A.Word.A.Day -- AWADmail Issue 1127

For most of my adult life, my height was 5’2”. As the years take their toll, I am now 4’11”. Whenever I am in a store and need help reaching something on a high shelf, I thank the person with the offer: “If you need to reach anything low, just let me know.”
-Amy Metnick, Margaretville, New York (amy.metnick gmail.com)

Email of the Week brought to you buy The Official Old’s Cool Education IV -- Latin marches, Greek sings.

As the mother of two short young-adult sons, I can guarantee you that there is still a bias against height-challenged men. Once you are tuned in to it, you will see it everywhere. “Tall, dark, and handsome.” “6’2”, eyes of blue.” EVERY reference to someone’s height that you will come across equates being tall with being... better/more-handsome/more-appealing. It breaks my heart.
-Jennifer Gold, Bethesda, Maryland (jgoldielox gmail.com)

I am 4’9”. This makes me shorter than 99% of adults who do not live in a wheelchair. I have approached groups of friends and not been seen. I have had people ask me “how’s the weather down there?” (Not funny, by the way). I have had people say that they knew I was short, but not THAT short. There is no way around it. Being short means being treated as a child until well into one’s 30s. I was still being carded before being served alcoholic drinks at 32. (I am 75.)
I have no idea if people don’t believe what I say because I am so short, but I suspect I lack some credibility due to the lack of height. Formal presentations are not as much of a problem as informal ones because the podium, microphone, and media projector add credibility. I do consider myself to be slightly disabled because I never got tall enough to be average in height. I cannot reach most things that adults should reach (like the top shelf at a grocery store or a strap in a subway car). Being in a large crowd is confining and scary. When all you can see is everyone else’s chests, you have no idea where you are going or what is happening. I have a short (4 feet 11 inches) friend who attended a rally in DC and left because she got afraid of being run over.
I know that heightism exists. Even folks who don’t mean to be are guilty of it. I think it is like racism, though much less dangerous or serious.
-David Safianoff, Walnut Creek, California (davshar yahoo.com)

I was for a while the dean of a small liberal arts college, and I attended annual meetings for the presidents and deans of about 25 such schools. It was noticeable: the presidents (unless female) were usually tall, the deans shorter. Note that presidents are chosen by trustees, and deans by presidents. In selecting a president, trustees want someone who gives an impression of strength and competence, and being tall can contribute to that. In selecting a dean, a president is ideally less concerned with first impressions, and indeed the president may prefer that his dean not seem more impressive than he is.
-Paul H. Blaney, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Emory & Henry College, Brookline, Massachusetts (pblaney ehc.edu)

My mother was petite. She used it well. I hung the wash, for instance. When she was stopped by police officers, her cuteness and a few tears had an officer stop traffic so she could make an illegal u-turn. I always liked candidate Dennis Kucinich: anti-war, pro-single-payer healthcare, etc. But I also knew that his height prevented others from taking him seriously.
-Mo Doyle, Boston, Massachusetts (momcdo gmail.com)

I never minded being on the short side. In grade school 60 years ago it meant being near the front of the line. The biggest annoyance is that items of clothing, especially dresses and pants, are way too long. Mom taught me to sew. I am good at hemming.
-Nancy Konopka, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (nancy.konopka gmail.com)

Being a small woman -- once hit 5’, but have since shrunk -- I have been minimized, patronized, and diminished due to my height. People feel it is appropriate to say things like telling me how cute I am. Shopping for clothing is always a challenge and I will no longer hem pants to fit, as they never look right -- I feel like I’m wearing pants that are ending at the knee.
-Kathleen Freeman, Grand Rapids, Michigan (kmkfreeman gmail.com)

I grew to the height of 5’3½” and have now shrunk to 5’ even (so far). The worst disadvantage is that shoulder straps on seat belts catch my throat. I must actively hold them under my breαst to prevent that.
-Eleanor Elizabeth Forman, New York, New York (eefwww yahoo.com)

At 5’2” for most of my life (now 5’0.5” -- every fraction counts!), I also enjoyed being at the head of a line, getting to sit in front in groups, and saving money by buying children’s sized shoes, shirts, and jackets. I also was carded late (into my 40s!), and was even challenged at age 68 for using the senior rate on our local transport system, probably because I bounded up the steep stair on the bus like a child whose height I was. “You could’ve fooled me,” growled the bus driver. Made me laugh.
-Lavinia Ycas, Boulder, Colorado (ycasl yahoo.com)

I stopped growing at 5’2” when I was 12 years old. Decades later, I was the first one the kids felt they had to pass in height on their way to adulthood. One of my good female friends was 5’8” and, one day out of the blue, she asked me if I’d rather be short or tall. I answered, “I have no way to compare; I’ve never been tall”. At 83 years old, I’m now under 5’ and, to be honest, I’ve always liked being short -- except at the supermarket.
-Patricia Posito, Titusville, Florida (dhrakos icloud.com)

My grandparents lived with the rest of the family and Grandmother Peggy was 5’. Once you reached her height she gave you five dollars. Both of my older brothers cashed in. Alas, I didn’t. I was a high school junior and 4’11-3/4” when Peggy passed away well into her 80s.
-Jerry Bradley, Springfield, Virginia (fxb3 verizon.net)

In 1971 I was a freshman at New College in Sarasota, Florida (now famous for being the target of a takeover by DeSantis). It was a yeasty fall: a sit-in of the president’s office by a group of women looking for improved services and treatment was joined by several other protests, including the posting of “Short People’s Demands” in the dining hall by one of our classmates. He had placed them at what was about thigh level for many of us. Those of us who usually enjoyed our greater height had to contort ourselves to read them. The demands, and their placement, were eye-opening for me at the time.
-Rachel Wissner, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (rachiru2 aol.com)

