Dangerous Hero Addict Support Group discussion
Archived/Extinct Discussions
>
Should The Heroine Be Shorter Than The Hero?
I'm weird, but in my mind, the heroine isn't vulnerable enough if she is taller. I know it's antiquated thinking, but what can I say?
I don't think I've ever read a romance where the heroine was taller than the hero. I've read some with short heroes ( Mark Jenkins from Into the Storm and Wes Skelly from Night Watch) and some tall heroines who were eye to eye with the hero, but never a hero who had a taller love interest. I wonder if there are any?
Mod
I know that Mark Jenkins was short. But was he the same height with Lindsay or was she a little taller than he was? I don't recall his height being mention in Into The Storm. I don't even recall Lindsay's height being mentioned either.
I guess his shortness was due to him not being tall like Sam and some of the other guys, who were 6ft and up. Sam's 6ft3". I don't think that Jenkins was my height 5ft 1"
Taller than me, more importantly, LOL. I don't care about the heroine. xD I don't think I read that scenario too frequently.
Mod
lol New_User. Why don't you care about the heroine?
LOL. I'm more interested in the hero. ;)
Mod
Danielle "The Book Huntress" wrote: "I read a book a long time ago where the heroine was 2 inches taller than the hero, but they were both fine with it. He was five, ten, and she was six feet, from what I remember."Do you know what it's called?
Mod
lol, I know New_User, me too, but I do have to say that some heroine fits well with the hero. If I like him, I must like the heroine.
I love Sam, but I also like Alyssa. I think they make a perfect couple.
I think I agree with UniquelyMoi *~*Dhestiny*~* on this. There's just something about height. No one ever describes the hero as 5 ft 7in, or something. It's always "she had to look up to him to make eye contact" or something. I'm on 5ft 2 or 3in so I'm not judging, lol!
Arch wrote: "Auntee,I know that Mark Jenkins was short. But was he the same height with Lindsay or was she a little taller than he was? I don't recall his height being mention in Into The Storm. I don't ev..."
I don't think Lindsay was taller than Mark--I think she was on the short side (I'll see if i can look it up). I'm thinking Mark was around 5' 8" (just a guess) which would be short compared to the other SEALs.
So Sam's 6'3"?:)
Mod
So Sam's 6'3"?:)
In Into the Night, Joan was thinking that Sam was 6ft3" tall and In Into The Storm, Lindsay figured him to be 6ft5" tall, but I have asked Suzanne in 2007, when she was being friendly towards me. I will not go there. She told me that Sam was in fact 6ft3" and that Lindsay thought the he was 6ft5" tall, because he appeared to be gigantic to her, because she's short.
So, Joan nailed Sam's height. As for Alyssa being 5ft7" tall, Suzanne doesn't mentioned how tall Alyssa is in her books. I told her that I picture Alyssa being 5ft7" or at least 5ft9" or maybe 6ft and she told me that she always figured that Alyssa would be Jules height 5ft7", so that's why I say that Alyssa is 5ft7" tall.
So, since Sam is 6ft3" tall and in Over The Edge, when Mark came knocking at Alyssa's hotel room's door and she looked up, thinking that it was Sam at the door, but found out it was Mark - she looked down 8 inches, so that would make Mark 5ft7" like her.
Come to think about it, I don't think Lindsay is tall like him or even close. I know that Sophia is like 5ft or is that 4ft9" (I better get her height correct). Not now though. Anyway, I think Lindsay is just a few inches taller than Sophia.
Michelle wrote: "I think I agree with UniquelyMoi *~*Dhestiny*~* on this. There's just something about height. No one ever describes the hero as 5 ft 7in, or something. It's always "she had to look up to him to..."*sigh* It's so nice to be agreed with ;)
I've often thought about this, the height issue... and it just always seems to me that the female needs to be more... vertically challenged... if the male is 6'5" then I suppose the female can be 6', but that still seems too tall for a vulnerable female. Now, if said female is supposed to be the more agressive, save the day character, then I not as concerned about her being too tall.
Arch wrote: "Auntee wrote:"I don't think Lindsay was taller than Mark--I think she was on the short side (I'll see if i can look it up). I'm thinking Mark was around 5' 8" (just a guess) which would be short co..."In "Into The Storm", Lindsey says she's 'five feet and three-eighths of an inch tall' and 92 pounds, bra size of 30A, and age 30. Mark is only 28 (I didn't know that). So yeah, she's vertically challenged, so Mark would be just right for her.:)
LOL, an amusing discussion. At 6' myself, I definitely want my dream hero to tower over me, as in life I only managed to date one guy taller than me (my husband is 5'11"). I remember asking Adrian Phoenix why she chose to make Dante only 5'9", as that was his only flaw in my eyes, and she said that's just the height he appeared to her. Heather is shorter than him though, so it works for them. In my head though, he's at least 6'2" ;)
Mod
I do recall her saying that her age and her bra size was the same and I do recall her being 2 years older than Mark. This year Mark would be 32 and Lindsay 34.
