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Heightism:
- Thread starter flippymittens
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Difference between a "mention" and what you're doing.
On subject, I know that people are inclined to give LostVoyager a lot of crap about these topics he's been making and I dislike the false equivalencies he has drawn between, say, lookism and racism, but I don't think the subject is entirely without merit. I am sort of curious about what it is about height that appears to produce these differences in aggregate.
I assume it is just something about unconscious preferences that people have for taller people, or at least that is part of it, but I don't want to go too far into random speculation.
I'm afraid that's not how it works. You should ask for Stumples' mod powers, though; he's also 5'7".
I assume it is just something about unconscious preferences that people have for taller people, or at least that is part of it, but I don't want to go too far into random speculation.
I'm afraid that's not how it works. You should ask for Stumples' mod powers, though; he's also 5'7".
Kitsunebaby
Member
My mother is 6 foot and she's one of the most successful people I know. I was really tall as a kid and thought I'd be just like her but I sadly stopped at 5'4" 
Air Zombie Meat
Member
Wouldn't heightism fall under lookism?
Can't say because I was never in a position to call a guy tiny ^_^; but I can relate to the whole "cute little puppy dog" talk. Both guys and girls do this to me, lol. I don't find it offensive, I sorta take that as teasing. If it's excessive to the point where they don't take me seriously though is when I get offended (well, depending on the context).
Trent Strong
Banned
What about personalityism? If you think your personality is something that you can control, you're fooling yourself.
flippymittens
Banned
Yeah, no idea why some look at couples where the woman is taller weird... I mean dating a taller woman or a woman around the same height in heels would not bother me.
Is your husband okay with you wearing heels or does it bother him?
I am not saying my life is hard or bringing up my own experiences in regards to heightism though... This topic I have yet to discuss myself until ask...This topic is not about me and I have not idea why a few are trying to make it such (dismiss the form of discrimination I guess is what you all are trying to do), I mean I am not really that interesting especially in regards to this topic where I do not have a huge experience with discrimination other than that when I was a kid I was shorter and now I am 5'10-9... I have sympathy with those experiencing heightism because of this.
Basically this topic should discuss heightism not me and whether you think I am "whining" or whatever.
If I had to guess...
Athletically speaking, various heights are more suited for various sports.
Fashion wise, the taller you are the better clothing looks as you can display more of the fabric/cut. Also, taller is generally seen as more attractive (think long legs on women and tall dark and hansom for men) and the better looking somebody is the better looking the clothing appears to be, or the less focus there is upon the model as you don't stare at an issue with the face. (as a side note with clothing, it's why you don't have many women with a curvy figure and incredibly muscular men as their physical features would be looked at more than a thinner woman/man).
Real world wise, taller people are more commanding due to being observable to all and due to being literally looked up to when addressed. It can be intimidating to some people.
However, I think it's silly to say that height is the same category somebody is judged upon for a job than say race or sex to the point where it's an "ism".
Almost every post I've seen from him lately (and not in these types of threads or his own threads) is about Lookism, and it most of the time is off-topic and derails the thread. I guess sometimes it makes sense though.
No because it is all you post about. It's always lookism, heightism, weightism or whatever the heck else is next. You need to get some confidence, seriously. Start running, or working out or just something, anything, to get some confidence. So you think you're ugly, you're short or whatever. You can't change that, so change what you can. There are real things people need to live with that affect people's perception of them: disabilities, chronic diseases, sexuality, race or gender for some. There are some real things that people discriminate against each other for, that people irrationally hate each other for, that people will kill each other for, but being ugly or short or overweight or whatever aren't some of them. So you're short, do something to offset it, get buff. So you're ugly, get a new haircut and outfit. We aren't defined by our looks or our height, it comes down to what you want to be defined by.
Trent Strong
Banned
He's not even short. He's 5'10".
It was...she was into it too, we had a big shower so she would sometimes shampoo my hair with her breasts
Yeah I kind of lost it for a second because I've never heard of this. The only problem I see with this is that even if this is true what can we do about it? Even if we could agree that it is a problem how would we go about trying to correct this?
That doesn't really change my point though.
I'm neither short nor tall enough for my height to be identified as anything special. Helps me blend. I'm 5'11 and a half, by the way. I guess that technically makes me "tall", but whatever.
As far as heightism being an active prejudice? Maybe in terms of male social interaction, and mate selection rituals.
I'm not so sure if there's an active correlation between that kind of stuff and success in the workplace (which is the only real area where "heightism" could cross paths with the law). Tonnes of successful people are short. Even more are probably just average. I don't think a persons height beats out key qualities like confidence and credentials.
As far as heightism being an active prejudice? Maybe in terms of male social interaction, and mate selection rituals.
I'm not so sure if there's an active correlation between that kind of stuff and success in the workplace (which is the only real area where "heightism" could cross paths with the law). Tonnes of successful people are short. Even more are probably just average. I don't think a persons height beats out key qualities like confidence and credentials.
Surface of Me
I'm not an NPC. And neither are we.
5' 7" GAF reporting in, never has really bothered me too much, other than buying clothes that fit as someone else said. It is a bit strange though, as I'm the shortest male in my family by at least 3 or more inches.
I wonder how I knew who the OP was just by the thread title. I fucking wonder. I remember saying to you that I looked forward to your time ahead on GAF. I just want to say now that you have not disappointed me.
