{"id":49685,"date":"2025-09-29T01:09:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T01:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/49685\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T01:09:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T01:09:12","slug":"dating-apps-are-making-it-difficult-for-single-short-kings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/49685\/","title":{"rendered":"Dating apps are making it difficult for single short kings"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Michel Legrand<\/a> opened a dating app in his early 20s, he realized his height had become a liability. At 5\u20193\u201d, he was competing in a digital marketplace where women\u2019s preferences were made brutally clear \u2014 and dating a short guy wasn\u2019t one of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsing dating apps is already very difficult, so imagine that extra layer of difficulty when you\u2019re a short guy like myself,\u201d he tells Yahoo. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge deal breaker for some women.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 32-year-old Montreal native joined Tinder before height was something that users were required to display on their profiles. But height was a topic that often popped up early in his conversations with matches \u2014 and something that often shut those budding flirtations down. So he put it in his bio \u201cto get it over with,\u201d he says. \u201cThe reality is some people are completely not going to be OK with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not all women have an issue with dating someone shorter (see: Zendaya and fianc\u00e9 Tom Holland<\/a>, or \u201cwee\u201d Great British Baking Show contestant Iain<\/a>, revealing he met his much-taller girlfriend while they were both sitting down). But the bias toward finding a taller male partner <\/a>and associations linking height to dominance, social status<\/a> and even intellect have been studied at length. And while that preference has always played a hand in dating, the impact on short men is becoming more apparent as dating apps introduce features that allow users to filter potential matches by height. Tinder<\/a> is the latest to do so.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of men think that if you’re short, it’s done. You’re not going to be able to date any women. It’s a wrap there,\u201d says Legrand. But it\u2019s not hopeless, he adds, pointing to the fact that he met his now-fianc\u00e9e on Tinder five years ago. \u201cIt was without the height filter, though, so maybe I got lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here, other self-proclaimed short kings weigh in from the dating trenches.<\/p>\n

The difficulty of dating as a short man<\/p>\n

Mark Robinson<\/a>, 35, wasn\u2019t always concerned about his height. \u201cI\u2019ve been insecure about so many other things, like the highness of my voice. I thought I was ugly at one point. I\u2019ve been rejected,\u201d he tells Yahoo. But being 5\u20195\u201d wasn\u2019t on his list of insecurities until he got serious about swiping.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnline dating is not something that works in my favor, and I honestly believe that\u2019s because of [my height],\u201d says Robinson, who admits that using apps is a very different landscape from meeting people in real life. He likens it to in-person vs. online shopping. \u201cWhen you went to the store, you thought, I\u2019ll know what I came for when I see it. Now, you could go online and say, \u2018I’m looking for a blue shirt with this type of collar with this type of fabric,\u2019 and that’s what [women on dating apps are] doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A snap from Mark Robinson’s Hinge dating profile where his 5’5″ height is displayed. (Photo courtesy of Mark Robinson)<\/p>\n

Being 5\u20195\u201d has always come up in conversation with his online matches. \u201cI did have one girl say, \u2018I hope your height is an error.\u2019 And I said, \u2018No, that’s the height I am.\u2019 Next thing I know, she just unmatched me,\u201d he recalls. Now that users can use filters to weed out anyone who doesn\u2019t meet their height standards, matches are few and far between. \u201cThere\u2019s not even a lot of room for conversation because they\u2019re probably not even seeing my profile.\u201d<\/p>\n

At 5\u20194\u201d, Brandon Herrera feels the same way. He\u2019s currently using Tinder and Hinge. \u201cIt\u2019s been a few months and I\u2019ve only got one match,\u201d the 37-year-old living in Austin, Texas, tells Yahoo. \u201cAnd that was someone from Norway.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herrera could use filters to hone in on singles who live closer. But with his options already being so limited, he is trying not to be choosy. \u201cBut I\u2019m not going to Norway,\u201d he jokes.<\/p>\n

Herrera considers how lying about his stature would put him in front of more potential matches, but he\u2019s not willing to do that. He has, however, (unsuccessfully) tried to hide his height from his profile.<\/p>\n

Michael Swerdloff<\/a>, 64, noticed how omitting his height from his dating profiles impacted his game.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as I stopped including it, I would get more likes. And it\u2019s just so offensive to me,\u201d Swerdloff tells Yahoo. He has a unique perspective after experiencing height loss from tumor-induced osteomalacia<\/a> \u2014 a medical condition that causes softening of the bones. \u201cI was a 5\u201910\u201d athletically built person, and now I\u2019m 5\u20193\u201d.\u201d The difference has drastically changed the way that women interact with him, he says.<\/p>\n

He recalls having an easier time meeting people out in the wild before his body changed, and ultimately joined dating apps in hopes of finding more success there. But he continues to face challenges in the online dating scene.<\/p>\n

\"Swerdloff<\/p>\n

Michael Swerdloff is still getting used to his new stature and hoping to gain back self-confidence. (Photo courtesy of Michael Swerdloff)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s not unusual for a woman to ask me my height, and I write back and tell her, and then she just never replies again. I’m not on the apps really at all right now for that reason,\u201d Swerdloff says. Still, he has enough confidence and life experience being in his 60s to recognize that his activity on dating apps doesn\u2019t determine his worth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am going to guess that somebody in their 20s and 30s would be more impacted because everybody’s more concerned with everything to do with their physical appearance. \u2026 Your whole [reputation] really is your looks,\u201d he says. \u201cI have a whole body of work, of life, so this changes my confidence in one area, but I still know who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overcompensating in other ways<\/p>\n

The value placed on height makes Herrera feel that no positive attribute could possibly outweigh the negative perception associated with him being 5\u20194\u201d. \u201cI feel like anytime I read a profile of someone I find really attractive, I check all the boxes that they’re looking for, except for that one thing that I can’t change,\u201d he says. \u201cBecause I’m not 6\u2019, I have to be better at everything else just to even maybe get my foot in the door. And that’s a big maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Legrand suggests that it\u2019s less about shorter men being better and more about them feeling better about themselves, which is something he preaches on his social media<\/a> channels under the handle @ShortKingLifestyle<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s more of a mindset thing,\u201d he says. \u201cI had to let go of something that I had no control over. So instead of focusing on my height, I started focusing on other things that I can absolutely work on and improve, which meant working on things internally.\u201d<\/p>\n

He puts an emphasis on self-improvement and coping with insecurities, in addition to teaching men how to present themselves in a way that is less about looks and more about embracing hobbies and highlighting personality and confidence. \u201cThere’s a lot more that goes [into dating] than just the physical. And that’s what I think a lot of guys seem to forget,\u201d says Legrand.<\/p>\n

And for the sake of avoiding solely surface-level judgment, Legrand encourages fellow short kings to get offline and into the world. \u201cThe reality is you have to put yourself out there, even if it’s potentially speed dating or blind dates, whatever events are available. If you go out, you do activities, you find hobbies, that’s where you put yourself out there, and you’re able to interact and communicate with people,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be more difficult, but it is absolutely possible.\u201d<\/p>\n