overdue recognition

Gay Twitter™ is celebrating all the “short kings” on 5/8

By · Updated on January 26, 2024
Shirtless guy wearing sunglasses leaping in the hair with an orange swimsuit.

May the 4th Be With You.

And May the 8th Be For Short Kings.

On Monday, Gay Twitter™ jumped into a spontaneous celebration of guys who are 5-feet, 8-inches tall –which is about the average height of U.S. men, by the way.

A user named “Dannitia” brought the special occasion to everyone’s attention.

As we’ve covered previously, gay heightism is real. Last summer, a Reddit user shared a mean-spirited remark he received over DM about his height, prompting a wider discussion about height discrimination in the gay community.

Anybody else gets random hate DMs?
by in short

Like most toxic elements of gay culture, judgmental attitudes about height can be traced to patriarchal norms–just like the binary definitions of “top” and “bottom.”

Academic Laura Butera attributes the fascination with height to the “mythology of tallness.” On average, men are taller than women, so tall people are seen as “strong.”

For gays, those stereotypes often make their way into the bedroom. In a study published in PLOS One in 2014, researchers studied the height preferences among gay men, and found that men who like to be more “dominant” sexually prefer shorter partners, whereas those who prefer a “more submissive role” prefer taller partners.

That means there is also the plight of the tall bottom. But wait, there’s hope: When a 6-foot-2 Reddit user broached the subject last fall, gay bros rushed to defend tall guys who happen to be more submissive.

“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,” said one.

“Who is rejecting tall bottoms? Tall bottoms are amazing!” added another.

That’s true: tall bottoms are amazing!

And so are shorter guys. When it comes to attractiveness, height doesn’t matter!

But while we’re on the topic, here’s a sampling of celebrities who are shorter than 6-feet: Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas, Zac Efron, and Dave Franco.

The list goes on and on, but we don’t think we need to say much more.

Zac Efron
Zac Efron
Nick Jonas

In fact, the phrase “short king” is true a term of endearment. According to Urban Dictionary, a “short king” is a “man who realizes that his lack of height has nothing to do with his perception of his own self worth.”

We love self-confidence, and guys of all heights. But since Monday’s date is 5/8…

Here are some tweets from more (self-proclaimed) 5-foot-8 guys celebrating their excellence…

Related:

Hallmark’s cowboy drama just had its first gay kiss—meet the hunky actor bringing the heat to ‘Ride’

Now we know what they mean when they say, “Save a horse, ride a cowboy.”

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