Why Height Prejudice Is Not Simply About Attractiveness


I've seen a popular trend where people try to justify height bias by claiming it's just a part of attractiveness. I disagree. Right off the bat, other physical traits do not have their own version of "Napoleon complex/short man syndrome." If you're an ugly balding guy but at least average height, you can lift weights or make money and be left alone. When a short man does the exact same thing, he's viewed as compensating. Imagine seeing a flat chested woman displaying ambition or aggression, and immediately linking it to her breast size. Because that's exactly what happens with height, the only difference being it's somehow not viewed as a dick move. Can you find a thread about big noses similar to this one, which is about beating up "Napoleon Complex short men?"

Some people actually try to explain this by claiming these stereotypes only exist because short men have worse personalities than everyone else. This is ironic. How can people claim height is viewed the same way as all these other traits, while at the same time admitting they view short men as more evil? The only ones who come close to dealing with something similar are men with small penises, but at least that's not noticeable in public. Perhaps ginger men come closest to what short men experience, I wouldn't know.

Height also plays a different role in employment and leadership. Who would most men rather be seen dating, a 5'4 or 6'4 woman? Most would probably find the former more appealing, but the latter would actually have the advantage when it comes to exerting authority. You don't intimidate somebody using a beautiful face, but you can do that using tall height. In this way, height is in a unique position. It doesn't have the same cultural significance as something like racism, but at the same time it matters more in everyday life than other superficial traits. There's a reason why sperm banks ban all men below average height, yet they do not need to know where a man is on the Norwood Scale, nor do they measure his penis size or nose. In fact, this is probably the reason why it's easier to bully based on stature than something like ugliness or baldness. It doesn't matter that Dwayne Johnson has a smooth shaved head, he is still physically imposing.

Looks are often also subjective, but height is not. A person's height is what the measurement says it is. On the other hand, there have been times when my friends found someone attractive, but I thought they were not. Same the other way around. A cafe can't put up a sign saying "not hiring anyone less than 6 out of 10 on the attractiveness scale." What would that objectively entail? Meanwhile, this practice actually can and does exist when it comes to height. Here's an article from China: "A female kitchen hand had to measure at least four feet nine inches; a waitress had to be a minimum of five feet; and the pretty hosts who greeted guests at the door needed to be a lofty five feet five". In the United States, men under 5'3 and women under 4'11 are outright labeled with "idiopathic short stature." I don't see how society could agree on a uniform "idiopathic ugliness." Why is it "tall, dark, and handsome" if tallness is supposed to be part of attractiveness? We don't say "chiseled, dark, and handsome" because people are supposed to know a handsome man has a chiseled jawline/body. I've seen women saying they find short men attractive, but they "can't" go out with these guys because people would mock them. Tallness is more like a status symbol, such as having a lot of money or being famous.

All in all, this is just another attempt by society to justify its bigotry. If it's not this, it's something else. Same old evo-pysch crap, or short men have bad personalities, or whatever else. Hypothetically, let's say a study came out proving a certain ethnicity was universally deemed uglier by society. Would that justify discrimination against that one group? Hopefully that's a rhetorical question. Point is, even if you don't find overweight women attractive for example, you'll probably still get a lecture about body shaming and eating disorders if you discriminate against them. This is because there's a difference between an explanation and an excuse. You can explain that someone is being treated worse due to their looks, I'd agree with that, but if you use this to justify the shitty behavior then it becomes a different story.