Heightism

[The PredBen]

I thought I'd make a thread here about heightism. As a short guy myself, I can say without a doubt that there is a bias against short men in most cultures. Possibly short women as well, but I don't know about that. While it is true that short men who are white (keep in mind, not all short guys are white), have never had their civil rights violated like women and people of color over the past few centuries, there certainly is a stigma in society against short men. I mean, here's a simple example right here: A short guy who is ambitious has short man syndrome, he's compensating for his lack of height by trying to get power. A tall man who is ambitious, however, has nothing wrong with him. He's simply ambitious. I won't even get into how women who are 5'2" (158 cm) insist on only dating men are 6'0" (183 cm) tall.

Has anybody here suffered from heightism? Have you known anybody who has? Were you even aware such a bias against short individuals (primary men) exists in many societies? Most CEOs are well above average height, a few are average, and only a tiny minority are below average? Coincidence, obviously not. Society says tall = good, short = bad.

Here's a video that really shows just how society, on many levels, is bias against short men. Although I admit, most of the short guys in the video are rather ... odd.

Spoiler

http://vimeo.com/6780321

[close]

[Magegg]

Really?

Short women are DA BOMB here in Mexico    You'd be surprised how valued are the 'chaparritas' right here (and how many of them there are...)

[KirklandSignature]

Heard somewhere that if man is under 5'9 they are pretty much invisible to most women.

[Sabby]

I'll never understand that. Size hasn't been a desirable trait for a long damn time, especially in the modern age where brain power is far more useful.

[whiterabbit]

Not trying to chide anyone but isn't height directly related to the availability of high protein food and quality of life more than anything?

Yea there is a little height-ism and it goes both ways. However for the most part there's a whole lot more practical ways of being a prick in society. Of course short people need not apply to play baseball. Also you do see a lot of ads that state height requirements. Another funny thing is that the USAF used to prefer recruiting taller men until they found out that short people can handle g-forces significantly better. Now being short helps. As far as white/blue collar goes, it doesn't matter. We're all made of the same shit. Same deal with dating. It's just preferences. Nothing wrong with that. The media does sell a misguided view of society as well.

Then again it does not matter. We never talk face to face anymore. Everyone looks the same height on a monitor.

5'11

[Vertigo]

Personally, I and my half-brother got bullied at school for being 'too tall', so I think it all basically stems from a fundamental, typically subconscious fear of people who're different from the majority. I'm also not sure whether it notably persists beyond childhood.

A lot of Hollywood heart-throbs are short or below average height, so I don't know if any societal bias against short men is as serious or as real as it must feel to you if you've been subjected to a hurtful joke.

[The PredBen]

Personally, I and my half-brother got bullied at school for being 'too tall', so I think it all basically stems from a fundamental, typically subconscious fear of people who're different from the majority. I'm also not sure whether it notably persists beyond childhood.

A lot of Hollywood heart-throbs are short or below average height, so I don't know if any societal bias against short men is as serious or as real as it must feel to you if you've been subjected to a hurtful joke.

And yet, all of these Hollywood heart throbs wear things like lifts or alter camera angles during filming to appear taller. And a lot of the "short heart throbs" of Hollywood aren't even that short. Tom Cruise at 5'7.5" (171 cm) isn't even that short of a guy, he's simply below average height. And how often are you going to see a good looking, short guy as the lead in a romance movie? It isn't going to happen. In most Hollywood movies, the tall guy is the leading man. The short guy is the comedic sidekick. There are obviously exceptions - Dustin Hoffman, Michael J Fox, for example - but it isn't too common.

[Bat Chain Puller]

My wife has told me that she could never be with a man shorter than she is. And she admits that's pretty damn shallow.

There is a guy at work that constantly makes height jokes about himself. As if heading everyone off to the punch. I try not to pat him on the head and say encouraging things.

I myself have been hard on the little fellas. Especially the ones that have Napoleon syndrome. I whistle the Hobbit theme from LOTR when they come around.

[Sabby]

Personally, I and my half-brother got bullied at school for being 'too tall', so I think it all basically stems from a fundamental, typically subconscious fear of people who're different from the majority. I'm also not sure whether it notably persists beyond childhood.

A lot of Hollywood heart-throbs are short or below average height, so I don't know if any societal bias against short men is as serious or as real as it must feel to you if you've been subjected to a hurtful joke.

