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Should 'Heightism' be treated equal to racism, sexism etc?

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In seriousness, if height is affecting peoples incomes then surely that is ridiculous and needs to be tackled?
nope but ageism should

ridiculous that at 19 i cant enter certain pubs cause some people my age decide to make a mess if they didnt let muslims in for whatever reason there would be court cases an everything
Reply 42
Original post by heartofglass
why isn't this more of a big (excuse the pun) issue?


It's not really a pun; it actually highlights the issue: why should an important issue - i.e. a 'big issue' - be called 'big'? it infers that BIG=IMPORTANT, and you will find this unconscious association with height and virtue used all the time in everyday language, by people who are unaware that they are perpetuating a prejudice where HIGH or BIG IS BETTER, where there is no direct relation between height and the quality being described.

Just consider the phrase HIGH QUALITY - now how does height correlate to good quality? or the phrase HIGH FIDELITY (HI FI) - how does height relate to the quality of sound?

These are metaphors used in our language which infer a relationship of HIGH IS GOOD.

This prejudice is inherent in our very language.
I too am against short people.

(even further) Down with them!
Original post by davoid
It's not really a pun; it actually highlights the issue: why should an important issue - i.e. a 'big issue' - be called 'big'? it infers that BIG=IMPORTANT, and you will find this unconscious association with height and virtue used all the time in everyday language, by people who are unaware that they are perpetuating a prejudice where HIGH or BIG IS BETTER, where there is no direct relation between height and the quality being described.

Just consider the phrase HIGH QUALITY - now how does height correlate to good quality? or the phrase HIGH FIDELITY (HI FI) - how does height relate to the quality of sound?

These are metaphors used in our language which infer a relationship of HIGH IS GOOD.

This prejudice is inherent in our very language.


Low-rider
Low distortion
Low loss
Low interference
Low fat
Low in sugar
Low cost
Low hassle


END LINGUAL PREJUDICE NOW - BAN LANGUAGE
Lettuce be serial for a second - at what point do we stop?

Do we ban prejudice against people on grounds of ability or intelligence? You can't really change those factors much either.
Reply 46
I'm 5"2 and I got teased loaaaaads at school for being small. And people always thought I was younger than I was.
I think it must be worse to be a guy and short, girls can wear heels... guy can't.
But definately people get teased and bullied because of their height.
and aren't taller guys meant to be promoted more than shorter ones?
I don't know if its necxessarily as serious as racism or whatever, but it is a big problem
No, people should just grow up.
Reply 48
Original post by HistoryRepeating
Low-rider
Low distortion
Low loss
Low interference
Low fat
Low in sugar
Low cost
Low hassle


END LINGUAL PREJUDICE NOW - BAN LANGUAGE


But the things that you mention are all negatives - not virtues, so low negative=high virtue.
End lingual prejudice indeed.
Original post by davoid
But the things that you mention are all negatives - not virtues, so low negative=high virtue.
End lingual prejudice indeed.


You seem hung up on that like its some profound point. It isnt, it's just semantics. High means "more of", Low means "less of". Of course "more of" a good thing is a good thing. This doesnt betray inherent bias in the language its just basic semantics.
Height does not effect my day to day life in anyway and people make way too much of it, personally I think being short builds character.

The earning more thing I find highly suspect, you need to define short and tall then take random samples based on the general height of the population...there's a lot to be debated in this.

As to the "find a mate" thing, no ****...

But you know what? I like women with large breasts does this mean I will spit in the face of anyone who doesn't measure up to my ideal? Of course not, as corny as this may sound tits don't have the best conversation so while I may have things that I like I don't have requirements and everyone (men especially) is like that. Everyone has their preferences but they're fluid, how many tweens are frigging themselves stupid over Justin Beiber right now? You think they give a **** he's only two feet tall?

There is one thing I kind of resent and that's the notion of "short man syndrome" that short people are aggressive because of some kind of insecurity. The fact is short people are generally faster to throw a punch is because we're more accustomed to actually having to fight, we can't simply stand up shrug out shoulders and say "what you gonna do?" we actually have to do something and the more you stand your ground the more that hesitation to avoid any conflict at any cost wares thin.

If you've got some moron who's looking for trouble and he's got a choice of picking a fight with 5'4 me or my 6'5 friend who do you think he's going to go for? It's not my fault that I've become proficient in breaking noses I'd of much rather not had any of those fights so excuse me for the fact that the majority of people are full of **** or complete cowards.
Reply 51
Original post by HistoryRepeating
You seem hung up on that like its some profound point. It isnt, it's just semantics. High means "more of", Low means "less of". Of course "more of" a good thing is a good thing. This doesnt betray inherent bias in the language its just basic semantics.


Yet you had to come back to make your point didn't you. Defending your attack on my argument doesn't make me 'hung up'.

Besides, 'High means "more of"' - why? Explain yourself.
Original post by davoid
Yet you had to come back to make your point didn't you. Defending your attack on my argument doesn't make me 'hung up'.

