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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.

In my experience, the people who would the word "manlet" would also use "whale."

 

[The Albatross]

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

Yep, for sure. Height can also be very desirable for women, where as very short men are usually not desirable. Like, films, modeling, and glamourized industries seem to really focus on tall women, or women with long legs, etc. It's very rare for a short man to be desirable, even successful short men have historically tried to hide their shortness (Tom Cruise) or they make it part of their comic persona (Kevin Hart or Danny Devito, Paul Simon to a degree)

 

[lightskintwin]

Find women/partners who don't care and move on.

This

Or wallow in your self pity about the women/partners who do care and you never had a chance to begin with.

 

[jfkgoblue]

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.



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

I just guess that I am super lucky with being white, male, and above average height (6'2") I am just swimming in privilege.

 

[Platy]

People have every kind of preferences... and don't forget to tell that you are short beforehand or else the person will feel bad for dating you if in sex they discover you were wearing heels or anything that makes you look smaller than the person who you were dating imagined you to be. Better be safe than sorry

 

[teh_pwn]

Yeah, I've noticed it's gotten a lot more explicit. I'm happily married and I'm a hair under average height for men, but I see extended friends have so much trouble dating because they're 5'6" and women even say directly "what do you call a guy shorter than 5'11" - friend". It always gets me when it's people that are < 5"5 making that kind of statement because pretty much most of their ancestors were shorter than their target.

Honestly I prefer my height. My observation is that once you're in the 6'2" range so many everyday things are too damn small for you.

 

[TimeEffect]

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?

Youre a good person though. You can bet that your teacher experiences discrimination and taunting every day from school students

 

[wandering]

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.

Isn't the average height in Japan 5'7"?

 

[Epsilon-delta]

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.



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

I don't know why you think this will not go well. There are plenty of studies showing there is a height pay gap.

It's the reality we live in.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

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.

Spend 5 minutes on Tinder.

I'd say I get attention disproportionate to my looks based solely on my height listed in my profile (6'4").

 

[sixteen-bit]

Height Supremacist

omg

 

[Lonestar]

I just guess that I am super lucky with being white, male, and above average height (6'2") I am just swimming in privilege.

ugh, and you're a michigan fan, too.

 

[psynergylover]

6'4" here and it preety sweet!...except for getting in certain car seats, theatre seats, airplane seats....And swear spiders biuld their webs like directly at 6ft...



But the short girls love me

 

[Akuun]

I see it as the same thing as a preference for a certain look. I don't think there's anything wrong with gravitating towards a certain style, or thinking one hair color looks better than another.

The problem is when people draw a hard line along their preferences and expect to ONLY date people who fit every single one of those preferences, or belittle those who don't fit or agree with those preferences. That's unrealistic and shallow at best, and I imagine people who are so strict about those things have trouble finding dates or long-lasting relationships.

In reality, relationships are about finding someone who you like enough to accept them for who they are, instead of trying to find reasons to boot them out in your mind. It's unrealistic to think that you'll find someone who has exactly your preferences in looks, is single, fits all your preferences personality-wise, and wants to date you on top of all that. That's some fairy tale TV show shit right there. If you like someone, you most likely won't care if they don't have your favorite hair color or your preferred height or anything. Those things are usually the last thing on your mind because they simply aren't that important in the grand scheme of things.

I feel like laying out a list of dealbreakers in your head such as "not tall enough for me" is doing yourself a great disservice, dating-wise. There are plenty of people who you may like if you gave them a chance, even if they don't fit your ideal looks.

 

[mjc]

.

 

[chicken_pasta]

In my experience, the people who would the word "manlet" would also use "whale."

Oh totally, but society tends to punish one and not the other, or at least not as much. I've read a couple posters in this thread throwing around "manlet", and so far I haven't seen much outrage. I'm guessing if fat shaming was going on, you'd see a bigger reaction from other members and maybe even a short ban.

 

[RedHill]

If you cannot change a feature of yourself or prevent said feature from coming into being with minimal effort then it's on the same level of racism to discriminate against it IMO.

