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Tall, dark and handsome may be the classic description of the perfect man - but a new online trend is seeing women buck the trend in favour of shorter guys.   

Social media users on TikTok and Twitter have been using the hashtag #ShortKingSpring online to share their love of men measuring up to 5'8' or less.

While the term 'short king' has been used online since 2018, it has grown increasingly popular on TikTok this year - with the hashtag #shortking reaching over 340m views on TikTok.

Many influencers have even been calling 2022, 'the year of the short king', while others have been celebrating a host of celebrity couples who embody the trend.  

In recent weeks, stars like Tom Holland, who is 5ft8in, Joe Jonas, 5ft 7in, and Keith Urban, 5ft 8in, have all walked the red carpet alongside their significantly taller partners.   

It is believed the trend began in 2018, when comedian Jaboukie Young-White tweeted: 'I'm f******* tired of 'short' used as an insult. 

''Short' gave you Donald Glover. 'Short' gave you Tom Holland. 'Short' gave you Daniel Kaluuya.

''Short' gave you Bruno f******g Mars. 

'Short kings are the enemy of body negativity, and I'll be forever proud to defend them.'

However, it is only in recent weeks that the term has picked up traction on social media, with term term 'Short Kings' quickly going viral on TikTok and Twitter. 

Among those who are pioneering the movement are Abbie Herbert on TikTok, and her smaller musician husband, Josh.

She often shares videos about the pair's height difference, including 'how to pose with a short king', and 'why height doesn't matter'. 

Speaking in a clip, she said: 'Tall queens and short kings, it's all about the illusions and the angles.'

Commenting on one popular video, TikTok user Jaida Boodram received 244k likes when she declared: 'It's short king spring.' 

Meanwhile on Twitter, users have taken to sharing their all-time favourite 'short kings', including Daniel Radcliffe, 5ft 5in, and Bruno Mars, 5ft 5in. 

Other smaller A-listers who have sent hearts fluttering online include Daniel Kaluuya, who is 5ft 6in. 

Holland has addressed his height difference with his girlfriend Zendaya on a number of occasions.

Last December, he liked an Instagram post shared by meme account LadBible, which was captioned: 'Shorter men are more sexually active than taller men – who would have thought ay.'   

And the trend is not just limited to Hollywood actors, with unlikely shorter pin-ups attracting attention online including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who measures up to just 5'7. 

Meanwhile Chancellor Rishi Sunak, 5ft 6in, has also attracted attention amid the trend.  

One social media user excited about the trend commented: 'I know nothing about his politics, but he's very handsome, so shout out to short king Rishi Sunak.'

Another wrote: 'Changing my hinge to hunder 6 foot #ShortKingSpring.'

A third commented: 'We all need to stop collectively perpetrating the lie that tall men are hotter.'

'5'4 is the new 6'4, rt if you agree,' another Twitter user commented.