Being the shortest in my family, I was called natu or nati, Hindi for a short person. Now having been married to an almost 6’ man and getting to travel comfortably on airplanes, I would say that being short has its advantages too.
-Pallavi Bharadwaj, Brooklyn, New York (pallavibhar gmail.com)

There have been many disadvantages to being short (for example, I can’t see my reflection in mirrors that are placed too high), but my one advantage was as a geologist, being the only person who didn’t have to crouch down when touring a salt mine.
-Anne Lutz, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (alutz20 comcast.net)

My wife, who is a full foot shorter than I am, doesn’t bash her head on low-hanging obstacles nearly as often as I do.
-Don Fearn, Rochester, Minnesota (pooder charter.net)

As someone both left-handed and short, I have a long-held interest in ergonomics and I am made aware many times a day how the world is designed for people a good 7” taller than me. Effects range from everyday annoyances like having to keep a step-stool permanently in the kitchen to reach anything but the lowest cupboard, to embarrassment: hanging around at the supermarket until someone tall enough can reach what I want from the top shelf for me, to discomfort: “ergonomically” designed aeroplane seats which give me a very sore back, to danger: a hot-water boiler for making tea where the tap is positioned above my head.
And why do they always put the small sizes on the top shelf in clothes shops and the XL on the bottom? I have learned to laugh most of this off, but it is a sad fact that it’s still acceptable to be amused that a grown (!) woman has to resort to strategies like these to get by every day.
-Sarah Ingram, Hereford, UK (sarah.ingram wvt.nhs.uk)

There are severe consequences for being someone who never ages or grows tall. I am five feet high, weigh 185 and don’t look a day over 23. People younger than my 77 years call me “young man”. I am college educated and come from a lineage of highly intelligent forefathers. That means I get cordial respect from peers over the phone or through email. But in person, these peers often assume I’m bragging or bullshιtting because I don’t look my age and I speak language that’s above my perceived vocabulary level.
Discrimination is constant. Every time I hear, “I think that kid’s full of shιt,” or “These young people today think they’re so smart,” or “You’ve probably never heard of (Richard Nixon) or (Charles Manson), they came along before you were born,” or “Sorry, you have to be 21 to buy this,” I want to shout, “Sweetheart Face, I was there when the Rosenbergs were put to death for lesser crimes than Donald Trump gets away with.” But I always manage to err on the side of caution and suppress my annoyance. Just as women are paid less than men because of various biases, being short and youthful-looking has its social throwbacks, as well.
-Jason Houston, Apache Junction, Arizona (jhoust60 gmail.com)

I am a tall woman. This is a disadvantage if you want to find a taller male partner.
-Helen Ross, Stirling, Scotland (h.e.ross stir.ac.uk)

Heightism is a real thing especially if you are a man. On the other hand, if you are a woman, it’s good to be short because that way almost every man is a possible mate. At 5 ft 0, I have definitely experienced heightism especially when I used to go to McDonald’s as a kid. The employees behind the counter wouldn’t even see us (me and my siblings) because we were so short.
-Ivy Kaminsky, Pasadena, Texas (ivykaminsky yahoo.com)

As a 6’ woman, I can tell you that heightism cuts both ways. Boys look askance at tall girls! In my mid-twenties I finally met men with enough self-confidence to enjoy my extra height. My dear hubby is shorter than I am, but he would be delighted if I wore 4” heels!
-Gretchen L.T. Patti, Naperville, Illinois (GLTPatti gmail.com)

As one who has always been pointed out (bullied) because of my height, I would add to your definition of those being discriminated against being short “or tall”. Height in women is considerably more acceptable in the 21st century than it has been, probably thanks to professional female basketball players in North America.
-Fran Darlington, Guelph, Canada (fjdkn196 gmail.com)

Personally I find things the other way around. Being 6’4” now because of age losses, originally 6’6”, I find that short people rule the world. Why else is everything I like at the stores at floor level? Doorways are typically low. Some hotels are designed for no one over 6’ -- some fire doors have little metal tabs jutting down well below 6’6” that if not spotted can rip your skull. Hospital beds result in cold feet if you’re over 6’. Water fountains are designed for children or those in wheelchairs. Payphones (in the olden days) were designed for people under 5’6”. And don’t get me started on whoever places stoplights 20’ in the air so that at intersections you have to lie down on the steering wheel to see them. Cars are designed for drivers 5’6” or under.
-James Divine, West Richland, Washington (divine chemmet.com)

I vividly remember a Social Psychology class 55 years ago. In an American case study a man was introduced to two groups of students, his height was mentioned and they were asked to guess what he did for a living. One group of students, being told that the man was 5 foot 7, thought him a plumber. For the other group he miraculously grew an additional 7 inches, which turned him into a professor.
-Margot Riedstra, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (margot.riedstra gmail.com)

I once stole a line from a friend (also named Janice and just about identical in height to me) and it’s worked for me for years: “Short -- what short? My feet touch the ground!” Gets a laugh every time.
-Janice Ife, Merrickville, Canada (ife magma.ca)

Our son at 6’8” never played basketball in high school, was instead a baseball pitcher, and got sick of being asked “Do you play basketball?” for the thousandth time. He finally fired back, “No, do you play miniature golf?”
-Randy Young, Tega Cay, South Carolina (randyyoung2k yahoo.com)

“Short People” was a popular song by Randy Newman in 1977. It appears at first glance to be an example of heightism, but it is actually a satire on all forms of prejudice.
-Lawrence Crumb, Eugene, Oregon (lcrumb uoregon.edu)