Small Man syndrome. The Napoleon Complex

The Napoleon ComplexProbably more widely known as small man syndrome, the Napoleon complex is a type of inferiority complex normally associated with people of short stature. It is commonly attributed to short men who overcompensate by behaving in a manner that is excessively belligerent, hostile, or quarrelsome in their relationships with other people. I suppose the idea is that vertically challenged gentlemen may be driven to compensate for their supposed low self-esteem by pursuing highly ambitious goals in their professional life. The name for the complex is of course derived fromNapoléon Bonaparte, whose military and amorous conquests have been attributed to the desire to compensate for his diminutive size. He was said to be 5ft 2, but in reality, he was 5ft 6 or 5ft 7. In 2018 the Dutch evolutionary psychologist Mark van Vugt found evidence for the presence of the Napoleon complex among men with short stature. His research indicated that smaller men act more aggressive when negotiating with bigger men, which is very similar to be behaviors weal so found in the animal kingdom

[Jojo-oow]

I was camping at a men's only campsite just last weekend.. all gay guys and beside me was a shorter stocky guy... he walked around with his arms out like a gorilla and puffed up his chest all the time.. he smoked his cigarettes like john wayne.. i would sit at my fire sometimes drinking coffee and just watch him acting out like this... he finally came over to talk to me and immediately started telling me he was an airline pilot blah blah blah. He was a decent looking guy but omg itd be insufferable being around someone like that all the time. I also noticed everything i said.. my little jokes, he took the wrong way.. he got defensive with everything i said and each time i had to tell him it was a joke. bizarre little man

[KXKat]

Absolutely! My brother in-law (sister in-law’s husband) is a classic example, always trying to act like the “big brother” and giving unsolicited advice and doing everything he can to undermine me, in particular, as I’m 6’2” and the tallest in my wife’s family.

My mother in-law referred to him as SMS thanks to the comical and rude ways he tries to overcompensate.

[DatActiveGuy]

I hate the word vertically challenged, it sounds like a medical condition.

[StephenAndrew]

No one talks about this condition anymore. It's a detriment to society, too.

[KXKat]

Thinking back to HS days, I swear the bully jock stereotype was completely reversed. The taller jock guys were generally quite chill around others. It was the short class clowns who were the bullies and tried to start shit with the taller more attractive guys.

[AlaricsFather-in-Law-emkz]

A tall assertive guy = normal
A short assertive guy = Napoleon complex

It's bs.

[nickmeale]

One of my colleagues suffers greatly from Napolean Complex. A most striking coincidence is that his first name is actually Napolean. 'Naps', as he likes to be called, has a highly volitile anger issue, and the slightest remark will set him off. We are all very supportive, however, it's quite amusing to see him often become consumed by his own anger.

[Ganggank]

it's usually the skinnier or shorter guys that are beinf aggressive

[Waywind]

Tall man with ambition = 🥵
Short man with ambition = compensating

Judgmental people will always find ways at bolstering their own attributes whilst diminishing those of rivals.
It's highly successful I suppose and probably the reason our species is so sinister.

[hxnter_edits]

Im 5'7" myself and I had a teacher who was also short, but a bit taller than me. The fact that I was the only guy in my class shorter than him lead him to let all his anger and frustration out on me. He yelled at me severely times. Im a very calm and kind person myself, even tho I also got bullied and judged before, but I have to agree that this syndrome definitely exists. The thing is that society also has prejudices to people like me and every little mistake weights much more. Self defense gets seen as agressive behavior. If you go to the gym you just do it to cope your lack of manliness due to your height. And basically everything what others do is bad when you do it. Its the "halo effect" I guess. I totally think that people should not act like my teacher for an example, just bc they get judged, but I also think people should start to overthink if their judgment is fair rn or just based on looks

[wuer]

It's become an infection in America's police state and corporate world.

[jorgecallico]

Those who have the complex don''t suffer as much as those whom they take out their aggressive tendencies on.

In recent years I'm seeing this occur in lesbians in the workplace. Taking potshots at men because they know we can't fight back

[YourNavajoBro]

Manlets seethe and avert their gaze when i walk. Its ok though, i dont like pain either but im always ready to take it and dish it out

[markjohnson]

I've seen short man Syndromel way too often in my lifetime

[robertbell]

I’m 5’ 7” have been training Jiu jitsu for 9 years and would choke you out in 30 seconds or less fat man. Size means nothing and this so called complex is shite.

[DivingtoHELL]

I had a cop jam me up many years ago. He was short and was labeled locally as the little napoleon. He doesn’t live here anymore…. I Wonder what ever happened to the little guy.

(He got his ass beat and ran out of the county)

[ShonDaStorm]

Stop it! I didn't know this was a thing😮

[korosuke]

Amorous conquests? He couldn't even conquer the heart of his wife!

[CherishMarieXO]

Yes, my boyfriend of 30+ yrs. It is HORRIBLE. 😭🙏

[SlikWilly-gxbz]

coping strategies, we all suffer from them one way or another 🤔 the world is perceived to have more dangers therefore self preservation will attempt to rectify via homeostasis