When I think of short men, I always think of the poor French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Did you hear about his complex?

Sure, he tried to take over the world, but what he's best known for is giving rise to something women all over the world would fear: The Napoleon Complex.

It is real.

Certainly, not all short men are insecure and angry, but enough are that I've decided (in a highly unscientific way) that it isn't easy to be a short man in this world. And science is on my side:

According to Slate, short men make less than their taller counterparts:

Multiple studies have found that an extra inch of height can be worth an extra $1,000 a year or so in wages, after controlling for education and experience. If you're 6 feet tall, you probably earn about $6,000 more than the equally qualified 5-foot-6-inch shrimp down the hall.

But does it also make a guy undateable?

For many women, height is a deal-breaker, like it or not.

"Short is anything shorter than me," one 5'6" friend friend told me definitively. Anything taller? Is dateable. Another friend said he has to be shorter than her in heels. And the woman wears 4" heels and is already 5'7."

For me, "short" has always been anything under 5'10." It seems arbitrary, but that has always been my cutoff. I am 5'5.5" and have always worn heels, so I guess that is about the same. There is something about a taller guy that just feels safe to me. Yes, he can reach the top shelf, but he can also make me feel small and protected, which is very nice.

Tall men are also more confident in general. The taller the guy, the less he has to compensate. My husband is 6'3" and that is an area in which he feels supremely comfortable ... until he meets someone taller. Yes even men we consider "tall" still feel short on occasion.

I am by far the shrimp in my family. All the other women are 5'8" or taller and most of the men are above 6' (some are 6'4" and taller), so I'm hoping that my two children, particularly my son, get the tall genes.

On the other hand, some women say shorter guys are diamonds in the rough. One friend said that shorter guys work harder at cultivating their sense of humor to compensate for what they lack in height.

My father, who gave me my shrimp genes, is short (5'8") and he's the single most confident person I know and it certainly hasn't held him back in either dating or career.

It seems that being short, like anything else, is only a real hindrance if you believe it is. Believe short men can't get quality women? Then you're right, dude. That insecurity and the chip on your shoulder are far more concerning than your height.

Would you date or marry a short man?


Image via Facebook.com