A woman’s plan to expose men who lie about their height on dating apps has sparked a debate online, with some accusing her of being biased against short men.
The TikToker, who goes by the username @samanthalea96, shared her plan in a video that now has more than 1m views. In the clip, a woman measures the height of her door with a tape measure, and makes a small mark at 6ft.
“Fact-checking guys we invite over from Hinge that say they’re 6ft,” she wrote in the video, alongside the caption: “You must be at least this tall to ride.”
The video received many comments from TikTok users, with some claiming that the tactic was going too far.
“If a guy isn’t 6ft what’s it matter to the girl who’s 4’11,” asked one user, while another said: “This does not vibe with short king spring.”
Someone else questioned: “If you can’t tell, then why does it matter?”
Praise for “short kings” has recently risen across dating apps and social media sites, with users officially declaring the season Short King Spring. The term, which refers to men who are under 5’9”, has taken off after users pointed out a number of celebrity pairings, such as Zendaya and Tom Holland, or Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner, where the man is shorter than the woman. A dating app dedicated to finding men 5’8” and under, called Short King Dating, even hit the app store in late 2020.
However, many people claimed that the issue at hand is not men who are short, but rather those who lie about their height. A 2010 survey by OkCupid previously found that the majority of men on the dating site add about two extra inches to their actual height.
“It’s not that it isn’t okay to be short but like don’t lie about it,” said one person, while someone else said: “Do they not realise all this is showing is if you lie. If a woman lies about anything y’all allowed to cut ties too. Why are they taking this so personal?”
Another person added: “I’m 5’8” and when I meet in person I have to resist laughing because it’s so obvious they lied about their height. We are eye level my friend. Why?”