This includes:

- Skin color
- Eye color
- Height
- Hair type

etc.

BRUH not even one page in jfc

 

[mike6467]

I'm 6'2" and it's pretty neat. Except when people at the grocery store ask me to get things for them on the top shelf.

Lol, I met my last girlfriend that way. I'm 6'2" and she was 4'11". I would often walk into the kitchen in the morning to find her climbing on my counters to reach stuff.

What the fuck? Are you close with any of these people? Like buddies? I'm guessing not just based on what you posted.

I'm a redhead and have dealt with some weird stuff professionally and while dating because of it. Until I got on Tinder I didn't realize there is a sizable number of women who are really into redheads, awesome! There's also a non-trivial amount that have openly said that they will never touch a redhead and are actively offended by us.

Professionally, or with new acquaintances, you get this odd situation where people feel they have the right to make certain jokes, even if they don't know you. We had a new group lead come in and speak in front of about 200 people, he used the term "red headed step child" in a pretty derogatory manner. A few people turned to look at me, and when he glanced over he doubled down on it, and then spent a few minutes explaining why I could still be useful to the company even without a soul. This was all piggybacked onto a speech about doing the best with what you've got. It was really, really strange, but he was managing from another office so I never really dealt with it again.

I'm not even offended by the jokes, but it never sat well with me that it was acceptable to insult people you don't even know like that, and expect them to just embrace it. I'd imagine it's the same with height and other traits as is being mentioned here.

 

[Peltz]

Spend 5 minutes on Tinder.

I'd say I get attention disproportionate to my looks based solely on my height listed in my profile (6'4").

I think they just assume your wiener is proportionately large too... especially if you mention you're a Gaffer because everyone knows Gaffers are tripods.

 

[FunkyPajamas]

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?

Sure it's shallow, but I don't agree that it's necessarily a preconceived notion.

Saying something like "I don't date fat people people they're lazy" is a preconceived notion (not all fat people are lazy, and I've seen some fat people that are more agile than I will ever be). I assume something similar for short people would be "I don't like short people because they're not strong to lift me up" or something. To be honest I can't even think of an example that makes sense.

"I don't like short people" is as shallow as "I don't like fat people". But it's not a preconceived notion, nor is it prejudice. It's a "shallow" preference for a specific physical trait. And again, I agree its "shallow" if we're talking about people evaluating potential partners based on physical instead of personality traits, but I'm not going to call it prejudice and I wouldn't even dream of comparing it to racism.

I have physical preferences for what I consider attractive, like, right when I meet someone I can either be physically attracted to that person based on their looks, but if I have to time to get to meet that person I can be turned off due to personality traits. The opposite is true as well: I may not find someone physically attractive right away due to certain traits, but I can sure as hell find them attractive after hanging out for a while and getting to know them.

Neither men nor women have the obligation to sit down and have a conversation with someone they consider physically unattractive, just to give them a chance to become attracted to them on the basis of their personality. It's cool if it happens, but it's on them to make that choice. Online dating is mostly about looks unless you can show in your profile that you're someone that's worth at least meeting once. If you're chatting with someone and they ask for a specific physical trait to "filter" by, then perhaps that person isn't worth your time?

 

[Zee-Row]

I don't use dating sites for that reason. Women on dating sites only seek perfection. Your only chance is to meet people in public places.

 

[Raptomex]

Lol, I met my last girlfriend that way. I'm 6'2" and she was 4'11". I would often walk into the kitchen in the morning to find her climbing on my counters to reach stuff.



I'm a redhead and have dealt with some weird stuff professionally and while dating because of it. Until I got on Tinder I didn't realize there is a sizable number of women who are really into redheads, awesome! There's also a non-trivial amount that have openly said that they will never touch a redhead and are actively offended by us.

