Dating

Degree 180, 12/30/2015

As a short girl, I couldn’t care less about Short Girl Appreciation Day (which occurred recently). However, if I am going to be appreciated for my height then shorter guys ought to be appreciated for theirs as well, because it’s the height we are appreciating, right?

Wrong. And herein lies the double standard.

It’s okay for women to be short. It’s normal and cute. A short man? Nope, not cute or normal. According to societal standards, a short man is non-masculine and odd. It isn’t uncommon to see men make fun of other men for their height based on the assumption that, somehow, a man lacks masculinity if his height is below average, and, in some cases, even average height is looked down upon.

Women, essentially, ostracize short men for their inability to dominate them (not all women, thankfully). Think about it. Many women want a tall man who can presumably protect them and, simply, stand over them. Because being loomed over and subjugated by a man’s height is so cute (sarcasm).

There, of course, is nothing wrong with being attracted to tallness or with wanting to be personally dominated. However, there is something wrong with valuing all men for their ability to dominate others.

Boys, young men, and grown men alike are esteemed for their “masculinity,” meaning they are esteemed for their power. Their dominance. Their ability to win. They are respected if they win at sports (a.k.a. defeat other men), if they never cry (a.k.a. don’t feel), if they attract many women (have sex with, rape, or dominate women), if they make a lot of money (assert their superiority over others). They are valued for their muscles, their aggression, and their indifference.

If a man breaks a woman’s heart, he has won a trophy. He has been told this is okay because it is not okay to feel. If a man cries, he is ridiculed because only women are allowed to cry. If he has no money, he is a failure because money is success and the mind is nothing. If he beats another man, he gains greatness. If he helps his team win a game, he is honored.

Discrimination against men is real and it took a silly Short Girl Appreciation Day for me to be able to explain this. Because women face a much worse, institutionalized sexism, we often ignore this discrimination against men. We focus on the bigger issues. But if you think about it, discrimination against men and misogyny are not the completely separate issues that we tend to think. In fact, recognizing and facing this discrimination against men could actually help defeat misogyny.

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