Should height be a determining factor when choosing a partner?

Height is mostly hereditary and as such, there’s not much one can do about being short or tall. However, in recent times, it is being considered as one of the issues that need to be talked about when contemplating marriage, but should this be the case? LifeXtra takes a look.   Al and Arah were […]

Height is mostly hereditary and as such, there’s not much one can do about being short or tall. However, in recent times, it is being considered as one of the issues that need to be talked about when contemplating marriage, but should this be the case? LifeXtra takes a look.

 

Al and Arah were very good friends. Their friendship, which dates back to secondary school days, became stronger when they met a few years later in the university. They subsequently became lovers. They were the talk of the town and the envy of their friends who knew that they had already started to make plans for their wedding after graduation.

On one fateful morning however, Al’s elder sister told him that he could not marry Arah because she isn’t tall enough. She added that no one in the family married a short man or woman, so he wouldn’t be the first to break the ‘cycle’. But Al was already head over heels in love with her and he knew he couldn’t bear to lose her. So what would he do?

In other words, if you were in Al’s situation, what would you do?

Victor Okechukwu Chimezie, a YALI participant, says “It’s kind of necessary for persons with height issues in their lineage. Therefore to prevent it from going on, it can be checked this way.”

Chidi C. Chilaka, an activist/Youth Socio-Political Enthusiast, who resides in Owerri opined that “marriage should be about love, commitment and sacrifice. It’s like saying black is a perception of lack of capacity, backwardness, ineptitude and not just the colour of one’s skin when it doesn’t come with knowledge in one’s head.”

Fleming Olola Olaitan, a graduate, says “Fact is height, complexion, race and others are not enough reasons to choose a partner but if attraction tinged with love leads to relationship then we can’t wish it a way. Love covers all but before love comes, there must be attraction.”

He continued, “If the question is if one can be attracted by height, then I will say yes but is it enough to build a relationship? No.”

Kessy Agwam, a fitness enthusiast, opined that when it came to the matters of the heart height doesn’t actually matter. “People fall in love, get attached and figuratively blind, oblivious to the physical barriers around them. I don’t think height is a criteria but I can say some people, few people, are attracted to tall persons. I for one am attracted to averagely tall ladies.”

Muhammad Bello Sada, a lecturer, simply said “That depends on the person’s preferences.”