* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Thursday, July 31, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Sens. Blackburn, Warnock introduce CREATE Act to provide tax relief to music creators – Yahoo Home

    Sens. Blackburn and Warnock Launch CREATE Act to Deliver Tax Relief for Music Creators

    That’s (Political) Entertainment: When Theatre Meets Politics

    Future Script: How Generative AI Is Changing Collective Bargaining in the Entertainment Industry – Jackson Lewis

    Future Script: How Generative AI Is Transforming Collective Bargaining in Entertainment

    The SBA’s live-entertainment bailout was supposed to end two years ago. We still don’t know how $1.5 billion was spent. – Yahoo Home

    $1.5 Billion Live-Entertainment Bailout: Two Years Later, Where Did the Money Go?

    Wall Street Bets: Caesars, Golden Entertainment, Churchill Downs, GLPI, Boyd – CDC Gaming

    Top Wall Street Bets: Caesars, Golden Entertainment, Churchill Downs, GLPI, and Boyd Take Center Stage

    Micro wrestling coming to NE Ohio – Cleveland.com

    Get Ready, NE Ohio: Micro Wrestling Is Making Its Exciting Debut!

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (CTSH) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Revenue … – Yahoo.co

    Cognizant Q2 2025 Earnings: Impressive Revenue Growth and Key Takeaways

    Revving Up The U.S. Technology Engine – Forbes

    Revving Up The U.S. Technology Engine – Forbes

    More than just a hockey player – Rochester Institute of Technology Athletics

    Beyond the Ice: The Inspiring Journey of a Remarkable Athlete from Rochester Institute of Technology

    Smart Logistics in Warehousing – From Legacy Protocols to Green IoT – How Technology Is Reshaping the Sustainable Supply Chain – Logistics Viewpoints –

    Smart Logistics in Warehousing – From Legacy Protocols to Green IoT – How Technology Is Reshaping the Sustainable Supply Chain – Logistics Viewpoints –

    AI’s race in the dark with China – Axios

    The High-Stakes AI Race: Innovation and Competition in the Shadows

    Eagle Unveils Revolutionary X-Ray Technology at Pack Expo

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Sens. Blackburn, Warnock introduce CREATE Act to provide tax relief to music creators – Yahoo Home

    Sens. Blackburn and Warnock Launch CREATE Act to Deliver Tax Relief for Music Creators

    That’s (Political) Entertainment: When Theatre Meets Politics

    Future Script: How Generative AI Is Changing Collective Bargaining in the Entertainment Industry – Jackson Lewis

    Future Script: How Generative AI Is Transforming Collective Bargaining in Entertainment

    The SBA’s live-entertainment bailout was supposed to end two years ago. We still don’t know how $1.5 billion was spent. – Yahoo Home

    $1.5 Billion Live-Entertainment Bailout: Two Years Later, Where Did the Money Go?

    Wall Street Bets: Caesars, Golden Entertainment, Churchill Downs, GLPI, Boyd – CDC Gaming

    Top Wall Street Bets: Caesars, Golden Entertainment, Churchill Downs, GLPI, and Boyd Take Center Stage

    Micro wrestling coming to NE Ohio – Cleveland.com

    Get Ready, NE Ohio: Micro Wrestling Is Making Its Exciting Debut!

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (CTSH) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Revenue … – Yahoo.co

    Cognizant Q2 2025 Earnings: Impressive Revenue Growth and Key Takeaways

    Revving Up The U.S. Technology Engine – Forbes

    Revving Up The U.S. Technology Engine – Forbes

    More than just a hockey player – Rochester Institute of Technology Athletics

    Beyond the Ice: The Inspiring Journey of a Remarkable Athlete from Rochester Institute of Technology

    Smart Logistics in Warehousing – From Legacy Protocols to Green IoT – How Technology Is Reshaping the Sustainable Supply Chain – Logistics Viewpoints –

    Smart Logistics in Warehousing – From Legacy Protocols to Green IoT – How Technology Is Reshaping the Sustainable Supply Chain – Logistics Viewpoints –

    AI’s race in the dark with China – Axios

    The High-Stakes AI Race: Innovation and Competition in the Shadows

    Eagle Unveils Revolutionary X-Ray Technology at Pack Expo

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home General

Was Napoleon even short? Inside the history of discrimination against short men

November 23, 2023
in General
Was Napoleon even short? Inside the history of discrimination against short men
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

ByErin Blakemore

Published November 22, 2023

• 9 min read

How much do you make? How desirable is your spouse? How are you perceived? Your height could play a role in all these questions and more. Modern civilization is notoriously biased about height, heaping praise and privilege on the tall while minimizing and mocking society’s short kings.

