Same height parties

Stagiaire Fash

Everyone wears shoes according to their height, making everybody 2 m standard.
http://www.almostzara.com/2012.....ame-level/

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8 years ago

Off Topic

19 replies

Latest reply was from Aziraphale

elpgal

Veteran

This is such a bizarre idea but I can see the merits. In conversation, I find myself constantly interrupting people who are taller than me because I can't tell when they are done talking. Never happens with people my height.

8 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

Oh, you should post this in the main forum. Known fact that taller people are over-represented in the CEO category. Height matters socially.

8 years ago

cindysmith

Veteran

It's definitely interesting!

8 years ago

Emily K

(website)

Veteran

Still not quite fair to everyone. Some people might have to lop-off the bottom inch of their feet, or maybe take a bit off the top to come in at 2m.

8 years ago

Staysfit

Veteran

This is preposterous!

8 years ago

Gigi

Veteran

This seems like it could be very dangerous. If you're short and the tallest person is over a foot taller than you, you would have to wear some serious platforms, which could be very difficult to walk in. And add alcohol to the equation...it could get nasty.

8 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

Lol, Gigi. When they let loose the tiger, we all know who will survive...

8 years ago

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Emily, if you invite someone over 6'8", you could change the standard height.

Staysfit and Gigi, surprising reactions.

I've been reminded over the past year of how being big and strong is related to masculinity (and of how very in-feminine I felt when I was taller than most of my middle-school classmates) , but that isn't just true for teen-agers' growth & development. There have also been numerous studies in recent years that show that taller women and men are given more respect. (I notice this a little bit when I move between the US, where I'm on the tall side, and Germany, where 174 cm is very average for a woman). We really are not ethereal "selves", attached to shells. People live in and through bodies; the body we have affects how we see things, and what we see.

I imagine that anyone curious enough about the social experiment to attend one of these would want to stay sober enough to observe--but I suppose the difference in how someone is treated when they are suddenly see eye to eye with everyone in the room might be disturbing enough to drive them to drink--sitting down in a corner, I hope.

8 years ago

Staysfit

Veteran

I doubt you can tell very much at a party like that regarding what it is like to live in a tall or a small frame for the very reasons Fashiontern mentions. It is a product of the accumulated experiences that truly counts. I know that my experience and feelings about being tall are different than my daughters. She is obviously from a different generation and also grew up in a different community. We are close in height but she is maybe an inch taller. She has always been proud to be tall and even wanted to be taller. I had times in my youth when I was not happy about being tall. It's hard to know if I was treated with more respect because of my height, but I do know that as a very young child I was much taller than ALL of my peers and looked much older because of it. With that height came increased expectations to behave more maturely. Maybe unfairly so. Even though I am not considered that tall in comparison now, at 5'8.5", I still have the mindset of being the tallest person in the room and carry myself as if this is true even though it isn't. I'm sure my early experiences set me up for a life of "thinking tall".

8 years ago

Ledonna N.

Veteran

Broken ankles everywhere.

8 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

Y'all know what I used to do to bug my dad and brother and amuse myself: I'd walk up to them and say 'I'm taller than you.'

Hahaha! That bugged them sooooo much. It was HILARIOUS. Even tho it was so clearly untrue. I should do it some more.

8 years ago

Eliza

Veteran

It is interesting how extreme height differentials can impact the nature of conversations. Sitting down can help. At 5'8", I found it challenging to speak with a 6"9" person at a "stand up and mingle" party. My neck had trouble, he was bending and it revealed concretely how complicated some aspects of his days must be. Likely true in some ways for anyone who is on either end of the curve. Not that those shoes seem like the answer...

8 years ago

JAileen

Veteran

Wouldn't sitting in chairs at a table accomplish the same thing, without the danger? Okay, someone could sit on a phone book, if need be.

8 years ago

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Thanks for the comments! I took the most into account when I posted this to my page for geographers as a way to get people thinking about how our experience of place is always embodied and physical. I even cautioned about twisted ankles, cause people have to live in those bodies even after class is over!

8 years ago

Echo

Veteran

Well, this was like performance art, and it WAS entitled "Personal Absurdities Level." I like the fact that the photos and the display perhaps helped people think about this issue.

My DH is 17" taller than I am, so I live this daily. Indeed, all of my children are now taller than I am, as are most middle school students at work. But presence is not determined by size, IMO. I have never felt dismissed or disrespected due to height, despite being aware of all the studies to the contrary.

Despite this being an art exhibit, I would actually find it entertaining to attend a gathering like this. On the rare occasions I wear heels, it really DOES feel different and it sometimes changes my perspective. Heck, I just raised the seat on my bike an inch and it suddenly feels like I am tall when I'm cycling!

Staysfit: My DD is very pleased about being tall, too. I think her goal for a long time was simply to be taller than me, which she knew she would be, but was impatient for it to happen. Although I was very tall for a 5th grader (the tallest in my class, though I did not grow after that), I did not enjoy it at all. I felt self-conscious being taller than everyone else. DD has no concerns about being taller than all of her friends and most of the boys in her class. She definitely views height as an advantage.

8 years ago

Anonymous

That's too funny!

8 years ago

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Echoing Echo (aren't I funny?), I think the effect of height difference is likely to be felt more keenly by shorter people, because that's how it goes when one group has more power and the other less. So if you did this experiment, tall people might feel ignored or somehow out of sync, but short people would get the attention they'd expect from being taller. Is it going to change anyone's life? Don't be silly. But I'm all for waking up to what's going on in tableaus we are part of.

Staysfit sounds a lot like me in terms of height and how we've related to it.

8 years ago

Janet

(website)

Veteran

At first I thought this was kind of hilarious, but upon reflection I think it could be really interesting for encouraging people to quite literally see from another's perspective. My husband is 6'6" so he'd be pretty much the standard for this party. He is so used to being the tallest guy in the room that he immediately notices when someone taller comes in, and how weird it is to look up at someone. And imagine how it would feel for my stepson's wife at 5'0" to have a conversation with someone without looking up at them! We've talked a few times about how accustomed we all are to seeing the world from a certain vantage point, whether it is 5'0" or 6'6". What an interesting way to challenge perception.

8 years ago

Aziraphale

Veteran

Oh gosh, I'd be on such tall stilts that I'd probably fall over...

8 years ago

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