I got this one from Charlotte. It seems she and I could have a contest to see who walks the loudest.
How do you feel about your height?
I wish I were taller. I’m not particularly short for a woman (5’3”), but I was short all during my youth and still think of myself as short. Besides, we live in a man’s world, and in that world, 5’3” is short. 5’8” seems like a good height for a woman to me. But knowing my luck, if I were suddenly to wake up 5" taller, that five inches would be added to my neck or my forehead, say, rather than to my legs, which is where I want them.
Has your height helped or hindered you in your professional life?
Neither, that I know of, as far as promotions, etc. go. I will note, though, that at my former company, for a period, I was the only female manager in my department, and three of the four men with whom I worked towered over me. There were a few times when I can remember walking into a managerial meeting before everyone had sat down and taking a mental gulp, despite the fact I adored all these men and wouldn’t have called any of them threatening in any way. I chalked this feeling up to leftover instincts emanating from the oldest region of my brain, which still believes we all live in caves and might get knocked over the head and dragged to one that’s not so nicely decorated, and convinced myself I was ignoring it. In reality, when we got down to the business of talking, I probably spoke up and stood my ground more firmly than they would have thought I could to compensate for these feelings, so maybe my short stature has helped me.
Is society biased against short people?
“Yes,” says the one who wishes bookstores and libraries would spring for more than six stepstools and ladders to cover their thousands of stacks and who recently had the very embarrassing experience of having to ask a tall man (okay, he wasn’t even really that tall, but he was tall enough to reach it) who was walking by to please reach for her the last coconut cake on the back of the top shelf of the grocer’s freezer. Of course, now I’ve just embarrassed myself further by proving how desperate I was for a frozen coconut cake.
Is society biased against tall people?
Against tall women, I think so, but not against tall men. Again, it’s a man’s world.
Do people make annoying remarks about your height?
Not really annoying, but because I always seem to fall in love with men who are at least a good ten inches taller than I am, I have always been attached to men who have come up with some sort of nickname that incorporates the fact that I’m short. For instance, Bob affectionately refers to me as “The Midget,” but I call him “The Giant,” so no harm done in our politically incorrect name-calling.
8 comments:
I think society is somewhat biased against tall people too. I mean I doubt that you have bumped you head on low hanging doorways quite as many times as I have. Air travel is also excruciating for tall people. Interesting meme.
Sam is 6'6 and people always ask him (1.) if he played basketball and (2.) if he could reach such and such for them. Ian makes an interesting point...S. hates air travel.
I love coconut cake. It's so, so wonderful! I'm a huge fan of coconut, in general!
I'm 5'3" as well. I am the shortest person in my very tall family where no one but me is shorter than 5'7" I even have a first cousin who is 6'9". I think there is bias on both ends for those over 6'5" and those under 5'5". My husband is only 5'4" and we fit together very nicely. And if we were at the grocery store and wanted the coconut cake, my husband probably would have climbed the shelving to get to it. We have both been known to climb shelves before, though he is more daring than I am.
Ian, good point. I also don't hit my head on the roof of the car when I go over bumps.
Court, well, you've all got me thinking that, yes, very tall men do have it bad. And coconut rules!
Stef, lucky you! I often wonder what it would be like not to have to stand on tiptoe in order to kiss my husband. (And I've been known to climb a few shelves myself.)
As you've seen, Hobgoblin is a foot taller than me, so I know exactly what you're talking about -- it's funny to me that after having been with him for a while, I've stopped thinking of anyone much under 6'4" as tall. Either you're as tall as Hobgoblin, in which case I'll notice, or you're just average.
I'm a short person from a family of tall people -- 3 of my siblings were over 6 feet. My son's dad was a tall person from a short family. I tend to think that it is better for taller people, and had hoped that my son would be more on the taller size. That didn't happen, but it doesn't really matter. My nephew was taller than me by the time he was 12 (he is 6'9") and I think he would say that tall people face bias. But both son and nephew are redheads and would probably say that more people make comments (often really stupid ones!) about their hair color than their height. Like height, people often make remarks or nickname people who have unusual physical characteristics ("carrot top", "Red", "shorty") -- such a strange behavior that is too often not recognized as being inappropriate because it seems "cute".
Like Dorothy, I married a man of 6'4" and I'm quite tall myself, 5'7". If I wear heels we're like Mr and Mrs Giant out together. My husband gets to hit his head a lot, not so much on beams because people mark them up, but on low slung lampshades, which people forget about. I wish I were short, personally. People always assume I'm a brave amazonian type, and frankly nothing could be less true.
Dorr, oh yes, Hobs truly TOWERS over me! But you seem taller than you are (maybe you've grabbed some of his height since being together).
Cam, I think I actually get more comments for being blond than for being short, so hair color is definitely a factor. I've been called "Blondie" much more often than I've been called "Shorty."
Litlove, when you wear heels, I bet you two are much more like Mr. and Mrs. Stunning. Just put on a few airs, and make everyone's jaw drop from envy when you walk in the room (even if it couldn't be farther from the truth that you feel confident and poised rather than ready to retreat!).
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