In Into The Storm, Lindsay weight less that Sophia.
I had a friend whom always made me laugh. She used to have a saying about height, "It's all the same when you're in bed.". She was a tiny little thing so it made me chuckle because I seriously doubt she'd ever have to contemplate whether it bothered her if a guy was shorter than her. I prefer a guy to be taller than me, but if he was the right guy would it really matter to you?
message 20:
by
Danielle The Book Huntress , Loves 'Em Lethal
(last edited Mar 19, 2010 12:28PM)
(new)
Mod
I wish. It was a Silhouette Special Edition. The hero was a cop, and his name was Tony. He was pretty hot. I read so many back in the day, it's hard to remember all of them. Sorry. :(
Mod
Mod
Mod
UniquelyMoi *~*Dhestiny*~* wrote: "I'm weird, but in my mind, the heroine isn't vulnerable enough if she is taller. I know it's antiquated thinking, but what can I say?"I'm with you Dhestiny - she needs to be shorter. It's just not attractive to me otherwise. I feel horrible about it, but I've been trained that way!
:-)
I prefer the hero taller. My own hero(my hubby is 6'3"....6'6" on his hockey skates.) I am 4'11'. quite a difference. To me the man should be taller...HOWEVER...if you ask my dad, who is almost 5'2" he will say its much better to have a taller woman!
In honesty i don't really care. I'm a rather short person myself and so many people are taller than me. Therefore when i'm reading i naturally assume the heroine to be shorter than the hero unless otherwise stated so. Sounds weird, but it's where my mind naturally goes too. ^^
I don't think I've ever read a story where the heroine was taller than the hero. The most I've ever seen is that when the heroine is really tall, like 6 foot, the hero always manages to top her off at 6'3 or something. So even when they are tall, the hero is still taller.I think I like when the heroine is shorter though. I don't care how tall she may be, as long as she's even just a tiny sliver shorter than the hero. lol. It would just be weird for me for the opposite to be true. In real life my bf is taller than me, but he's not a giant. He's 5'10 and I'm 5'7, so it's rather perfect actually. When I had a bf who was over 6 ft, it felt awkward all the time.
I'm 5'9", so I've always been sensitive about the height thing. I definitely like the guy to be taller, and I agree that the female is more vulnerable when that is the case. I had a boyfriend who was about an inch shorter than me, and it felt so weird and akward. 6'4" is the perfect height IMO! but anything over 5'11" is fine.
I like for the hero to be taller than the heroine...guess that comes from RL where nearly everyone older than 12 is taller than me. LOLIn Suzanne Brockmann's Bodyguard, the hero is about an inch shorter than the heroine (although I think that that may have been when she was wearing heels). In any case, he had to look slightly up at her.
Mod
That's the one I couldn't remember. I love that book, Karen.
Danielle "The Book Huntress" wrote: "That's the one I couldn't remember. I love that book, Karen."
Me too. He was confident enough to pull it off...his teenage son was quite a bit taller than him as well.
Mod
I find it more romantic heroine is shorter than the hero. The story flow better when hero is over 6 feet and heroine is under 5'9". I have read a story, secondary charcters, wife was 6 feet and husband was 5'8".
Still resurrecting old threads here...I've dated only one guy that was "taller" than me and that was only when I was barefoot and he was wearing shoes (I'm 5'11"). The others have been a touch shorter than me and it always bothers me a little bit. All my friends are shorter than me and it'd be nice to have to look up for a change. ^_^;
As for books? I haven't read any where the hero was shorter but would love to. There is a manga with a very tall girl and a short guy called Love*Com (Lovely*Complex), Volume 1. I haven't read it but a friend on another group loves it.
I'm agreeing about the vulnerability factor. It helps the story along, especially with a strong hero.
Eh, I don't think I'd mind it if the heroine was taller. I don't know that I've come across this in a romance novel yet, though I've read some where the heroine was maybe the same height as the hero. I've known several couples IRL where the guy was a bit shorter than the girl and I thought it was kind of cute. LOL. For me, being only 5'4", I definitely wouldn't want to be with a guy who was shorter. Heh. My husband is 5'11" and my ex-boyfriend was 6'4" so I'm used to being with taller guys.
