I was deeply disappointed by the latest poll at Don Q’s Lady Data. According to Don Q’s secret lady spies, 85 percent of women want to date a guy that’s taller than them and 0 percent want to date a guy shorter than them. What? That’s crazy! No love for the shorties? For all of you shorty-hating ladies out there, I think the 8’1” Sultan of Turkey is still single. I’m sure you’ll find him drop-dead sexy holding that 1,435 pound gingerbread cookie he presented to the Guinness Book of World Records in Norway yesterday.

Here at The Frisky we like all shapes and sizes of gingerbread cookies … er … men. Whether you’re super short or freakishly tall, we don’t discriminate. And in case you needed any extra incentive to go out with that hot, vertically economical guy, here are 10 reasons why you won’t be disappointed.

Often when people find out how short I am, they say, “Only a few inches away from being a midget.” Hardy, har, har. Instead of thinking about mashing their face with a fork, I can take solace in the fact that we short girls are more evolutionarily advanced than our tall counterparts. Although tall women are fantabulous, a new study claims that human beings are continuing to evolve and that women of the future will be shorter and heavier, with lower cholesterol and blood pressure. But why?

I was intrigued by the amount of interest and opinions voiced in last week’s posts about height, which led me to think that there was more on this topic than is usually discussed. When I think about height, it is usually in terms of style. As the fashion industry tends to favor the long of limb, I am not always thrilled by my lack of inches. What I found particularly interesting was that most of you who said you were short did so with pride and without fashion phobias. Clearly I was not on the same page as everyone else, so I began talking to women in all ranges of the height spectrum to see how they felt about their height and why. The results were staggering: women viewed height in the context of power and politics.

Lately we’ve been talking a lot about height. Ali has written two pieces in the last few days, about how to amplify your height (if you’re on the shorter side) and the height issues that can come up in relationships. We also posted part of an essay from a woman about being tall and how it impacts her dating life. Many of your comments on these posts had to do with your own insecurities about your height, whether you’re “tall” or “short.” Meanwhile, Meryl Streep, who plays Julia Child in the upcoming film “Julie and Julia,” says about the famous chef’s 6’2 height, “I mean, it’s like having club foot ... it was a handicap of sorts, certainly in the world where she was born.”

Yesterday I wrote Advice For The Vertically Challenged and was surprised by some of the comments. Many quite fairly pointed out that perhaps my definition of “short” should be revised, or that I should be clear that just because I feel short at 5’ 5” does not make this height or anything bellow it qualify as “short.” What really struck a chord with me, however, were comments concerning height differences when it comes to dating. I started thinking about my own reasons for feeling short and realized that it was mostly due to the fact that most of the men I have dated have been at least six feet tall. Hmmm, I wonder…

Why is it that the one thing you really dislike about your body is always the one thing you can’t do anything about? I have sort of accepted my short legs, or, rather, I have kinda accepted the fact that they are short and sparing a minor miracle, that’s not going to change. Standing somewhat proudly at five feet five inches I fall into the boring average-short category. To my surprise, however, people tend to think I am tall. Maybe it’s the heels, but I think it’s got more to do with attitude and unswerving conviction that I am a tall person trapped in a short persons body. I’ll eventually get over the dark despair in my heart over my inability to try out for America’s Next Top Model, but in the meantime…

A 31-year-old Australian politician had her legs lengthened when she was a 23-year-old lawyer. Hajnal Ban traveled to Russia for the operation, where they broke her legs in four places and stretched them one millimeter every day. After nine months, she had grown about three inches to around 5’4”. Ban said she decided to have the operation because she had been called a midget in school and believed her height would have a damaging effect on her career. We think her attitude is the only thing that would have hindered her.

People seem to care a lot about the height of their mate. Women almost always want a tall guy (who’s preferably dark and handsome, as well), while guys’ preferences don’t seem to be as set in stone. Our girl Lori took the height question to the extreme, asking people whether they’d like to be extremely short or extremely tall. Me? I’m liking the view from 5’2”.

Ever wonder how you measure up to celebs?  Sure, they’re rich and famous, but maybe you can look down at them. A new mirror with a ruler printed on it has come out, but instead of marking the height with numbers, it places celebrities in their proper slot.  Well, it seems actors Robert deNiro and Cameron Diaz are equals and tennis superstar Venus Williams is bigger than Brad Pitt…but maybe you can beat them all!  The Frisky’s Catherine is the perfect Scarlett O’Hara (aka Vivien Leigh). Check the photographic proof, after the jump! [Trendhunter]