Heightism

There are many evils in the world with the suffix -ism. There's racism, sexism, classism, and even that with which my boy Barack has been maligned, elitism. (And I've got to post on the state of my boy's campaign . . . good Lord. Another day, another day.) But it's with horror that I've realized that I've been a perpetuator of another insidious, probably less-heard of -ism. Heightism.

How did I realize that I was a heightist? I was discussing past dealings with a friend, and we both kept unconsciously hating on shortness. When my friend once again offhandedly and ever so slightly deragatorily mentioned, "Yeah, he was short, too," it hit me. We were being heightist! We were perpetuating our society's preference for tallness and feeding into the ideology that gives tallness a position of privilege. Somehow, in the recesses of our feminine minds we accepted and embraced the mantra that "taller is better."

The first step to overcoming heightism is to acknowledge that there is a problem. To acknowledge that heightism even persists in our society. Some people say that heightism is a thing of the past. They even say things like, "I'm height-blind," or to convince you of their open-mindedness, "My best friend is short." Nevertheless, if faced with a tall guy and a short guy, all other things being equal, who is most likely to be chosen?

I openly admit my heightism. I'm trying to deal with it. I must admit, however, that hotness is a trump card of sorts, and would definitely rid me of my heightist ideology.

P.S. (added 4/30/08 @ 2:04 p.m.): I must also add that it's easier to rid oneself of heightism if a guy is allowed to "grow" on you. Har, har.