Shorter men have it especially rough. Not only do they face those same biases but they’re also up against a unique stigma: the Napoleon complex.

Named for the tyrannical and aggressive dictator with ambitions far larger than his physical frame, pop psychologists began using this term in the early 20th century to describe short men with domineering personalities. Here’s how the so-called “Napoleon complex” came to be—and why historians still disagree about whether its namesake Napoleon Bonaparte was really all that short.

(The truth behind the turbulent love story of Napoleon and Joséphine.)

Who was Napoleon?

Napoleon Bonaparte first gained fame when he helped France wrest an unlikely victory against the Austrians in Italy in 1796—earning him the nickname the “Little Corporal.” His military prowess led to even more victories, all characterized by daring, even foolhardy, strategies. Hailed as a national hero, he seized political power over France in a 1799 coup. As emperor, he attempted to expand France’s reach across the world.

Napoleon had charisma and huge ambitions. But throughout his life and career, Napoleon was ridiculed for his short stature. His own soldiers gave him several pet names, most of which started with “le petit” (“the little”), and he was consistently portrayed by his critics as a tiny, pugnacious man who attempted to make up for his height by intimidating and dominating those around him.

The most enduring parodies were created by James Gillray, a British caricaturist who helped birth the modern political cartoon. Gillray never saw Napoleon in person. But he mocked the military leader as a childlike man intent on turning the world into his plaything, calling him “little Boney” and showing him as a toddler-like figure in too-large clothing. In one memorable 1803 cartoon, for example, British king George III literally holds the French leader in his palm, looking at him through a spyglass.

It would take a disastrous Russian campaign, a coalition among his European rivals, and the growing discontentment of the French people to bring Napoleon down. He was deposed in 1814 and spent nine months in exile on the Italian island of Elba—then briefly returned to mount a last stand at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The battle was a disaster, and Napoleon was forced back into exile until his death in 1821.

(Here’s what went wrong for Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.)

But how short was Napoleon really?

Just how short was Napoleon? Historians disagree on the answer. During his life, Napoleon was described as both slight and impressive, short and average.

Part of the ongoing confusion seems to stem from the difference in the French and English measuring systems. More than one Napoleon observer said he was about five foot six inches tall, and this was confirmed at his autopsy. But that was often expressed in France’s pre-Revolutionary measurement system. The French “pouce,” or “inch,” equaled 1.06 English inches, which meant that in France at the time, Napoleon was said to be five feet two inches tall.

Historians also point out that Napoleon was often seen in public in the presence of Old Guard grenadiers, who were required to be physically large and who wore uniforms that may have made the emperor look slight in comparison.

Then there’s the deception of appearances. One contemporary, nobleman and ambassador Hyde de Neuville, recalled thinking the man was short. But after Napoleon looked him in the eye during a 1799 meeting, he wrote in his memoirs, “I lost all my assurance under the fire of that questioning eye. To me he had suddenly grown taller by a hundred cubits.”

(Was Napoleon Bonaparte an enlightened leader or a tyrant?)

So why was Napoleon so relentlessly mocked? That might have come down to anxieties about his outsized ambitions, which prompted his enemies to try to cut him down to size. As art historian Constance McPhee writes, British cartoonists like Gillray “manipulated size and dress to symbolically deflate a threatening military opponent, and produced an image that communicates so effortlessly, we often forget it was invented.”

What is a “Napoleon complex”?

Regardless of his actual height, Napoleon inspired the theory that short men attempt to make up for their height with daring deeds. The term “Napoleon complex” was initially used to describe ambitious men in general, as in a 1928 article that complained about “the Napoleon complex in countless businessmen” determined to convince others they are something they are not.

Eventually, though, the idea of Napoleon got wrapped up in ideas of popular psychology, nudged along by one of the most famous psychological concepts of all time: the “inferiority complex.” Coined by legendary psychoanalyst Alfred Adler in the 1920s, the term initially described children driven by their small size and social insignificance to strive for power over their environment.

The public extended the idea of an inferiority complex to adults, too, and connected it with Napoleon’s historically contested stature. Eventually, people began to use the phrase “Napoleon complex” when they referred to domineering, and short, adults.

But modern critics see the idea of a Napoleon complex as evidence of an ongoing pattern of height discrimination, or “heightism,” a term coined by sociologists in the 1970s.