And yet, all of these Hollywood heart throbs wear things like lifts or alter camera angles during filming to appear taller. And a lot of the "short heart throbs" of Hollywood aren't even that short. Tom Cruise at 5'7.5" (171 cm) isn't even that short of a guy, he's simply below average height. And how often are you going to see a good looking, short guy as the lead in a romance movie? It isn't going to happen. In most Hollywood movies, the tall guy is the leading man. The short guy is the comedic sidekick. There are obviously exceptions - Dustin Hoffman, Michael J Fox, for example - but it isn't too common.

The action stars of the Bollywood movies I've seen all seem to be short and a chubby.

[LastSurvivor92]

I'm 6'4, weigh 230 pounds and where a size 16 in the US. I'm a big guy and the most i've ever gotten is "Your tall, you don't have boats for feet, you have ships."

[The PredBen]

My wife has told me that she could never be with a man shorter than she is. And she admits that's pretty damn shallow.

There is a guy at work that constantly makes height jokes about himself. As if heading everyone off to the punch. I try not to pat him on the head and say encouraging things.

I myself have been hard on the little fellas. Especially the ones that have Napoleon syndrome. I whistle the Hobbit theme from LOTR when they come around.

Napoleon syndrome isn't even a real thing. It's simply a term used to put down short guys who happen to also be overachievers. A short guy who is an overachiever has a "Napoleon complex". A tall man who is an overachiever is ... simply ambitious. See, the fact that this term even exists shows that are society has something against short guys. Because obviously the only reason a short man wants wealth/fame/power/influence is because he lacks height. 

Personally, I and my half-brother got bullied at school for being 'too tall', so I think it all basically stems from a fundamental, typically subconscious fear of people who're different from the majority. I'm also not sure whether it notably persists beyond childhood.

A lot of Hollywood heart-throbs are short or below average height, so I don't know if any societal bias against short men is as serious or as real as it must feel to you if you've been subjected to a hurtful joke.

And yet, all of these Hollywood heart throbs wear things like lifts or alter camera angles during filming to appear taller. And a lot of the "short heart throbs" of Hollywood aren't even that short. Tom Cruise at 5'7.5" (171 cm) isn't even that short of a guy, he's simply below average height. And how often are you going to see a good looking, short guy as the lead in a romance movie? It isn't going to happen. In most Hollywood movies, the tall guy is the leading man. The short guy is the comedic sidekick. There are obviously exceptions - Dustin Hoffman, Michael J Fox, for example - but it isn't too common.

The action stars of the Bollywood movies I've seen all seem to be short and a chubby.

I've seen one Bollywood movie in my life, and the leading man was by far the tallest man in the cast. However, considering it wasn't an action movie, perhaps you're right. If so, congrats to the Indians for overcoming a deeply routed anti-short man bias that most people would rather not acknowledge even exists.

[BelatedGamer]

Personally, I and my half-brother got bullied at school for being 'too tall', so I think it all basically stems from a fundamental, typically subconscious fear of people who're different from the majority. I'm also not sure whether it notably persists beyond childhood.

A lot of Hollywood heart-throbs are short or below average height, so I don't know if any societal bias against short men is as serious or as real as it must feel to you if you've been subjected to a hurtful joke.

And yet, all of these Hollywood heart throbs wear things like lifts or alter camera angles during filming to appear taller. And a lot of the "short heart throbs" of Hollywood aren't even that short. Tom Cruise at 5'7.5" (171 cm) isn't even that short of a guy, he's simply below average height. And how often are you going to see a good looking, short guy as the lead in a romance movie? It isn't going to happen. In most Hollywood movies, the tall guy is the leading man. The short guy is the comedic sidekick. There are obviously exceptions - Dustin Hoffman, Michael J Fox, for example - but it isn't too common.

I would argue that isn't because tall=better, it's because normal=better.  The studios want to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, and having their lead be an average height facilitates that.

[The PredBen]

Personally, I and my half-brother got bullied at school for being 'too tall', so I think it all basically stems from a fundamental, typically subconscious fear of people who're different from the majority. I'm also not sure whether it notably persists beyond childhood.

A lot of Hollywood heart-throbs are short or below average height, so I don't know if any societal bias against short men is as serious or as real as it must feel to you if you've been subjected to a hurtful joke.

And yet, all of these Hollywood heart throbs wear things like lifts or alter camera angles during filming to appear taller. And a lot of the "short heart throbs" of Hollywood aren't even that short. Tom Cruise at 5'7.5" (171 cm) isn't even that short of a guy, he's simply below average height. And how often are you going to see a good looking, short guy as the lead in a romance movie? It isn't going to happen. In most Hollywood movies, the tall guy is the leading man. The short guy is the comedic sidekick. There are obviously exceptions - Dustin Hoffman, Michael J Fox, for example - but it isn't too common.

