19 hours ago
Living with a tall man is no picnic - here's why
SHORT men feel short changed. A study found that shorter males are jealous of their taller counterparts, believing them more desirable and formidable as romantic partners.
The research by the Australian Catholic University and published in the academic journal Evolutionary Behavioural Sciences found that there really is such a thing as 'short man syndrome' and shorter men were more likely to display envy, jealousy and competitiveness.
I must admit I like tall men. While my teenage girlfriends were swooning over some boy's thick dark hair, piercing eyes or bulging biceps, I'd be checking how lofty they were.
But after a succession of tall men - when I say succession that's three - as partners, including my 6ft 4in husband, I'd say height isn't all it's cracked up to be and small men don't need to fret.
For a start, tall men are always banging their heads. Rarely a week goes by without my husband ranting after bashing his forehead into something. This week it was the up-and-over garage door, after which he berated me for not raising it high enough. As I'd opened it for my own 5ft 4in frame, there was no need to raise it further.
Tall men disrupt sleep and it's not because they are amazing lovers, they are just too big for double beds and hog the space. We can't fit a queen or king-size bed in our bedroom, so, most nights I've got to fight for my half of the mattress.
Tall men hog the mattress, making a good night's sleep difficult. Picture: Pixabay
Public transport is difficult. Try travelling on a bus with a tall man. 'I can't sit there, or there,' he will say. When I first met my husband we travelled by coach from London to my parents' home near Middlesbrough. It was the first - and last - time we took a long-distance coach journey - coaches are not made for tall people. I was thankful my parents didn't live in Inverness.
Trains aren't much better and thankfully we rarely fly.
Then there's driving. Tall men need cars to accommodate them. With me as the main driver we have mostly owned small cars which are fine for me, but if my husband is driving he squirms around for about half an hour to 'get comfortable' then moans the entire journey about how cramped it is, how the rear-view mirror obscures his field of vision, and the head rest sits at neck level.
Public transport is no better. Try travelling on a bus with a tall man. 'I can't it there, or there,' he will say. When I first met my husband we travelled by coach from London to my parents' home near Middlesbrough. It was the first - and last - time we took a long-distance coach journey - coaches are not made for tall people. I was thankful my parents didn't live in Inverness.
Thankfully, we rarely fly.
There are even issues with the kitchen work surfaces. 'They're too low, I've got back ache,' is common tall-man-cooking complaint.
My husband's height means even trivial things are potential flashpoints: we always argue over where to hang pictures, his eyeline being totally different to mine.
On the plus side the bath is too short, which works well for me, as it's now my domain, while the shower is his.
He even says the bathroom sink is too low.
Even buying clothes is problematic - shirt sleeves are invariably too short, while shoes in size 12 are not always in stock.
I can't deny having a tall man around is useful. He can spot people in a crowd, reach things on the top shelf in the supermarket and effortlessly flick away cobwebs on the ceiling at home.
But fear not short men - being tall has its drawbacks, and for us women, a tall-man relationship is certainly no bed of roses.
