While women may prefer men with a little more girth than length  in a man's private region, a study reveals what most of us have long suspected: tall men have an easier time getting women. Not only do they have an easier time getting women, the women they are with tend to be more attractive, taller men tend to have more progeny than their shorter counterparts, and are even less jealous.

The study was based on a questionaire of 98 men, which might be too statistically small to be indicative of the population at large. Sorry, but both of the puns in the previous sentence are definitely intended  In the eyes of some men, this preference is a form of discrimination. One guy termed it as "heightism" and believes it's almost as sinister as racism.

I didn't understand the true nature of "heightism" until I talked to a much shorter friend. "It's hell being short." is his opinion on the subject. The guy's IQ is off the scales, he has traveled to over 40 countries, and is in his early 40's, but still gets women telling him how cute he is. To clarify, when he gets called cute, it's definitely more like a puppy dog kind of cute than a Brad Pitt kind of cute. Before he married his wife, he worried about getting married to a previous girlfriend because she would make his already-short gene-pool even shorter and was  was deeply concerned for his future children's well-being. Everywhere he travels, he is conscious of his own stature is relation to others. Coming from a family where every man is over 6', I had no concept of this and little empathy for his position.

My own problems are different. As a taller woman, I've suffered from the opposite end of the stick. Believe it or not, having someone yell  "Amazon-woman" to you from across the bar does not have the charm you think it does.  It's also no picnic being the tallest girl in your school. If you're shy like I was, there's no real way to hide in a crowd.  The worst was when my neighbor's mom, who is about 5'1'' told me that guys like short women better. I was crushed, but somehow survived the trauma. Despite my height, I've been attracted to both tall and short men.

So, let's hear it, ladies. How important is a man's height to you versus his other attributes?