Are women actually more attracted to tall men?

If you’re a shorter guy who’s in love with a long-legged beauty, don’t give up just yet. A study published in 2013 in PLoS One set out to determine whether mating preferences with respect to height are actually reflected in couples.

The results showed that while couples, where the female was taller than the male, occurred at a lower rate than you would expect by chance, the difference was modest.

In other words, while many women may say they prefer to be with a man who is taller than they are, they’re still pairing with shorter guys at close to the same rate.

Tall guys are often credited with getting more opportunities with women just because they are tall, and there is no doubt being can tall provides some undeniable advantages when it comes to attracting the fairer sex.

You may commonly hear that the preference is rooted in the Darwinian idea that tall men were more dominant and more likely to be leaders or maybe that tall men stand out in a crowd more, or simply that women just want to feel petite when they are standing next to their partner.

Regardless of those or any other potential advantages that taller men may have, there is one indisputable characteristic that trumps all others when it comes to winning over women – confidence.

According to Mark D. White, chair of the Department of Philosophy at the College of Staten Island, the most substantive type of confidence is “an awareness of who you are, regardless of how you compare or measure up to others.”

In the case of height or lack thereof, this definition can and should be taken quite literally.

Being able to accurately identify your own qualities and shortcomings and owning those characteristics without projecting either inadequacy or superiority will make you appear a more positive, secure, and confident person.

While it may appear that height, wealth, or popularity are the keys to attracting women, these superficial advantages all provide the same underlying advantage of more confidence.

Confidence can make or break you, not only in dating but in life. And while confidence is not something that you can simply choose to have one day, it is something you can gain over time with the right habits.

Habits like limiting self-doubting thoughts, having a positive mindset, and using techniques like positive affirmations can start to change the way you see yourself, which will change the way other people see you.

To answer the question posed in this article, while it is true that some women may have a preference for taller men, this preference pales in comparison to their desire to be with a more confident man.