Short men describe height as a persistent deal breaker as apps add filters
Reporting published by Yahoo and originally by Kerry Justich highlights how height is shaping outcomes on dating platforms. Men who identify as “short kings” say dating apps have amplified a bias that long existed offline — and new features that let users filter by height make it more explicit.
Michel Legrand, who posts as @ShortKingLifestyle, told Yahoo that his 5’3″ stature became a liability early in his online dating experience. “Using dating apps is already very difficult, so imagine that extra layer of difficulty when you’re a short guy like myself,” he said. “It’s a huge deal breaker for some women.” Legrand said he eventually listed his height in his profile “to get it over with.”
The preference for taller male partners has been examined in research linking height to perceived dominance, status and other attributes; the Yahoo piece includes links to studies on those associations, for example on height preference and perceived dominance and status. That backdrop matters as apps introduce height-based search and filter tools — a change that Yahoo notes Tinder recently began testing.
The online dating squeeze
Other men interviewed for the story describe how filters and profile-first browsing reduce opportunities to make an impression beyond photos and listed attributes. Mark Robinson (@_markslifestyle), 35, said at 5’5″ he faces more rejections on apps than he did when meeting people in person. “There’s not even a lot of room for conversation because they’re probably not even seeing my profile,” he told Yahoo.
Brandon Herrera, 37, who uses Tinder and Hinge, said he had only one match in months and that was from another country; he joked, “But I’m not going to Norway.” Some men consider omitting or misreporting their height to increase matches; others, like Michael Swerdloff (linked in the report), found that removing height from profiles did boost likes. Swerdloff also shared that a medical condition caused significant height loss, which altered his experience on apps; the article links to research on tumor-induced osteomalacia as context for that change.
Responses and coping strategies
Faced with an environment where height can be filtered away, some men say they compensate by emphasizing other qualities — personality, hobbies and confidence — while others focus on offline opportunities. Legrand promotes a mindset of self-improvement and encourages short men to pursue activities and in-person events where physical attributes are less likely to be the immediate deciding factor. As he put it in the feature, shifting attention from what you can’t change to what you can improve matters more for dating outcomes.
The original Yahoo story also points to cultural examples where height hasn’t prevented relationships — such as Zendaya and Tom Holland — but emphasizes that app design choices are making the height preference more consequential in the digital dating marketplace.
For readers interested in the original coverage, see the story on Yahoo and the reporting by Kerry Justich linked above.
