Anyone can be a top and anyone can be a bottom—or vers or even a side, for that matter—but we all know the stereotypes about tops and bottoms. Such stereotypes would have you believe that tops are tall, domineering, and masculine, while bottoms are short, submissive, and feminine.
And in a Reddit’s r/askgaybros forum, one 6-foot-2 Reddit user said he’s been made to feel “kinda undesirable by some tops, especially the dominating ones.”
“Have any of you bottoms got rejected for your tallness?” the user added.
Related: WATCH: The struggle is real for the 6’4” bottom
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Unfortunately, that tall bottom is on the receiving end—pun very much intended—of a scientifically verified bias.
In a study published in PLOS One in 2014, researchers studied the height preferences among non-heterosexual men and found that “men that preferred a more dominant and more ‘active’ sexual role preferred shorter partners, whereas those that preferred a more submissive and more ‘passive’ sexual role preferred taller partners.”
In other words, “men who preferred to be ‘top’ in the dyad preferred shorter partners, whereas men who preferred to be ‘bottom’ preferred taller partners,” as the researchers wrote.
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Back in the Reddit thread, some commenters commiserated with the 6-foot-2 bottom’s plight. “6-foot-2 and would like to actually fit as the little spoon,” one said. “The struggle is real.”
Another person wrote: “I feel you. There was a 5-foot-11 guy that made me fall for him. And then said he wanted a short, bottom Tom Holland. He said I was too tall. (I’m 6-foot-2.) That sucked because he was really handsome, smart, and good in the bed. But also an assh*le, it seems.”
When I message a guy on Grindr and he says he’s a top and likes tall bottoms pic.twitter.com/I7gTvwpyLf
— Lerrej (@Seattle_Cali95) September 29, 2022
Meanwhile, many other commenters bowed down at the altar of tall bottoms. “I’m a 5-foot-11 top. The hottest sex I’ve had in the last 12 months was with a super sexy 6-foot-3 bottom,” one person wrote. “Tops should not let height be an issue, as they’ll seriously miss out on what you tall guys have to offer.”
Related: Gay heightism is real, as this 4’10” Reddit user discovered the hard way
Another person wrote: “I see tall bottoms and I think to myself, ‘What must be the view from up there? Need to pin them down to know it.’ I myself think tall bottoms are the best!”
“Who is rejecting tall bottoms?” a third commenter wrote (adding three more question marks for extra incredulity). “Tall bottoms are amazing!”
Mel Magazine covered the Tall Bottom movement three years ago, talking to bottoms like a 6-foot-3 man named Chris. “We are tall trees to climb, and not everyone is—or can be—a lumberjack,” Chris said. “[But] many men enjoy the challenge of chopping down tall trees.”
And a 6-foot-1 bottom named Key told the magazine that he initially struggled to find tall tops but had been feeling super confident lately after experimenting with shorter tops. “Now I get guys asking to climb the mountain,” he said.
Thad
I’m the little guy, 5’10”. Been there, done that with the 6’5″ ex. Very good.
Man About Town
You’re 5’10” and you consider yourself little??
dilemmax
I’m 5’7″ so I must be tiny then lol
Thad
Well..next to my 6’5″ giant, almost everybody’s little.
Brian
I will never understand the loyalty to “top” or “bottom” words as if they’re immutable identities. I’ve always thought of those words as verbs, not nouns. As in, “I’m in the mood to top,” rather than “I am a top.” And so of course a taller man might sometimes want to bottom. It’s not as if the DNA imparting height is somehow connected to DNA forcing a man to always top.
gaiety69
I will never understand people who think everyone has to feel, and operate the same way they do, like you.
For YOU they are verbs. For ME – and many, many others -they are nouns. I will never top again. I don’t like it and it literally turns me off – as in I lose my ‘mojo’. Bottoming is glorious for me. I’m always open to non-intercourse interactions, but when it comes to intercourse, I am 100% bottom, hence the need for me to know if a dude I may be interested in is a top, or is into topping and aware I will not do it.
JTinToronto
Have never consider height a reason for hooking up, or not hooking up, with someone. Can’t say that I’ve ever been turned down for being tall either. It’s about attraction. If there’s attraction who cares about height.
Fahd
Dwight Howard would probably be the leading authority on this, allegedly.
SDR94103
barf story.
gaiety69
Tall bottom here. This article is 100% on target. The tops in my city almost invariable express a desire for small effeminate bottoms, like a tall masc top like me somehow threatens them. It gets OLD real quick. What are you afraid of? You really need a smaller, effeminate guy to make yourself feel like a man? Grow up!
ladron
This article makes no sense. If you want to top, then top everybody regardless of height, race, weight, age … If you want to bottom, by golly bottom for everybody …
1898
i’ve never rejected a bottom for being too tall (and never would), but i see tons of bottoms on grindr who write things like “if ur shorter than 6′ dont message me” ¯\_(?)_/¯
considering that bottoms outnumber tops by a factor of 2 to 1, maybe they shouldn’t be so picky about height…?
SparkyMICH
2 to 1 ? I think it’s more like 10 to 1 (no offense)
SparkyMICH
How is this a surprise? I’m 54 and 5’9″ tall. Since I came out in the mid 80’s, I’ve found that 95% of the guys taller than me are bottoms. I had a better chance at finding a palm tree in the Detroit area than finding a top taller than me. Or…maybe just that all the tops left Michigan for taller top pastures.
johncp56
It is all good i,m a very vers 5`7 and the amount of tall bottoming men I have lately run into is a major turn on,
prttymn33
I’m a soft top, and my bottom is 6’3”. Extremely hot. Course, I’m 6’2”. I’ve dated shorter, so I do understand the hotness in being able to throw them around, but big is hot too.