Male + Black + Tall = Increased Stereotype Threat

According to psychological research on height in men, tall men are associated with intelligence, health, success, physical attraction, are more likely to be hired, get promoted, make more money. The taller, the better... but only if you are white and already stereotyped as competent and intelligent. For Black men, who are generally negatively stereotyped and associated with gun, hostility, and aggression, height does not signal competence but rather threat. Interestingly, height does not increase threat for White men, nor does it increase competence for Black men (Hester & Gray, 2018).

In fact, tall Black men are judged as more threatening and receive disproportionate attention from police.

Results showed that cultural stereotypes of threat are increased by tallness more for Black targets than for White targets and, conversely, that cultural stereotypes of competence are increased by tallness more for White targets than for Black targets.

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- Hester, N. & Gray, K. (2018). For Black men, being tall increases threat stereotyping and police stops. Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, link

- photograph by Charles H. Traub via