Is 5’5 considered short for a guy? That’s the question that we’ll be discussing today.
It’s an important topic because being smaller than average doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re outright short.
Still, most people would likely agree that 5’5 men are pretty short in the grand scheme of things, and such a height is well below the average height for men.
See How Your Height Stacks Up:
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- Is 5’4 short for a man?
- Is 5’6 tall for a man?
- Is 5’7 tall for a man?
- Is 5’8 tall for a man?
- Is 5’9 tall for a man?
- Is 5’10 tall for a man?
- Is 5’11 tall for a man?
Is 5’5 short for a man?
Is 5’5 short for a man? Yes, I would definitely say that 5’5 is very short for a man because a height of 5 feet 5 inches is 4 inches shorter than average for an adult male.
If you’re a 5’5 man in the US, then, statistically, you’re somewhere between the 5th and 10th height percentile, which means that you’d be shorter than around 90% to 95% of other men.
The doubly good news?
A 5’5 male is, statistically speaking, taller than the majority of American women. And, to make your situation even more optimistic, research suggests that women aren’t necessarily as fond of tall guys as you might think.
One study suggests that being tall is less important than not being short. [1]
Now, I know that I just said that five foot 5 is short for a man. But at 5’5, you can still be a few full inches taller than a woman, meaning that she’s unlikely to see you as being extra short.
Related: Average weight for a 5’5 male
Why is 5’5 short for a guy?
As I’ve said before, you can be shorter than average without being short. That said, since 5’5 is a solid 4 inches smaller than average, I think it’s only right to put it in the quite short or very short category for a male.
In other countries, 5’5, while it might not necessarily be tall, may not be particularly short, either.
In addition to geography, your age can affect how tall or short 5’5 is for a guy.
For example, a 5’5 boy might look perfectly normal because, after all, anyone who’s taller than 5’5 had to be 5 foot 5 at some point during his physical development.
Also, a developing 5’5 boy still has the chance to grow taller, whereas a 5’5 man most likely does not.
Similarly, older men tend to be shorter than younger men, whether this is due to the spine becoming compressed with age or because the younger generation is taller due to environmental factors.
As such, a 5’5 older man will look less short than a young 5’5 male.
Is 5’5.5 short for men?
Yes, although it’s half an inch taller than our 5 foot 5 example, a height of 5’5.5 is still short for a man because it’s 3.5 inches smaller than average.
Still, a 5’5 ½ man is a full inch taller than the average woman, so there are definitely good reasons to be optimistic about your height.
Just remember that if you’re 5 feet 5 and a half inches tall, then you’re likely to move out of the 5 foot 5 club when you wear shoes, which might give you a bit of a confidence boost.
How can 5’5 men make the most of their height?
Although research suggests that some short men can suffer from serious mental health issues, [2] there are also plenty of 5’5 men who embrace their height and have next to no problems navigating life at the height of 5 foot 5.
But let’s say that you’d like to be taller. If you’ve stopped growing already, then you can’t elongate your skeleton. So what’s a 5’5 guy to do?
Simple. If you want a small but noticeable height boost, simply wear some height-increasing insoles and/or put on a pair of shoes with a thicker-than-average heel.
Many guys don’t like the idea of wearing insoles, and I’ll admit that some of these products can be excessive. Still, if gaining an inch or two of extra height via shoes and insoles improves your confidence, then I say go for it.
Who are some notable 5’5 male celebrities?
Some notable 5’5 male celebrities include Aston Merrygold, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Allen, Billy Joel, Edward Furlong, and Jeff Nippard.
Jeff Nippard is a particularly good case study. I’ve watched him for years, but due to his personality and, frankly, amazing physique, I never realized that he was only 5 foot 5.
So it just goes to show that when you make the most of your talents, physical attributes like your height become less noticeable.
The verdict: Is 5’5 considered short for men or not?
So, in summary, is 5’5 short for a guy? Yes, 5’5 is definitely short for a guy because 5 foot 5 is much smaller than average for a guy in the US.
But, as you’ve hopefully learned, there are plenty of successful 5’5 guys out there, so there’s no need to dwell on being a 5’5 man, especially not since your height is beyond your control.
References
- Stulp, G., Mills, M., Pollet, T. V., & Barrett, L. (2014). Non-linear associations between stature and mate choice characteristics for American men and their spouses. American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council, 26(4), 530–537. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.22559
- Magnusson, P. K., Gunnell, D., Tynelius, P., Davey Smith, G., & Rasmussen, F. (2005). Strong inverse association between height and suicide in a large cohort of Swedish men: evidence of early life origins of suicidal behavior?. The American journal of psychiatry, 162(7), 1373–1375. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.162.7.1373