Personally I hate being tall and having to slouch around everywhere to not smack my head on door frames. It's not good for my back. And then there's the chairs and desks which are never an appropriate height either, I had to pull out the keyboard tray because I couldn't get my legs under my desk with it, even while sitting in this tiny ass chair that has me all hunched up while i've got all sorts of stuff stacked up to elevate my computer monitor so I'm not looking down on it.
Personally I hate being tall and having to slouch around everywhere to not smack my head on door frames. It's not good for my back. And then there's the chairs and desks which are never an appropriate height either, I had to pull out the keyboard tray because I couldn't get my legs under my desk with it, even while sitting in this tiny ass chair that has me all hunched up while i've got all sorts of stuff stacked up to elevate my computer monitor so I'm not looking down on it.
Trent Strong
Banned
Oh, I know. I was agreeing with you. He should be more confident.
Seriously, Bloomberg is like a friggen midget and he's made how much money? Jon Stewart of Daily Show fame is short. There are loads of successful short people.
Yea I figured that out, it's just late is all.
*scratches Veezy off my list of favorite posters without avatars whose names I can remember*
And I do not think of it as an "ism", no. I think that there's probably some unconscious positive discrimination going on (e.g., people tending to be more deferential towards people who are taller and ascribing more positive traits to them, and perhaps relatedly taller men generally being less cognizant of dominance cues in other men), but I think that even though there is a significant effect on wages once you're around the sub-5'6" level, it would be reductive and insulting to compare it seriously to the effects of racism or sexism.
Given that he is 5'9"/5'10" - and therefore average - I am beginning to suspect that if he ever posts a picture he will turn out to look completely average.
flippymittens
Banned
I did not compare anything with heightism in this topic and have learned the errors of my ways.
Plus I concede that racism is more of an issue.
I am not saying it is... however it is unfair that some jobs where height should not matter matter.
Well the difference is that intelligence has an impact in these fields... I do not believe in insulting someone do to their intelligence though (which happens alot). One reason that I avoid science like a plague is my lack of intellect but I digress.
Make two topics about discrimination that is largely ignored.
Yes but heightism is a more specified subcategory. You could argue racism falls under lookism if you believe that race is a social construct and has no biological basis (not saying it is or is not because that is a discussion for other threads).
RiccochetJ
Gold Member
How tall are you? I'm 6'3 and I can't say that I've had as many problems as you. Sure I've ran into them, but not enough times I suppose. I did run into the keyboard tray thing multiple times though. What a pain in the ass.
perfectchaos007
Member
I'm 5'7" and ironically, i didn't develop an inferiority complex due to my short stature until about 3 years ago when I read an article posted by a GAFer that showed a correlation between height and worth to a woman. It showed that if you are 5'7", you need to make something like $50k more a year to be just as attractive as a 5'9" guy, and statistics like that. It really got to me. Now here we are again..this article gives my confidence another blow since it's basically saying unless I drastically overcome the odds, I won't be making good money in the business world. I need to buy some lifts. I've seen those maxtall commercials, but when I went to their website, it seemed very sketchy and I did not feel comfortable sending them my credit card #. Any suggestions? ha
that's how you landed demolution or whatever her name was, huh?
RiccochetJ
Gold Member
Do they look like that when they're filmed?
perfectchaos007
Member
That's the one confidence boost I can lean upon. Tom Cruise and Zach Effron are seen as two of the hottest hunks in Hollywood, and they are both only 5'8"
hah no. Re-watch the Italian Job. Mark Wahlberg is 5'8", and the surrounding cast is all that height or shorter, so the illusion of being taller is pulled off
It's more about the confidence. Tall people are more confident, confident people come off better, people who come off better are more likely to succeed. Unless you're applying for a job reaching things on high shelves height isn't going to be a big factor for you in the business world. Make yourself indispensable and make people like you. Odds are if you do that you'll be fine. There are plenty of short rich people, don't worry.
There is an interesting discussion to be had here.
Like, why do we want to build tall towers instead of stocky barracks? When you had blocks or legos, was your first instinct to start compacting all that shit into as small a block as possible?
Fuck no, I was playing Jenga before I knew the rules.
be more internet pissy about a guy making threads why dontcha
Like, why do we want to build tall towers instead of stocky barracks? When you had blocks or legos, was your first instinct to start compacting all that shit into as small a block as possible?
Fuck no, I was playing Jenga before I knew the rules.
be more internet pissy about a guy making threads why dontcha
instance of culture/media trying to make itself look better (hunched over old cronies throwing money to make other short dudes into 'the ideal man')?
I found out last year that there are actually people who get a doctor to break their shin and thigh bones (Tibia and Femur, specifically I believe) and incrementally lengthen them over a period of several months to gain an inch or two in height. They even have a forum for people that actually go through with it.
It was a shock, to say the least.
It was a shock, to say the least.
Dice
Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
This is a load of shit. Many scientific studies have been done and confirm the existence of favortism. Confidence can help to counter a bias, but it doesn't make the bias cease to exist. A confident shorter man going up against a timid taller man isn't a fair evaluation of the issue. Match up a confident shorter man against a confident taller man and see what sort of patterns play out.
Okay; I was thinking of the previous topic when I was making that comment.
I was actually wondering how many posts it would take before you popped in.
I suspect that most of this is sort of subconscious, and by pointing it out you can be more aware of it. I mean, just speaking personally I did not think I acted differently around taller people, but after I was reading some journal articles about it or something tangentially related - I somehow found my way to a study from a Cracked article and I cannot for the life of me remember what it was - and I started noticing when I was doing it.
So maybe just telling people "There is an unconscious bias towards taller people; be aware of this" is really the only thing to be done.
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