolution and positive stereotypes about tall men.” It was not all about physical appearance though, with 62% of women admitting they believed smaller men develop an “inferiority complex linked to their height”. This idea is sometimes called “short man syndrome”, or “Napoleon syndrome” after belligerent French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Women listed height as the third most important trait to look for in a man, after a good sense of humour and kindness. Meanwhile, 45% of men would date a taller woman - if she would have them - and 49% said the ideal woman was between 1,74m to 1,77m tall, the survey by retailer High and Mighty found. And 54% of the men polled said they thought their height “made no difference to their attractiveness”.