Whoever says height doesn’t matter is probably lying to you. According to the report ‘The Effect of Adolescent Experience on Labor Market Outcomes: The Case of Height’ published by a group of economics professors from the University of Pennsylvania, shorter men are likely to earn 13% lesser than their taller peers. 

While dating trends might be changing gradually, based on anecdotal evidence shorter men tend to be favored less by women, who traditionally go for men of the taller variety. 

Globally the average for mens’ height varies from region to region, with the average Indian man standing 5.8 feet tall (177 cm) while their American counterparts tower over them by a measly inch. 

Why are we talking so much about mens’ heights? 

© Eros Worldwide

Well because it seems like even Bollywood’s macho-est of actors, Salman Khan, isn’t impervious to the effects of being on the shorter scale of things. A quick Google search will tell you that his official height remains a bit of a mystery, with figures being quoted anywhere from 5.8 feet tall to 5.5 feet. 

Over the years, he’s rarely been sported without his signature chunky shoes that he wears for all public affairs. And it looks like sometimes, despite affording him an extra couple of vertical inches, even that may not suffice for him. 

In a tweet that has been going viral, Salman bhai can be seen standing next to Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi (who himself is close to 5.8 feet in height based on publicly available figures), and another elderly man. Absolutely normal, right? Well, not entirely. A Twitter user called ‘Just A Fan.’ shared a zoomed-in version of the same photo, where it shows that bhai may have been sneakily standing on his toes, so as to elevate himself for the picture.

Here’s the post for you to see: 

Salman Khan overcoming his Height! pic.twitter.com/NPocb2vtpj

Twitter users have obviously been having a field day. This user commented, “is he short? I've never noticed... he always seemed tall to me”.While a second one noted the universality of this feeling, “Even They Wear Big Heel shoes to look Taller.”A third, more empathetic user shared their opinion, “There is nothing wrong with being short, the bad thing is feeling self-conscious about it so that all your shoes have 10cm soles that help you look tall”

Needless to say, there’s nothing wrong with men being short. Sometimes it’s just that the insecurities we’re raised with take a lot longer to leave our side. 

Here’s hoping to see Salman Khan ditch his platform shoes and accept himself in a pair of flats

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