Professionally, or with new acquaintances, you get this odd situation where people feel they have the right to make certain jokes, even if they don't know you. We had a new group lead come in and speak in front of about 200 people, he used the term "red headed step child" in a pretty derogatory manner. A few people turned to look at me, and when he glanced over he doubled down on it, and then spent a few minutes explaining why I could still be useful to the company even without a soul. This was all piggybacked onto a speech about doing the best with what you've got. It was really, really strange, but he was managing from another office so I never really dealt with it again.

I'm not even offended by the jokes, but it never sat well with me that it was acceptable to insult people you don't even know like that, and expect them to just embrace it. I'd imagine it's the same with height and other traits as is being mentioned here.

This is my thing. For example, my mom is 5'0". I love her to death and she's aware she's small. We all joke around about it. But I know her. I don't just go up to random people or go to work and just start making fun of people.

 

[Boy Wander]

This

Or wallow in your self pity about the women/partners who do care and you never had a chance to begin with.

This could equally apply to pretty much any physical characteristic. Except it wouldn't be deemed acceptable.

That wasn't really the point of the thread.

I'm 5'7 so I'm a little under average height but it's not something that I'm overly bothered about, especially as I've gotten older and I give much less of a shit what people think about me than I did when I was younger. The point was more that some people find it a sensitive subject and yet it's ok to mock short people or tell them to "get over it", when it's not acceptable to do so for other physical characteristics.

 

[The Albatross]

Oh totally, but society tends to punish one and not the other, or at least not as much. I've read a couple posters in this thread throwing around "manlet", and so far I haven't seen much outrage. I'm guessing if fat shaming was going on, you'd see a bigger reaction from other members and maybe even a short ban.

Never heard/seen manlet before, but I'm sure if someone used a derogatory word for a small person, like calling someone a 'dwarf' or a 'midget' it would get a strong negative reaction. Manlet is a word I've never heard before and I suspect, like the other user, that anybody who uses it also says a lot of horrible words and people judge them for it.

 

[Akuun]

Professionally, or with new acquaintances, you get this odd situation where people feel they have the right to make certain jokes, even if they don't know you. We had a new group lead come in and speak in front of about 200 people, he used the term "red headed step child" in a pretty derogatory manner. A few people turned to look at me, and when he glanced over he doubled down on it, and then spent a few minutes explaining why I could still be useful to the company even without a soul. This was all piggybacked onto a speech about doing the best with what you've got. It was really, really strange, but he was managing from another office so I never really dealt with it again.

Damn, that guy was a real piece of shit for acting like that.

 

[Glass Rebel]

I am somewhere between 5'8 to 5'9 so about average, maybe slightly below. I don't think it has ever affected me considerably in life, not more than ethnicity has. And even then, I'm a white, straight male so...

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.

Here's another thought experiment.

Imagine yourself with a brain.

Now write a post.

 

[Afrocious]

yeah short ppl look better in photos because most of the time a shorter person is taking that photo

 

[Puck Beaverton]

I'm 5'11 is this a suitable height to be alpha?

 

[Geno Breaker]

Here's another thought experiment.

Imagine yourself with a brain.

Now write a post.

Jesus Christ lmaooo

 

[SgtCobra]

Here's another thought experiment.

Imagine yourself with a brain.

Now write a post.

Damn son haha

 

[Rockandrollclown]

This could equally apply to pretty much any physical characteristic. Except it wouldn't be deemed acceptable.

That wasn't really the point of the thread.

I'm 5'7 so I'm a little under average height but it's not something that I'm overly bothered about, especially as I've gotten older and I give much less of a shit what people think about me than I did when I was younger. The point was more that some people find it a sensitive subject and yet it's ok to mock short people or tell them to "get over it", when it's not acceptable to do so for other physical characteristics.

Calling bullshit. Its not acceptable to be openly mocking, but basing your decisions around physical characteristics instead of personality is what online dating is about. Having an ugly face for instance is a physical characteristic, and its perfectly acceptable to not want to date ugly people.

 

[shawnbuddy]

I, for one, blame Randy Newman.

 

[kiguel182]

People prefer taller people, it is what it is. It’s a physical preference.

I’m short and I get it.