Besides, 'High means "more of"' - why? Explain yourself.


Its the meaning of the word. When relating to height, for example, it means "more distance from the ground". The ground is the only logical base measuring point for height.

Also "high" can easily be applied to negative concepts.

High Friction
High Effort
High Interference
etc
Reply 53
Original post by HistoryRepeating
Its the meaning of the word. When relating to height, for example, it means "more distance from the ground". The ground is the only logical base measuring point for height.

Also "high" can easily be applied to negative concepts.

High Friction
High Effort
High Interference
etc


OK, I get your point, but the examples you show have a direct relationship between height and the thing being measured. Friction, for instance, can be given a numerical value, in Newtons, for the force opposing the direction of motion. Therefore, high friction equates to a high numerical value, in Newtons. Similarly, effort, I imagine, is measured in Jules, if it equates to energy, or Watts if it equates to power, and therefore "high effort" equates to a high numerical value, in Jules.

The examples that I offered, however - and I did make this distinction - were cases where there is no direct relation to the concept of height (be that numerically) to the quality being described. Examples are abstract nouns that conceptualize values of some sort.

Examples would be high quality, high esteem, high principles - instances where high represents not a numerical quantity but a value judgement - i.e. good.

And just think about the word 'great'. It doesn't even hide the relationship between enormous size and, well, being great, i.e. fab, brill, ace... you get the picture.

And this is the realm in which we have to discuss this issue, surely - the realm of value judgement. Isn't prejudice after all pre-judgement? And if you unconsciously think of high as good, aren't you, even if unwittingly, pre-judging?
Reply 54
Original post by Fabtastic
Hello fellow 6ft 2 'er :awesome:

Found a couple of BBC sources - Tall people earning more - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1038531.stm

Being more attractive to the opposite sex - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2190461.stm

Leading 'better' lives (this one seems a bit dodgy to me) - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8245032.stm

Yeah, I agree - there are too many contradicting studies for that one.


I am 6"3. This has pleased me no end.
Reply 55
Two funny videos (one for each side of the fence):

Heightist racist gets his come-uppance.


Heightism performed a capella.
Reply 56
Original post by Socio__Lizzy
Survey time again. But this one is more for my own fun than for my GCSE so you don't have to give a massive lecture if you don't want to. Ill go first!



I say yes. You cant change your height for the most part. It is a static feature just like your race, sex, social caste. Short men earn less because they are less likely to be promoted than their 6'2 counterpart , live shorter (lol), have great difficulties attracting mates, socialising. Imagine Chinese people suffered all that for no reason! We would say it was racism no doubt.





Your turn. :smile:




EDIT --------------


I completely forgot about tall people having a tough time too...... :facepalm2:


I voted yes, but I'd like to contradict you. Several research projects have shown that people who are seen to prefer tall people, are not inherently heightist, but are in fact just reacting to certain personality traits that are more likely to be present in a tall person - e.g. confidence.
Okay, I'm really disappointed with the results of this poll, it only highlights either the ignorance or the acceptance of this form of discrimination, in fact I would argue it's the only widely accepted form of discrimination to exist in society. Funnily enough, I can comment on this because of my uni experience.

When I first came to uni I was 5'7. I stayed that way for the whole of the 1st year and most of the 2nd year. Then I had a really late growth spurt. Now in the final year I'm 5'11, though in shoes I'm more or less 6'. All I can say is THANK F***! Because I'm not sure how much more I could take.

Let me make something clear, despite the ridiculous use of Tom Cruise as an example, being a short man is quite possibly the worst thing that you can be in a social sense. Unless you've experienced it yourself you can't possibly understand the effect it has on your life.

For the first half of my uni experience, I was treated with little to no respect by almost everyone save a few close friends. No one took my suggestions seriously. No one cared about my opinion. In fact, I more or less didn't exist. With the exception of two girls, the only time any girls looked at me was when they were laughing at me. They barely talked to me at all and when they did they were far from respectful. And yes, I did make an effort to be social for all the good it did me. I spent most of the 'best years of my life' alone in my room, while everyone who treated my like subhuman scum was living it up.

All of this culminated in me attempting suicide at the end of the first year. THAT'S how much it can f*** up your life.

During the summer after my 2nd year, I grew. One morning, my mum and sister commented on it. I went back to my room and cried. It was like a miracle.

And what would you know, this year has been the best of my uni experience. People don't smirk at me. I get treated with respect when I go out shopping. People aren't rude when I try to talk to them, in fact they even try and talk to me :eek:. That never happened before.

And now I get basic respect from women. They smile at me, seem more willing to hear what I have to say, and actually start conversations with me. Even a few of the absolute b****s who treated me like crap for two years. Took a lot of pleasure telling them to f*** themselves.

Bottom line is this, my quality of life has vastly improved since getting taller, and this had nothing to do with my working harder, or getting richer, or having plastic surgery to make myself prettier. Only one thing changed....I was no longer a short man.

Anyone who thinks heightism is a joke is either naive or a complete tw*t.