If ever Napoleon Bonaparte resurrected today, what kind of world would welcome him?

Whenever I hear the word ‘height’, reality reminds me that I’m just 5’1 (155 cm) tall. That height is cute for girls, but mind you I’m a guy and short guys are just absurd. I’ve heard men whine about their heights ‘cos they’re only 5’5, 5’6, 5’7 … What about me? What the fudge am I? I can’t even.

It’s hard to absorb the fact that the world isn’t friendly to our kind. Believe me the struggle is real. Shorties have to endure everyday pain an average guy can get pass through: unable to see anything from the crowd, need to jump to reach high things, mistaken to be a grade school by school guards, and people look down on us… literally and figuratively.

Short men aren’t perceived to be ‘real’ men.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle short guys have to face is inside the dating pool. The culture wherein men are dominant and women are submissive is evident in height; the tall is seen dominant and strong which is a must for males. Most may find us cute but we are taken for granted. The truth is short men aren’t perceived to be ‘real’ men. This is a hit to our balls and the blame goes to no other than the media.

The media (particularly Hollywood) is where stereotypes started that led to discrimination in society. I’m not saying the media is bad; but they are powerful influential agents today that any hot or trending idea is instantly pointed at them.

Heightism was not emphasized in historical texts which meant height didn’t really matter during those times. It tells us that short people were accepted before. No wonder why Napoleon was respected. By the time Western influence (again, Hollywood) entered the spotlight, the days of the midgets are over. Hollywood needed to clearly represent the ideal male and female thus the beginning of physical discrimination.

Napoleon is living a sad life in 21st Century.

I hate to admit it. It’s a sad reality that short men have a stigma today. We cannot enjoy the privileges of average and tall guys. Most of the time we just pretend. We just act like height does not affect people’s prejudice to us, but in fact it does. The problem with discrimination is it limits us to our stereotypes. It ignores the good things in us. It neglects our potential in society. But there is something I want short guys to know.

We are not inferior.

We worth so much more than those measures. We are just like any other guy for we are capable to love and be loved.We don’t deserve the insecurities that haunt us and stop us from reaching our full potential. Tall and short men can be strong. Tall and short men can be weak. Tall and short men can be committed. Tall and short men can be jerks. All men have their own curves and edges.

Short guys should start feeling secured to their manhood. It’s up to him if he chooses to be blinded by the prejudices of height or to stop caring at all and enjoy his fun-sized, God-given stature.

Sources

Short Persons Support: Essays : A Man’s Guide to Being Short. (n.d.). Retrieved January 27, 2015, from http://www.shortsupport.org/Essays/MichaelCalwell.html

Meyers, S. (2014, January 3). Short Men: Why Women Aren’t Attracted Enough to Date Them. Retrieved January 27, 2015, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/insight-is-2020/201401/short-men-why-women-arent-attracted-enough-date-them

Heightism: The “Socially Acceptable” Discrimination. (n.d.). Retrieved January 27, 2015, from http://it-goes-both-ways.tumblr.com/post/43969658235/heightism-the-socially-acceptable

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