(Visit the remote island where Napoleon spent his final years.)

Studies have shown that short stature is associated with impaired quality of life in some men; in a 2017 study, for example, researchers found that men who experienced discrimination because of their height—or who simply wanted to be taller—were less satisfied with their lives than their counterparts. A 2014 analysis found that men’s height influences society’s perceptions of their mates, their share of household chores and income, and even how old they are when they marry. And taller people consistently get more leadership opportunities and more societal respect.

Is there any evidence that the Napoleon complex is real? Small studies have shown that shorter men may take more obvious risks than taller ones, especially when in the presence of taller men, and keep more resources to themselves when playing a game with a taller male opponent. But it’s unclear if their behavior is due to personal ambition or simply a response to discrimination.

What is clear is that the idea of a Napoleon complex enables people to look down on shorter men. It’s become an “insidious and hurtful stereotype,” writes Tanya Osensky in her book Shortchanged, and is part of a larger strategy of belittling and even publicly humiliating short people.

Such discrimination may be endemic to modern society, but that shouldn’t stop a short king. It certainly didn’t affect Bonaparte. “I am destined to be [my detractors’] prey, but I have no fear of becoming their victim,” he reportedly said shortly before his death in 1821. “The memory I leave behind consists of facts that mere words cannot destroy.”

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : National Geographic – https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/napoleon-complex-height-discrimination-men-history

Previous Post

A taste of Sierra Leone, from sizzling fired bites to soothing fish stews

Next Post

Ultra-processed food isn’t just bad for your health—it messes with your mind

Morning Buzz: Playfly Sports takes over media sales for three MLB teams – Sports Business Journal

Playfly Sports Scores Big with Media Sales Deal for Three MLB Teams

July 31, 2025
New DNA Analysis Allows Scientists To Identify Specific Animals by Their Feces – Smithsonian Institution

Breakthrough DNA Analysis Enables Scientists to Identify Animals Just from Their Feces

July 31, 2025
Some killer whales hunt in pairs to maximize their bounty – Science News

Some killer whales hunt in pairs to maximize their bounty – Science News

July 31, 2025
Be Like Blippi Week – Adventure Science Center

Join the Fun: Be Like Blippi Week at Adventure Science Center!

July 31, 2025
Martha Stewart questions Meghan Markle’s lifestyle brand: ‘Hope she knows what she’s talking about’ – Page Six

Martha Stewart Raises Eyebrows Over Meghan Markle’s Lifestyle Brand: “Hope She Knows What She’s Talking About

July 31, 2025
Trump Executive Order Ends De Minimis Exemption for Rest of World – The New York Times

Trump Executive Order Ends De Minimis Exemption for Rest of World – The New York Times

July 31, 2025
Mexico’s economy grew 0.7% in Q2, outpacing analysts’ forecasts – Mexico News Daily

Mexico’s economy grew 0.7% in Q2, outpacing analysts’ forecasts – Mexico News Daily

July 31, 2025
Sens. Blackburn, Warnock introduce CREATE Act to provide tax relief to music creators – Yahoo Home

Sens. Blackburn and Warnock Launch CREATE Act to Deliver Tax Relief for Music Creators

July 31, 2025
Malnutrition rates reach alarming levels in Gaza, WHO warns – World Health Organization (WHO)

Malnutrition rates reach alarming levels in Gaza, WHO warns – World Health Organization (WHO)

July 31, 2025
Ahead of Trade Deadline, Trump Threatens Canada for Backing Palestinian State – The New York Times

Trump Delivers Stark Warning to Canada Over Backing Palestinian State Ahead of Trade Deadline

July 31, 2025

Categories

Archives

July 2025
MTWTFSS
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031 
« Jun    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (747)
  • Economy (772)
  • Entertainment (21,652)
  • General (16,210)
  • Health (9,809)
  • Lifestyle (780)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (774)
  • Politics (781)
  • Science (15,985)
  • Sports (21,269)
  • Technology (15,751)
  • World (755)

Recent News

Morning Buzz: Playfly Sports takes over media sales for three MLB teams – Sports Business Journal

Playfly Sports Scores Big with Media Sales Deal for Three MLB Teams

July 31, 2025
New DNA Analysis Allows Scientists To Identify Specific Animals by Their Feces – Smithsonian Institution

Breakthrough DNA Analysis Enables Scientists to Identify Animals Just from Their Feces

July 31, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version