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Prejudice around height and it's seeming acceptance among society.

Steel

Banned
It's still OK to make fun of Trump for his skin, hair, and hand size though, right?

His skin color is the result of fake tans, not natural. People aren't making fun of him for the color of his skin so much as the fact that he's a giant poser. People make fun of his hand size because he's so obsessed with it he's sent someone tracings of his hands regularly for years and brought it up during a national debate.
 

jfkgoblue

Member
I say being "tall" (I'm 6'2") is great most of the time until it isn't. Many places espcially older ones weren't built to accommodate people over 6', and hitting your head or have to constantly duck your head is annoying.

Also I fail to see how people preferring tall people is any different than slim people, its just another thing that determines attractiveness.
 

Syder

Member
This topic comes up a lot on GAF.

I've never seen heightism in the real world.

If you're 5' 9'', you're average male height for most places in the world. If someone has an issue with that, fuck them.
 

rambis

Banned
short men can lift weights and get comically huge so you have that going

I will say that shorter people seem to photograph better. I look crazy af in pictures unless the person holds the camera about nose high to me.

I think this is a white person issue.

5'7 and my height has only ever once been an issue, and that was trying out for basketball in high school.

It never comes up outside of this. Average Brown men height in the Americas is like 5'5.

Its not so much an issue as it is a stupid luxury.
 

Temascos

Neo Member
I had a rough time in school and early adult life, partly thanks to my height (5ft 3). It's humilating being a short guy, getting treated like a child because of it no matter what I do, dress or act. Even thoughtI am physically active, going to the gym, etc I get looks from the other guys like "GTFO short maggot, go to the playpen"

I don't blame people for preferring taller folks, but it's frustrating that people who I might otherwise get along with have no interest in me (Probably for the best in the long run though).

EDIT - I've also been randomly insulted in pubs by multiple people who don't give taller folks a second glance. I know it's because I look like a target but it pisses me off.
 

Samuraischnecke

Neo Member
My boyfriend just said: "Look, there is a thread for you!" and guided me here...
Guess that says enough about that... o_o"
I always get "mocked" about being quite small, but it's just my bf and some friends who do that. My reaction is apparently funny when I get "upset" easily.
But it is just jokes, nothing more. :3 (I think! :O)

The only troubles I have is that I am not a pretty... social person and when I am in a shop on my own and say have to pick up sth. from the top shelf I have trouble reaching... And even more trouble asking for help. /o\
So when people see me try to do that myself they always chuckle a bit and help me anyways. Making people smile is a pro I think. :)
Also nobody has ever actually laughed at me in a mean way, thank god.

Was different with my ex, who always had to tell me how he always had tall girlfriends and modelsizes... I really hated that because there really is nothing you can do and it's really unfair.. He actually wanted me to wear high heels at home, so he doesn't have to "trouble himself" too much.
He's my ex for a reason. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So just go on! The majority of people who even recognize my size is just really nice and fun about that. It's definitelly nothing to be ashamed of.
If you can't be tall, just be cute instead. :p
 
There's some things considered to be acceptable targets, height is one of them for some reason. It's just as rude as mocking anything else a person can't change about themselves. People are obsessed with physical perfection lately (though this may be an old man yells at cloud thing), and so it's easy to tear down someone for otherwise innocuous things they have no control over. It may also depend on what region/country you're in.

As far as dating goes, if a partner is that specific, then you just move the hell on. I've dated women way taller than me, and it was never an issue, same with women my height or shorter. Some people are just picky about their preferences. That's fine, but it's also a giant waste of time to be discouraged by it.
Well put.

I'm 5'3" which basically makes me a midget by American standards, heh. Fortunately, I'm not from the States, nor live there. Nevertheless, I still get some comments on my height when dating, though now that I'm nearing 40 I don't really care much about it; genetic lottery (my parents are also tiny), nothing I can do, etc. Several years ago I thought about hormone therapy but I didn't even look into it to be honest.