 

[Bakercat]

I always thought it was weird with dating. When it comes to women, I see a lot of people, including myself sadly, that like woman to be short. My fiancé is 4 inches shorter than me, but I sometimes think it be cuter if she was even shorter. For men, a lot of woman do indeed like taller men. I'm average height for a male and I'm so glad my fiancé doesn't care about height at all. I guess I got lucky lol.

 

[lightskintwin]

This could equally apply to pretty much any physical characteristic. Except it wouldn't be deemed acceptable.

That wasn't really the point of the thread.

I'm 5'7 so I'm a little under average height but it's not something that I'm overly bothered about, especially as I've gotten older and I give much less of a shit what people think about me than I did when I was younger. The point was more that some people find it a sensitive subject and yet it's ok to mock short people or tell them to "get over it", when it's not acceptable to do so for other physical characteristics.

And I feel the same for others with any other physical characteristic wallowing in self pity.

As a Black man, I don't get other Black men whining about women not wanting to date them because they're Black. There are millions of women that will, so quit wasting your time whining about the one's that wont.

In terms of it being something still socially acceptable to mock, well then yeah... that's definitely an issue... however I just don't think you're going to get much sympathy for it.

 

[Snkfanatic]

I'm 6ft, so I'm generally taller than most people. I actually feel like anyone taller than like 6'2" kind of gets the reverse end of this, like they get jabbed at for being such a tall motherfucker.

Especially women. A woman who's taller than even like 5'10" might get jabbed at.

As someone who is 6'4" this is pretty true.

 

[Trojita]

Congratulations, you are now now 6'5"! But you look like Eric Trump.

 

[perfectchaos007]

I'm 5'11 is this a suitable height to be alpha?

irl? yes. But online dating, you're better off bumping yourself up to 6'.

heightist women actually began the "when his height starts with 5"

 

[chicken_pasta]

Here's another thought experiment.

Imagine yourself with a brain.

Now write a post.

Welp hahaha

 

[PlayALLtheGames]

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

Yeah, it is.

And OK to make fun of you for being concerned about him.

 

[Puck Beaverton]

I'm down for short or tall women.

No discrimination here ladies.

 

[isuzu]

Good proportions is more important, imo. It can make someone look taller and more attractive. The guy I'm into is 5'8" but looks way taller because of his godly proportions. Dat 1:8 ratio hnnng

 

[SatoAilDarko]

This sounds like something a manlet would say...

Considering I'm taller than you no.

But you are clearly an asshole.

 

[toxicgonzo]

Shallow people are terrible all around



Edit: Bah, I was beaten to the punch by perfectchaos007!

 

[norm9]

I'm 5'11 is this a suitable height to be alpha?

Almost. Better luck next time, shortstack.

 

[Syder]

Spend 5 minutes on Tinder.

lol no thanks.

 

[jfkgoblue]

ugh, and you're a michigan fan, too.

Objectionably the best football program ever, just add it to the list.

 

[Infinite]

And I feel the same for others with any other physical characteristic wallowing in self pity.

As a Black man, I don't get other Black men whining about women not wanting to date them because they're Black. There are millions of women that will, so quit wasting your time whining about the one's that wont.

In terms of it being something still socially acceptable to mock, well then yeah... that's definitely an issue... however I just don't think you're going to get much sympathy for it.

I mean I get it especially if you got somewhere with that person and they just said "nah" out of the blue because of your skin color.

 

[gfxtwin]

In some ways I'm glad to not be tall because when you're super tall (6'4" and above) I imagine it inadvertently draws attention all the time and would probably get old.

 

[Boy Wander]

And I feel the same for others with any other physical characteristic wallowing in self pity.

As a Black man, I don't get other Black men whining about women not wanting to date them because they're Black. There are millions of women that will, so quit wasting your time whining about the one's that wont.

In terms of it being something still socially acceptable to mock, well then yeah... that's definitely an issue... however I just don't think you're going to get much sympathy for it.

Agree with everything you said here. I guess we're all shallow to some degree.