Short king syndrome is really starting to take a toll on society. Photo by Jada Gangazha.

SLOANE MACARTHUR | OPINION COLUMNIST | mmacarthur@butler.edu 

5’11” men are the mythical creatures of the world. 

Men lie about their height; they think that the exaggeration of a few extra inches will go physically unnoticed. But if I can look you in the eyes and you claim to be six foot, I hate to break it to you, bud — everyone can tell. 

Men prefer to round their height to six feet because it is seen as a height that is more desirable and has a higher authority. The irony here is that 5’11” is statistically the most common height for men in several countries, yet no one wears the label with pride. This leads us to the humorous conclusion that perhaps 5’11” men simply choose to exist in the shadow of taller people because they are already “almost there.” 

The patriarchy requires dominant men, and height is seen as that dominant trait. Men lie about their height for this reason. The male ego can only take so much, so the slight overestimate of a man’s height gives them the little pep in their step they need. 

First-year history-anthropology major Jake Stinhaus broke down why he thinks men lie about their height. 

“[I think] men lie about their height because [they feel] insecure,” Stinhaus said. “[They want] the comfort of [being] appealing [to a romantic partner.]” 

On dating apps, 70% of men have been found to lie about something about themselves and 27% lied about their height. The desire to be viewed as an alpha male runs deep in their blood. For some, the male psyche is a fickle thing, and one way to remedy that is to cosplay as a taller person. 

First-year psychology-sociology major Noah Malina shared why he thinks men round up on their height.

“I think there are a lot of insecurities surrounding men and their height,” Malina said. “[Especially] for heterosexual relationships, women [tend to] want to date taller men.” 

Even outside dating, height is associated with power and attractiveness. Research shows that taller individuals often receive certain social advantages — from better job prospects to even increased attention in dating. This societal bias creates pressure for men to present themselves as taller than they are, prompting many to add an extra inch or two to their self-reported height. 

Confidence is deeply rooted in a man’s height. A man who is six feet tall can reach the top shelf in grocery stores, and nothing is more attractive than a personal top-shelf cereal grabber. However, it begs the question how many of those men are lying and are actually 5’11”? 

Having influences such as social media and ​books where the male protagonist is six foot or taller, perpetuates the idea that taller men are more suitable for romantic endeavors, leaving the short kings in the dust.

First-year elementary education major Ivy Padilla shared his thoughts about how height and confidence are interlinked. 

“I think men round up their height because we want to appear more masculine,” Padilla said. “Social media and pop culture have influenced us into thinking taller men are more socially accepted.”

In a man’s world, 5’11” men don’t exist simply because they choose not to. 5’11” men are like unicorns. They are talked about, but no one has actually ever seen one.