As for the OP...
It's something that is seen very often, especially on dating sites and especially on the profiles of women. "I'm 5'9, you must be at least 2 inches taller when I'm wearing heels". "I'm 5'7 - you must be taller".

Is it really any different from someone saying "I weigh 10 stones, you must weigh at least 2 stones lighter than me". Or "Small tits? Swipe left"
I'm not sure that this can be considered prejudice, though. Aren't those just physical preferences for partners? People have the right to "filter" potential partners based on whatever preferences they have. Prejudice would be saying something like "short people always look ridiculous no matter what they're wearing" or something like that.
Height prejudice is quite prevalent in the workplace also but it rarely gets the same coverage as other forms of prejudice. Being tall is associated with being confident and powerful whereas being short is often seen as the opposite (sub-consciously). People are often openly mocked about being short among their taller peers.
I have never ever experienced that, and I have never ever been mocked for my stature since middle school. And I'm short even for my country's standards (below women average). That's pretty fucked up if it's ever happened to you; I would report to HR if you feel mocked, discriminated against, etc due to a physical trait.
An example of this is the House of Commons leader John Bercow who has been called a "sanctimonious dwarf" and various other insults based around his physical stature.
I mean, people will be assholes. I'm not saying it's right, but people will often insult/mock others based on obvious physical traits. Like "big nose" or "bald", etc. They would insult him for being fat if he was that instead of short. It doesn't make it ok, it's just the way shitty people are, not a specific attack against short stature.
 

Daingurse

Member
If you're funny it doesn't matter how tall you are.

Nah, height is a deal breaker for many unfortunately. My mom probably would never date someone shorter than her in heels. She's been very vocal about it lol. She just doesn't find shorter men attactive.
 

electr8r

Member
This topic is something I can totally agree with. It's not just with height either. I may not particularly like Donald Trump, but hell does the "small hands" joke get old. I find it odd how far our society has come with prejudice in general, except when it comes to proportions of the body that's not weight. You have people in the media fighting against prejudice, but they still joke about the size of someone's hands.

When I was dating I would come across so many women's profiles requiring a certain height from a man. I mean people have a preference, but some were just so mean about it. The problem extends to women who are on average quite taller as well. These women have a barrier in terms of dating as well. Not a lot of men want to date someone a few inches taller than them.

While we are on the subject, penis size is something else that men are very conscious of. The media and a lot of people have made so many small penis jokes. Its acceptance in society goes even beyond height. A man with a small penis might as well dig a hole and bury himself according to many women.
 

gun_haver

Member
This topic comes up a lot on GAF.

I've never seen heightism in the real world.

If you're 5' 9'', you're average male height for most places in the world. If someone has an issue with that, fuck them.

Yeah, this is my hunch. It's possibly a part of a concoction of general insecurity - I think heightism does exist but I think it's much more low key and less of a hindrance than you might think from the frequency it gets discussed on NeoGaf.

Also shorter guys, consider this - if you're way taller than your girlfriend, it kind of limits sex options. Some stuff just doesn't line up. So if you're the same height or slightly taller/shorter, there's more stuff to try.
 
Being short or average sucks if you're on dating websites, I'm sorry short/average men. But, otherwise, the world is made for you.

I'm not even very tall (6'4"), but here are the things that get progressively worse the taller you get:
  • Cars
  • Flying
  • Trains
  • Movie theatres
  • Theatres / Concert halls (these are actually the worst, I don't go to theatres because most were built a century ago and are extremely physically uncomfortable... I was in physical pain at the end of 'Fiddler on the Roof,' legitimately almost walked out during the brutally long second act because the chairs in the old, historic theatre were horrible for anybody 6ft +)
  • Booths at restaurants
  • Desks
  • Pants
  • Shirts
  • Shoes, boots
  • Doorways
  • Beds
  • Old buildings
  • Ceiling fans
  • Boats
  • Bed sheets
  • Blankets
  • Hotels
  • Roller coasters
  • Most rides at theme parks
  • ...

