We've all known a man or two who's hypersensitive and obsessed with his height, perhaps with good reason: the "short kings" among us are often the butts of lots of jokes online.
And many are the short men who say they're unbothered by their height but would never dare date someone taller than them.
And then there's the short king of all short kings, actor Daniel Radcliffe.
After his appearance at the Tony Awards this weekend, the Harry Potter star and Tony nominee had fans applauding for confidently walking the red carpet with his much taller girlfriend, fellow actor Erin Darke.
Photos of the two arriving at the ceremony are going viral as people hold up Radcliffe as a model for secure and non-toxic masculinity.
Radcliffe was nominated at the Tonys for his performance in the play Every Brilliant Thing.
The play is one-person show in which the main character fights depression by making an exhaustive list of every thing they can think of that is worth living for.
It features a rotating cast, with Mariska Hargitay currently at the helm and Tracee Ellis Ross slated to take over in July. Radcliffe's stint from February to May landed him a nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play this year. (He lost to John Lithgow for Giant.)
Of course, this being the internet, all many people noticed was the way Radcliffe's long-time girlfriend Darke seemed to tower over him on the red carpet. Radcliffe is 5'5", while Darke is 5'7" and was in heels.
But on Reddit, a conversation quickly ensued about how Radcliffe exemplifies something many women swear is true: It's confidence that matters, not height.
As one Redditor put it:
"Tall men will never understand the lethal allure of confident short kings. An exocet missile of charisma." —u/MaraTaru
Tons of women, including those who are tall themselves, agreed. One woman wrote:
"I’m a tall woman and I’ve always loved short kings. Sadly most short men feel like they need to overcompensate and end up being dicks."
Radcliffe, at least as far as we can all tell, is definitely an exception to that rule. He was beaming all the way as he and Darke had their night out, and he has frequently spoken openly about his own feelings about his height.
He told MTV in 2010 that he used to lament his short stature but had decided to simply get over it.
"I've now accepted it. Basically, I came to the conclusion a while ago that you can either be really bitter about it or you can make loads of funny jokes."
And it certainly hasn't hurt his career any, like many other short stars like Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, who are much shorter than they appear on screen.
Some short men on Reddit said that Radcliffe's obvious comfort with his own stature made them feel a bit better about their own.
"As a short man myself, gives me hope i can date a taller woman than me, someday." —u/heyybyyybyyyy
Of course, Radcliffe and Darke are far from the only celebrity couple of substantially different heights. Zendaya at 5'10" is two inches taller than 5'8" Tom Holland.
And on Reddit, many women said they actually prefer shorter men—so long as they don't have so-called "short man syndrome," of course.
"As a 5’11” woman, the absolute love of my life is 5’7”❤️🥹 I have been with [taller] and shorter, and height is not a determining factor of 'short man syndrome'—it’s the ABSOLUTE insecurity of being with a taller woman, regardless of their height."
"If you love a woman, you’ll make it happen!"
Solid advice, not that Radcliffe needs it!
@thekalenallen/Threads
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