...of what you say about shortness.

ETA for those who are new to this thread: This is not intended as a criticism to anyone for comments they have made, in any way, shape or form. I wrote this post to draw attention to the fact that height confers very real socioeconomic advantages. (Height, like beauty and colour, is a good predictor for income). As a result, height can be a sensitive topic for those who have experienced discrimination for being short. Please read on with the understanding that this is meant as a lighthearted discussion in which to explore ideas, not as a demand that we tailor our comments to suit the whims of someone else.

Angie put up an innocent post today about asking who feels "too tall" in heels. This is a real thing; I have one gorgeous tall friend in particular who never wears them for this very reason.

HOWEVER. Height is a privilege, the same as thin and white are privileges, in North America at least. But because there are some short women who are happy to be short, and there are sometimes tall women who long to be petite (whereas precisely no one longs to be obese), we sometimes forget about tall privilege and how shitty it might make a short woman feel to hear comment like "I'm tall but I wish I were even TALLER". The subtext is that shortness is an unfortunate handicap.

And it IS a handicap, albeit a relatively minor one. A short woman is the size of a child. A short man is generally not (although shortness in a man comes with other issues). Children have no authority in the adult world. A small woman thus has to work harder to be judged as an adult. In saying this, I am not trying to diminish the much greater handicaps that others have to shoulder (I can think of many!) -- but just, you know, try not to go on about how short you are when you're not. It's like hearing a thin woman whine about feeling fat.