So, average-sized guys, you've got your casual discrimination when dating... people discriminate against you because dating is a discriminatory thing by design... You're looking for someone you like and discriminating from people you don't like. Very tall people (6'6" +) have real structural and systematic discrimination when living their regular life, every day.
 

sphinx

the piano man
It's something that is seen very often, especially on dating sites and especially on the profiles of women. "I'm 5'9, you must be at least 2 inches taller when I'm wearing heels". "I'm 5'7 - you must be taller".

we gays have it easier than you straight guys in this regard. In the gay community guys don't give a damn about height,

they want either cock or ass, this means that your role in bed is what matters, if you are a short guy and you want the tall guy and the tall guy clearly states he's a bottom, you better be the horniest top in town.

you WILL get the tall guy lol
 

Metroxed

Member
These threads usually go well...

But to the point: Yes, there is some bias (subconsciuous or not) against short men and also against tall women. It has its roots on some old, sexist gender role-based ideas about how men should be "masculine" (masculinity being here defined as big, strong, protective, etc.) and how women should be "feminine" (here being defined as small, dainty, delicate, etc.).

It's a form of sexism that affects mostly men, as males are often judged and mocked due to not meeting these gender norms. Still very often you can hear women saying "I want a big/tall guy so I can feel protected"; very rarely there's a need of actual protection in a relationship, it all just goes back to that idea (with a very 50s feeling) that women are weak and fragile and should be protected by their men.

So men are expected by society to be tall (or at least taller than women), and if they're not they face mockery and sometimes even disdain.

In what refers to dating in particular (and as a 164cm/5'4'' tall man myself), I don't necessarily have anything against people having preferences - I do too - and while of course it makes me feel bad to know that many women find my height utterly unattractive, I accept it. However, some people (especially women online) go out of their way to belittle (no pun intended), mock and scorn short men due to their height, something completely out of anyone's control. What is more, that type of behaviour is not met with the same level of repudiation as mocking someone due to their weight, race or other unchangable physical attributes commonly are.

It seems like mocking men due to their height is just "ok" and sometimes even encouraged. But the most important thing to understand is that the idea that men "should" be tall is based on sexism, and that needs to change.
 

Morat

Banned
wasn't he not really that short for his time tho?

Apparently so. But it was a way to mock him that us Brits repeatedly used, using the age old short man thing:

Little-NB-Cartoon-2.jpg
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Nah, height is a deal breaker for many unfortunately. My mom probably would never date someone shorter than her in heels. She's been very vocal about it lol. She just doesn't find shorter men attactive.

You obviously need to work on your humor! /S
 

Nachos

Member
Yeah, they do.

I don't use such services really, but I know at the very least Match.com allows you to specify body types, in addition to other physical traits.
Not to mention that on things like Tinder, you can generally tell how heavy someone is, assuming they have decent pictures and aren't using angle tricks. It's always been a thing; it's just that it goes unsaid because it's a lot easier to gauge.
 
When it comes to dating, for sure.

I'm only 5'8'' but good-looking though. When I was dating my height was a deal breaker sometimes.

Thank god I'm married now and don't have to put up with that shit.
 
My boyfriend just said: "Look, there is a thread for you!" and guided me here...
Guess that says enough about that... o_o"
I always get "mocked" about being quite small, but it's just my bf and some friends who do that. My reaction is apparently funny when I get "upset" easily.
But it is just jokes, nothing more. :3 (I think! :O)

The only troubles I have is that I am not a pretty... social person and when I am in a shop on my own and say have to pick up sth. from the top shelf I have trouble reaching... And even more trouble asking for help. /o\
So when people see me try to do that myself they always chuckle a bit and help me anyways. Making people smile is a pro I think. :)
Also nobody has ever actually laughed at me in a mean way, thank god.

Was different with my ex, who always had to tell me how he always had tall girlfriends and modelsizes... I really hated that because there really is nothing you can do and it's really unfair.. He actually wanted me to wear high heels at home, so he doesn't have to "trouble himself" too much.
He's my ex for a reason. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So just go on! The majority of people who even recognize my size is just really nice and fun about that. It's definitelly nothing to be ashamed of.
If you can't be tall, just be cute instead. :p

To be fair, men don't care as much about height as women do.