For a romantic hero, he absolutely must be taller - preferably somewhere in the 6'4 area to be sufficiently imposing as well as striking... and sexy. The heroine's height is irrelevant as long as she is shorter. I don't think vulnerability is affected whether she is 5'6" or 6' tall. Personally I love tall men (I was always the tallest girl in school and most of the boys were shorter than me, so I LOVE tall men!!!) I just could not relate otherwise since it's something I can't get over in real life either. It may be superficial, but I could never even be attracted to someone shorter than me. It's a deal breaker.
I've read a few books of late where a guy was described as 5'9" or 5'10" and I was disappointed by that. In real life I've dated a guy who was probably only about 5'9" but he was cute I didn't care about the three inch height difference. However, books are escapism and I want that guy to tower over me. So I've found that I have to ignore guys described as under 6' and mentally pretend they're actually at least 6'1" - author description be damned. ;)
Mod
Of course, I want the heroines to be tall too - this all stems from my envy of all of the shorter girls who seem to attract all of the tall guy away (I swear, if I had a dollar for all of the guys over 6' I know that end up with girls at least 6" shorter, I'd go and buy myself something shiny). ;)
Mod
Ah... a kindred spirit. ;)
Mod
I'm 5'3" so not much taller :)
My hubby is 5'11" and just the right height. wouldn't feel right if he were any taller.
Ideally I'd like to see a hero at least a couple inches taller but I'm not crazy about the ones that are well over a foot taller. Seems a bit awkward to me personally.
Mod
Pamela wrote: "Arch wrote: "I'm 5ft1", I don't want a tall, tall man."I'm 5'3" so not much taller :)
My hubby is 5'11" and just the right height. wouldn't feel right if he were any taller.
Ideally I'd like..."
My ex was a foot taller than me (I'm 5'4", he was 6'4") and it did make the kissing/hugging a little awkward when we were standing. Sitting or laying down, it was fine, though.
My husband is 5'11", which is a good height for me, but I wouldn't mind him being bit taller.
It IS all relative... if I were 5'1", I would consider a 5'10" man to be quite tall.... I'm 5'9" and ideally I would like someone 5 inches taller. My hubby is only 6' though, but he squeeked by on his charm :-)As DarkHeart "Vehngeance" said... books are about escapism, and we all project out personal beliefs and ideals into the story and characters.
Mod
Yes, 5ft10" would be a little too tall for me, but I can handle that than a man like 6ft3 plus.
If I wear my heels, I wouldn't be that much shorter than a 5ft10" man. A few inches shorter.
I'll probably wouldn't go that far to 5ft10". I don't want to feel too short against my man.
I feel real short when I stand against tall, tall people.
In my heels, I'm 6' so I would like someone who is still taller than me at that point - like you said.. 6'3" plus would be ideal.... which is why I cannot relate to a story where the hero is shorter... it loses it's appeal for me.
Mod
You like tall men Eva and there's nothing wrong with that.
Lol Eva, I'm in the same basket as you: I'm closer to 5'10'' than 5'9'', and all the guys I dated were taller than I was: I dated ONE guy who was just my height (when in flats) and with a lean build, and as I'm not petite, I didn't feel as attracted to him as I should have (needless to say, it didn't last long): call me old-fashioned, but I like my guys to be taller than me, and more muscular (as I'm athletic, I'm no feather, lol): I like to feel feminine, what can I say!My boyfriend of 3 1/2 years is 6'1'', which is perfect unless I wear more than 2 inch heels, lol.. But he's really buff, so it more than compensates:-)
Like Eva says, stories with short heroes lose their appeal for me too.. 5'10'' heroes are the minimal minimum for me (I prefer them over 6')!! No offense to anyone! ;-p
I`m 5`2" and my husband is just under 6`3".No problems with height differances,in fact it sometimes comes in handy.
I love heels-at least 3 in. and that takes up a lot of the diff,and all my other shoes have at least 2" heels too.
Dangerous Hero Addict Support Group
Books mentioned in this topic
Love★Com, Vol. 1 (other topics)Bodyguard (other topics)
Night Watch (other topics)
Into the Storm (other topics)
I was flipping the channel tonight and I've came across a French movie, where the heroine was taller than the hero. I'll give her 7 inches taller with the shoes with heals she had on and 5 inches taller without them.
They both was in love with one another.
So, how do you feel about the heroine being taller than the hero? Does their height matters or not?
Does the hero always have to be taller than the heroine?