Tom Kando
What is the most universal form of discrimination and victimization? Has it ever occurred to you?
We talk forever about race, ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ, physical handicap, religion, age, obesity, etc.
But what about SIZE? What about being small? (as well as soft-spoken, which often goes with it)?
At five foot eleven, I am average. (At my advanced age, I have shrunk about an inch).
But I have lived in places where I was on the smallish side compared to most other men, and places where my height was average. And you know what? I had a worse time when I lived in places where I was surrounded by many people taller than me - in Holland, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania - than when I lived in places like France and California, where I was of average height.
Say for instance that you go to a bar. You have to wade through a crowd towards the bar to order a drink. This is more annoying in Amsterdam and in Minneapolis than in Sacramento and in Paris. Same difference at airports, subways and other public settings.
For men especially, size matters.
And I am not even talking about Small Man’s Syndrome, the Napoleon complex, whereby small men are overly aggressive to compensate for their small size. They are the exception, not the rule. In general, large size is an advantage.
Size is particularly important when one is young, especially a young male. You compete for everything, including females. Height favors tall men (other things being equal).
When shall we see a social movement advocating for Small People’s Rights? Equality for small people, especially males. Stop discriminating against small people. I can only remember one lonely effort aimed at addressing this social problem - Randy Newman’s song “Short People” in 1977.
One important reason why women have been second- class citizens throughout history is their smaller stature. Not for nothing have they been called the “weaker sex ” or the “second sex” (Simone de Beauvoir). They are smaller and their voice carries less.
Bullying is a lot easier if you are bigger. I certainly remember being picked on by bigger boys in school.
However, for a well-researched and somewhat optimistic analysis of this issue, see Stephen Hall’s
Hall shows that short people can thrive. Despite or precisely as a result of being victimized by childhood aggression and bullying, a person may develop exceptional emotional resilience. Being short can also have advantages.
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