I used to joke how I prefer shorter women because it made my dick look bigger. LOL
 
It's funny when I see short girls prefer guys to be 6 foot plus or call themselves "fun sized".

Im not super short, but there are so many open profiles that strictly ask for 6 foot.
 
I don't think I have ever seen or heard someone mention height that wasn't morbidley obese.

If a tinder profile mentions height it's basically a lock that the photos are 100 pounds out of date.
 
I'm 5'3" and I've gotten shit my whole life for being short. Teased and ridiculed all the way through middle school and high school, even in tech school. And yeah, it's like people have a need to call it out whenever possible. All I can be thankful for at this point when it comes to my height is that my friends don't care and that my boyfriend is the same height as me.

Otherwise it does kinda suck. People do treat you differently.
 

jfkgoblue

Member
My boyfriend just said: "Look, there is a thread for you!" and guided me here...
Guess that says enough about that... o_o"
I always get "mocked" about being quite small, but it's just my bf and some friends who do that. My reaction is apparently funny when I get "upset" easily.
But it is just jokes, nothing more. :3 (I think! :O)

The only troubles I have is that I am not a pretty... social person and when I am in a shop on my own and say have to pick up sth. from the top shelf I have trouble reaching... And even more trouble asking for help. /o\
So when people see me try to do that myself they always chuckle a bit and help me anyways. Making people smile is a pro I think. :)
Also nobody has ever actually laughed at me in a mean way, thank god.

Was different with my ex, who always had to tell me how he always had tall girlfriends and modelsizes... I really hated that because there really is nothing you can do and it's really unfair.. He actually wanted me to wear high heels at home, so he doesn't have to "trouble himself" too much.
He's my ex for a reason. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So just go on! The majority of people who even recognize my size is just really nice and fun about that. It's definitelly nothing to be ashamed of.
If you can't be tall, just be cute instead. :p

To be fair, it doesn't have the same effect on women as it does men, height is strongly associated with masculinity.
 

ZOONAMI

Junior Member
Well put.

I'm 5'3" which basically makes me a midget by American standards, heh. Fortunately, I'm not from the States, nor live there. Nevertheless, I still get some comments on my height when dating, though now that I'm nearing 40 I don't really care much about it; genetic lottery (my parents are also tiny), nothing I can do, etc. Several years ago I thought about hormone therapy but I didn't even look into it to be honest.

As for the OP...

I'm not sure that this can be considered prejudice, though. Aren't those just physical preferences for partners? People have the right to "filter" potential partners based on whatever preferences they have. Prejudice would be saying something like "short people always look ridiculous no matter what they're wearing" or something like that.

I have never ever experienced that, and I have never ever been mocked for my stature since middle school. And I'm short even for my country's standards (below women average). That's pretty fucked up if it's ever happened to you; I would report to HR if you feel mocked, discriminated against, etc due to a physical trait.

I mean, people will be assholes. I'm not saying it's right, but people will often insult/mock others based on obvious physical traits. Like "big nose" or "bald", etc. They would insult him for being fat if he was that instead of short. It doesn't make it ok, it's just the way shitty people are, not a specific attack against short stature.

I mean isn't the definition of prejudice having preconceived notions? If someone has never dated a shorter person and is automatically barring the possibility of dating them, that's prejudice. If they have dated someone under a certain height and didn't like it for whatever reason, then that's a preference. I think not finding someone attractive on the basis of height alone is pretty shallow at least. Like if someone is otherwise extremely attractive, in shape, good personality, you're really going to pass because some arbitrary height restriction?
 
Here's a fun thought experiment.

Imagine any tall guys you know. Maybe a popular friend of yours, or your stern step dad, or whoever. They can even be actors.

Now imagine those same people to be short.

In your own thoughts even they immediately get less respect. I think it's just part of being human. The smaller someone is, the less threat level they have and therefore the less respect you will be inspired to give them.