I would argue that isn't because tall=better, it's because normal=better.  The studios want to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, and having their lead be an average height facilitates that.

Maybe, but maybe not. Daniel Craig is 5'10" (178 cm), so he's average height for a white British or American male. And yet, people complained when he was first cast as James Bond, because they felt he was too short for the role. At 6'1" (185 cm) Henry Cavill is several inches taller than the average white American man. And yet, people still felt that he was too short to portray the Man of Steel. The historical figure Lawrence of Arabia stood only 5'5" (165 cm) in height. And yet on the big screen he was portrayed by actor Peter O'Toole, who stood at 6'2" (188 cm).

I agree that in movies about "average Joes" people probably would just want the main guy to be average height. He is, after all, just an ordinary guy. But in movies about exceptional male individuals, people want to see the main character be tall. A movie about a garbage man who somehow finds a rare piece of jewelry in the trash? Sure, let him be average height. But a movie about a man who is a part time badass, part time lady killer, full time general saving humanity from a horde of evil aliens? He's got to be tall.

[Sabby]

My wife has told me that she could never be with a man shorter than she is. And she admits that's pretty damn shallow.

There is a guy at work that constantly makes height jokes about himself. As if heading everyone off to the punch. I try not to pat him on the head and say encouraging things.

I myself have been hard on the little fellas. Especially the ones that have Napoleon syndrome. I whistle the Hobbit theme from LOTR when they come around.

Napoleon syndrome isn't even a real thing. It's simply a term used to put down short guys who happen to also be overachievers. A short guy who is an overachiever has a "Napoleon complex". A tall man who is an overachiever is ... simply ambitious. See, the fact that this term even exists shows that are society has something against short guys. Because obviously the only reason a short man wants wealth/fame/power/influence is because he lacks height. 

Personally, I and my half-brother got bullied at school for being 'too tall', so I think it all basically stems from a fundamental, typically subconscious fear of people who're different from the majority. I'm also not sure whether it notably persists beyond childhood.

A lot of Hollywood heart-throbs are short or below average height, so I don't know if any societal bias against short men is as serious or as real as it must feel to you if you've been subjected to a hurtful joke.

And yet, all of these Hollywood heart throbs wear things like lifts or alter camera angles during filming to appear taller. And a lot of the "short heart throbs" of Hollywood aren't even that short. Tom Cruise at 5'7.5" (171 cm) isn't even that short of a guy, he's simply below average height. And how often are you going to see a good looking, short guy as the lead in a romance movie? It isn't going to happen. In most Hollywood movies, the tall guy is the leading man. The short guy is the comedic sidekick. There are obviously exceptions - Dustin Hoffman, Michael J Fox, for example - but it isn't too common.

The action stars of the Bollywood movies I've seen all seem to be short and a chubby.

I've seen one Bollywood movie in my life, and the leading man was by far the tallest man in the cast. However, considering it wasn't an action movie, perhaps you're right. If so, congrats to the Indians for overcoming a deeply routed anti-short man bias that most people would rather not acknowledge even exists.

It was Singham and another one, I can't remember the name, but both revolved around some short and stocky Mary Sue who would just go around flipping off everything to do with the Government. And when I say flip off, I mean kick it out of the stratosphere.

They weren't very good movies, but what confused me was these men weren't attractive or ugly (at least, from my White Person perspective), they were just very plain looking, slightly fat, big mustache, shorter then most of the people around him, and borderline rapists. They casually stalk women and just act blatantly misogynistic, but it's seen as entirely okay. Whoever the romantic interest is always ends up falling for it. It was kind of uncomfortable.

I don't know if it's some kind of parody that is flying over my head or if India is just that different. Either way, I think I'd take your American action star.

[HappyAlien]

Funny how heaps of women on dating sites claim they will only go with a guy who is six foot (183cm) or taller. yet I can imagine how angry they would get with guys if they had on their dating profiles   'only interested in women 58kg and under' on their dating profiles. Nutrition esp in the first five years of life is important  but you are mostly limited by genetics in regard to your height.
Always wondered if they meet the man of their dreams but he's 181-2 cm tall and falls short by an inch or so will they still not date him?

Most people have far more control over their weight than their height yet look at the fat acceptance movement in America, its fine for women to knock back guys for being an inch or two too short, but god forbid a man won't find a woman who is 100 pounds overweight attractive. They showed in the newspapers over here in Australia what the average woman was like and I'm sorry to say she had legs like tree trunks and cankles. Im not going to be too worried about being under 6 feet as long as I am in good shape because more and more people will be getting so fat they will be riding around in scooters .