Women who shun shorter men may be missing out on ideal partners, according to a study that suggests small men do more housework.
Sociologists in the US analysed data from more than 3,000 couples to assess how the height of a man had an impact on his relationships.
While short men — under 5ft 7in — were less likely to get married, fewer got divorced, compared with taller rivals.
This may be because, on average, they perform eight hours and 28 minutes per week of housework, compared with seven hours and 38 minutes for average men and seven hours and 30 minutes for tall men — over 6ft 2in. Abigail Weitzman, a PhD candidate at New York University, said: “Short men may have a harder time getting married because they’re viewed as less masculine. Women who have traditional gender ideals may find that less desirable.”
She said the lower divorce rates for smaller men arose because women “resistant” to marrying short men were more likely to “opt out” before it gets to the point of marriage.
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Short men are more likely to be the breadwinner, probably because they marry older and less well-educated women, according to the research. A fifth of the short men in the sample were in a relationship with women who had not finished high school.