This is all conjecture, but doesn't it feel to be true? Seriously. Imagine a favorite tall guy, now cut him down 1 or 2 feet. There's a completely different feeling about them.
 

Trojita

Rapid Response Threadmaker
I think this is a white person issue.

5'7 and my height has only ever once been an issue, and that was trying out for basketball in high school.

It never comes up outside of this. Average Brown men height in the Americas is like 5'5.

Not everything is a white person issue lol.
 
Here's a fun thought experiment.

Imagine any tall guys you know. Maybe a popular friend of yours, or your stern step dad, or whoever. They can even be actors.

Now imagine those same people to be short.

In your own thoughts even they immediately get less respect. I think it's just part of being human. The smaller someone is, the less threat level they have and therefore the less respect you will be inspired to give them.

This is all conjecture, but doesn't it feel to be true? Seriously. Imagine a favorite tall guy, now cut him down 1 or 2 feet. There's a completely different feeling about them.

Natural selection.
 
I'm 5'6" and white. It honestly never comes up in my day to day life, except when my SO and I joke about it because she's 5'9".

If I spend my time thinking about my height and how people might potentially react to it, then I can get myself really worked up. But I can't change it, and I have a lot of other good stuff going on, so I try to focus on other things.

When I visited Japan, I almost felt tall. It was kind of neat.
 

Samuraischnecke

Neo Member
To be fair, it doesn't have the same effect on women as it does men, height is strongly associated with masculinity.

Yeah right, I kinda didn't think about men in that case...
Guess I just don't really recognize a man for being short or tall. :eek:

Also maybe because it is hard to see how tall a person is fram a low angle. :p (jk)
 
I'm pretty short by world standards (5'7"), and I've definitely encountered heightism. It doesn't help that I'm an athletic slim person as well (who cycles, runs, and does some weight lifting), people will mock both of those.

I find there's a terrible double standard when it comes to height vs other body characteristics, weight being the most notorious one. Getting called a "manlet" would be like an obese person getting called a "whale" or something like that. If one is not socially accepted, the other one shouldn't be either.
 

g11

Member
I'm 6'4 and every time I have to get on a long-haul flight, I am jelly of all the shorter people who's legs aren't going to have to fold up like an accordion for 8+ hours. That said, planes aside, I like being "tall". Not sure I want to be any taller though. 6'6 is about when everything starts becoming a problem, or so I've heard from my taller friend.
 

Mesousa

Banned
Not everything is a white person issue lol.

A guy that's 5'7-5'9 crying about height certainly is though.

The premise comes across as absurd.

Being 5'7 would make you on the taller end, if not the tallest, in a room of men from the VAST VAST VAST majority of this planet.
 
I know this won't go over well here on GAF, but I think there's just as much of a height pay gap as there is a gender pay gap. It's a shame that there are politicians working tirelessly to end the gender pay gap, but the height pay gap is completely and utterly ignored by politicians and activists alike. I also believe both the gender pay gap and height pay gap have crossover. And one of the reason why women don't get paid as much as men is due to the fact they are on average 5 inches shorter than men.



http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/Careers/02/02/cb.tall.people/index.html
 

F0rneus

Tears in the rain
Here's a fun thought experiment.

Imagine any tall guys you know. Maybe a popular friend of yours, or your stern step dad, or whoever. They can even be actors.

Now imagine those same people to be short.

In your own thoughts even they immediately get less respect. I think it's just part of being human. The smaller someone is, the less threat level they have and therefore the less respect you will be inspired to give them.

This is all conjecture, but doesn't it feel to be true? Seriously. Imagine a favorite tall guy, now cut him down 1 or 2 feet. There's a completely different feeling about them.

No? The man I respect the most in my life, my mentor, my teacher had stunted growth because of something that happened (No idea what) when he was being born and he is a tiny little man. Below 5 feet. He's the best teacher I've ever had, and he just had a baby with one of the hottest redheads I've ever seen.

I have small friends. I have tall friends. I have a tall lady friend. Height doesn't matter. What the fuck lol?
 
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