Mona Chalabi's research on height preferences in romantic partnerships

¶ … Mona Chalabi points to several generalizations about height between men and women. It is true that men "tend to be taller than women" and that women "tend to prefer taller men." As to the breakdown of how many men are taller than their partners, in the United Kingdom, according to Chalabi's research, in 92.5% of couples the man is taller than the woman. In fact the man is an average of 5.6 inches taller than the women in heterosexual relationships according to that survey of 12,502. But it turns out the survey was biased because these couples were parents; there is no data provided for couples that do not have children in the household (Chalabi, 2014).

The research conducted in the United States shows a similar percentage of height differences between men and women in heterosexual couples: 92.2% of the couples had men taller than their spouses (that was 2009). In 1986 the percentage was 92.7, very close to 2009. Yes, part of the dynamic is because men happen to be a bit taller than women. But moreover, while 49% of women in personal ads said they wanted to date taller men, just 13.5% of men said they would only date women shorter than they were (Chalabi, p. 4). So conscious choices by women lead to them wanting to be with taller men, whereas it doesn't seem that men are as passionate about needing to date shorter women.

Level 2 - One

As just mentioned in the above paragraph, it does appear the women are more insistent on dating men that are taller; i.e., just 1.7% of women say through the personal ads that they would only date a shorter man. Chalabi asks readers not to be attacking women as picky because they overwhelmingly want to date taller men because men have their pet peeves too when it comes to dating women. For example, men care about weight and body size; they want their female partner to look good around the waist and hips, albeit, as Chalabi says, that hip-waist preference isn't the best or smartest " ... basis for choosing a partner." To sum up this section, based on the data the author provided, women are pickier about choosing men that are taller than they are, than men are picky about dating women shorter than they are. On the other hand, this difference should not be held against women; they have their social and psychological reasons for their preferences and it's their absolute right to have their preferences and options.

Level 3

I don't think the height issue is nearly as compelling a demand for couples as income is in a relationship. The woman of means is not likely to embrace a man who is penniless and has no job skills to pull him out of poverty -- even if he is tall, which meets her requirements. And a man who has wealth is also not likely to want to have a relationship with a woman who is one step away from becoming homeless, even if she is perfectly short according to his criteria. So, finances surely play a more important role in choosing a partner than height.