Heightism is a form of discrimination based on height. In principle it can refer to unfavorable
treatment of either unusually tall or short people. In practice heightism almost
always takes the form of unfavorable treatment of shorter people and more
favorable treatment of taller people (particularly tall men); the exception to this being that taller women
generally have a harder time dating than shorter women. Examples of this are the
above average heights of presidents, actors and CEOs.
Shorter persons are more likely to be victims of bullying. Not surprisingly, a bully will normally
target smaller persons on the grounds that they are perceived to be less able to
defend themselves physically. Because bullying during childhood and adolescence
often undermines the victim's self esteem, some researchers speculate that the
lower levels of achievement of shorter persons (particularly men) in later life
may be partly or largely explained by this lower self esteem rather than by discrimination. With the possible exception of some manual labor jobs and most professional
sports, a person's height would not seem to have an effect on how well they
are able to perform their job. Nevertheless, studies have shown that short
people are paid less than taller people, with disparities similar in magnitude
to the race and gender gaps. . This
disparity applies to both women and men, but since women are on average shorter
it raises the question of whether part of the wage gap between men and women may
in
fact be explained by heightism. Although height discrimination is not
specifically enshrined in law in any jurisdiction except China (where height can
be used as a reason to exclude people from positions,
neither do any national jurisdictions formally prohibit it. Generally, height
discrimination takes the form of covert discrimination, with people being passed
over for promotion or denied jobs in the first instance.
A survey of Fortune 500
CEO
height in 2005 revealed that they were on average 6 feet tall, which is 3 inches
taller than the average American man. Fully 30% of these CEOs were 6 foot 2
inches tall or more; in comparison only 3.9% of the overall United States
population is of this height
Equally significantly, similar surveys have uncovered that less than 3% of CEOs
were below 5'7" in height, and that 90% of CEOs are of above average height.
Subjectively, many short persons report they are not taken seriously in the
work place or by their peers
because of their smaller stature.
Objectively, surveys of attitudes do reveal that people both perceive and
treat people of shorter stature as inferior, and that the
significant economic differentials are the direct result of height
discrimination. Short candidates are disadvantaged in electoral politics. Of the 43 U.S.
Presidents, only five have been more than an inch below average height.
Moreover, of the 54 US presidential elections only 13 have been won by
the shorter candidate, and only 11 times has the shorter candidate received
more popular (as opposed to electoral) votes. Quantitative studies of
U.S. Senators and Governors have also shown that they are on average several
inches taller than the U.S. population at large.
Non-electoral politics are more difficult to study as outcomes based on height
are more difficult to quantify. Nevertheless, it is surprising and interesting
to note that a number of powerful dictators have been slightly below average
height. Examples include Engelbert Dollfuss (4'11), Deng Xiaoping (5'0), Kim Jong Il (5'3), Nikita Khrushchev
(5'3), Francisco
Franco (5'4), and Josef
Stalin (5'5). Contrary to popular impression, Napoleon
Bonaparte at 5'6.5 was slightly above average height for the time he lived.
Heightism is cited as one of the underlying causes of The Rwandan Civil War, in which approximately one million
people were killed. It is believed that one of the reasons that political power
was conferred to the minority Tutsis by the exiting Belgians was because they
were taller and therefore (in the eyes of the Belgians) considered superior and
more suited to governance."Heightism rears its
ugly head"Heightism may also be a factor in dating preferences. For most women, the
height of a man is a major
factor in sexual attractiveness. The greater reproductive success of taller
men is attested to by studies indicating that taller men are more likely to be
married and to have more children. Quantitative studies of woman-for-men personal advertisements have shown
strong preference for tall men, with a large percentage indicating that a man
significantly below average height was unacceptable.
Conversely, studies have shown that women of below average height are more
likely to be married and have children than women of above average height. Some
reasons which have been suggested for this situation include earlier fertility
of shorter women, and that a shorter woman makes her partner feel taller in
comparison and therefore more "manly." Consistent with
this, taller women are actually more likely to accept a shorter man as a
partner
It is unclear and debated as to the extent to which such preferences are
innate or are the function of a society in which height discrimination impacts
on socio-economic status. In the media, heightism can take the
form of making fun of short men in ways that would be unseemly if directed at skin color or weight (especially female weight). Examples of
characters whose short stature is exploited for comic value are:
"Archaeology Today" sketch in Monty Python's Flying Circus
deals with heightism in
which an interviewer humorously admits to assessing his subject's credibility
based on their height.
Similarly, shorter men are often denied leading roles. Although some famous
cinema actors such as Alan Ladd
and Tom Cruise have been short
in real life, in their fictional depictions they have been presented as taller.
This distortion reinforces the cultural prejudice that taller men are inherently
superior to shorter men, and that taller men are in some sense more worthy of
dominant social roles, and that short men are less so. The National
Organization of Short Statured Adults is committed to the open discussion of
heightism and height-related discrimination .
NOSSA sponsors a message-board at In
addition, Steve Goldsmith operates the Short Support website which has been providing the short
community with valuable resources on heightism related topics.
The National
Organization of Short Statured Adults is committed to the open discussion of
heightism and height-related discrimination .
NOSSA sponsors a message-board at In
addition, Steve Goldsmith operates the Short Support website which has been providing the short
community with valuable resources on heightism related topics. Source
- Wikipedia.com
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