Friday, September 17, 2010

Shortness and Cockiness

The other day I was with a good friend and I was doing my regular thing, talking about my awesomeness. She laughed and stated "I was talking with my roommates the other day about how short guys seem to be so cocky." What? Cocky? Me . . . no, I am just awesome, and I know it . . . ok, that is cocky. It is true, many short guys are cocky. We cannot help it, it is just who we are! Short guys tend to be more cocky than some other guys who happen to be taller. As a short man myself, I can explain a few thoughts on it.

A lot of short guys tend to be cocky. Not all short guys mind you, but more than the average guy. I am not talking about the boastful, arrogant type of guys. They are mean spirited, without reason, think highly of themselves for selfish pride, and gain. Arrogant people have no reason to be the way they are and humility would do them good. When I speak of cockiness, I speak of a man who is confident in himself and his abilities and he is not afraid to let people know that is a fact. Now he does not boast about it, but he will comment about it, another difference between an arrogant man who will declare to all about his greatness, without even really waiting for it to come up in conversation. Cocky people tend to be humorous about their confidence as well, bringing it up in a joking fashion rather than stating it whenever possible. I just wanted to make sure that was clear before continuing.

So why do short guys tend to be cocky? Simple, it is one of the best ways to show that we mean business and we are not easy people to kick around. Most of us short guys have always been short compared to other people. In elementary school, all the way through high school, we were short, and people made fun of us for it. Some early on learn to just accept that and become good at confidently standing up to their bullies and ignoring the criticism. They embrace their height and do not let it challenge them. Others, much like me, grew up conscious about our shortness and we hated how people would make fun of us (forgetting that everyone, no matter what, in grade schools are made fun of for something, that is just the nature of the beast). But over time, even the most timid short guys who eventually turn confident or cocky, what have you, learn to accept their height, and start to realize their other talents, that comes out, they gain confidence, and they realize there is nothing to fear about their height. Maybe we become cocky because now we feel we are strong and have strength in other areas, and we want people to know that. The criticisms of the past have made us strong, and we want to confidently show that.

Another reason short guys tend to be cocky? Well, we kind of have to be cocky to get anywhere with confident women (I am using cocky and confident interchangeably, I tend to see them as the same thing in some cases, although their natures may be a bit different). I do not know if you have noticed, but really tall men tend to go after really short women, like 5'0" women being courted by 6'5" men. Tall men are attractive to women, and short men tend to have a limited dating option where it is not 100% acceptable in society for a short person to date a woman taller than himself. Short guys have to compete with these 6"5" men for the girls. Let's say a girl is being courted by a 5'6" man and a also a 6'5" man, if the short guy and the tall guy are equal in skills, attractiveness, flirting ability, basically having a stellar personality, the tall guy in most cases is going to win. So short guys, in order to specialize, learn to be confident and cocky about themselves, confidence attracts women, and that can make a difference with height issues. The short guy with a stellar personality will beat out a tall guy with a mediocre personality any day. The reason short people are cocky is so they can be more interesting than tall people and thus attract more women to them.

I have read reports where taller men get more pay raises, get hired more often, and tend to have more success in life, all because of their height. In our society, we like tall men because they represent strength. To counter that and compete with them for good jobs, short people must be cocky and confident. Competition against the evilness of tall people seems to be the answer to all of fairness issues.

We short people are cocky because it shows we are strong, it gives us confidence, attracts more people to what we have to offer, and helps us to move on. I tend to be cocky to be funny and also to show I can do a lot of things with certain people. I have been rejected by really attractive, fun, and great girls all because of my height, I can deal with it, because I am confident in myself, but man, it sure sucks to lose to a tall guy only because they are tall. Our cockiness shows our confidence and also adds a little humor dynamic that many girls tend to love! If done right, being cocky with humor and confident just shows we are fun guys who are not intimidated by height and we realize that those kind of things do not make the man.

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