Height Rule
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| Synonyms: | Big Guy, Little Guy |
| See also: | seme, uke, Size Kink, slash tropes, The Smaller Man, Yaoi, Height Difference |
 captioned vidcap from the The Chakotay/Paris Writers' Support Group. Chakotay is shorter than Paris but in C/P fanfiction Chakotay usually topped and Paris was described as shorter. | |
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The height rule claims that the taller partner in a yaoi or slash relationship tops, with no regards to the characters' canon relationship or personalities (an exception may be made for blondes). Some fanwriters and fanartists will actually make a character shorter than they are in canon, so that their pairing of choice follows the height rule. [1]
The height rule is one of the common seme/uke stereotypes in fanfiction, often found along with dark and blond coloration for the seme and uke respectively. It has been suggested as the clearest physical indicator of seme and uke roles, as well as a 'feminizing' of the uke partner, as a holdover from idealized heterosexual relationships.[2]
References
- ^ Height is not Puissance (Accessed Sept. 29, 2010)
- ^ No new territory covered here... [dead link], posted September 05, 2004; accessed April 17, 2009.