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AS SOMEONE who is recently single, the challenge of meeting someone new is daunting, to say the least. I don't fancy going to pubs or clubs to try my luck and this being the 21st century, there is only one viable alternative: the internet.
I enter the following details on a dating website: man, looking for woman, between 35-40, 25 km from Sydney, with photo.
My initial search is fruitful. Lots of wonderful women, with wonderful stories and requests. Some weird requests, including height.
I understand we all have an ideal partner in our minds. I accept the importance of ethnicity, education, employment, location, body type, hair, smoker, drinker and even star sign. I do not accept that I must be in such-and-such a height range, or that I need to be at least so many centimetres tall.
How my height affects my personality and potential suitability I do not know. Were Alexander the Great and Napoleon lesser men because they were vertically challenged? Are Tom Cruise and Woody Allen less able actors because they do not break the six-foot barrier?
In many cases I had the right attributes; honest, caring, loyal, open-minded, not afraid to show my feelings, not scared of marriage/children, enjoy romantic walks along the beach, quiet nights at home, party animal, like to dine in/out, movies/music/theatre, political and philosophical - but I am too short.
I am not clear on the etiquette, so whenever I did not fulfil the height requirement, I stopped reading the responses. My available pool became a droplet.
Custom-made shoes or platform boots do not appeal. Improving my posture or further teasing my hair may gain an extra centimetre or two, but in most cases it wouldn't be enough.
Apart from the normal list of anxieties and pressures one goes through when meeting someone new, I now have a new one: height.
I fear that for all these years women have looked at me differently. My looks weren't that important but my height was. I know that my growing days are over, so what's a man to do?
Put my own advertisement in, I hear you say. List my own requirements. Refine my search. Create my own dating site. No, dear reader, I will not pander to these obvious (and no doubt beneficial) choices. I will remain strong, I will not sacrifice my dignity. I will stand tall.
I will continue to search until someone accepts me not just for my dashing looks, my charm and sophistication, my wealth, my culinary skills, or my fast cars, but for my 170 centimetres.
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