You may ask yourself, "What is Heightism?" Good question. Answer: Heightism is the idea that people who are tall can automatically be placed in certain stereotypes.
Let me ask you this:
Is racism wrong?
Is sexism wrong?
Then please tell me why it is okay to AUTOMATICALLY assume that since I am 6'6" I MUST PLAY BASKETBALL. I mean, of course, I do play basketball... and I played in High School for Minneapolis South... but STILL!
Also, please try to understand what my life is like. I hit my head on doorframes. I hit my head on ceiling lights/fans. This may seem like an exciting concept to you, since it has probably NEVER happened to you, but believe me, it gets old fast... like, half way through the first time. Here is the process of my brain the first time I hit my head on a doorframe: "OH MAN, did I seriously just hit my head on the freakin--- HOLY CRAP THAT HURTS LIKE BUDDAH!!!" On a related note, think about how much the fun in my life is deterred by my inability to flourish at the game of hide & seek.
Is anything on the face of this earth made for me? No. Not even XXL clothing is made for me. XXL clothing is not made for tall people. XXL is made for rotund people.
Cars? You're joking... you should see me in a car. There is absolutely no room behind me. My four-door sedan can fit three people.
Rollercoasters? My knees love them. My knees didn't even go through a rollercoaster of emotions last time, they just had one emotion: extreme pain.
Jeans? I haven't found a store that has my jean size. I can find the WAISTLINE that I need, but, guess what, I live in America, so my waistsize is natural for people who are a foot shorter than me. I found my jean length one time... it was in a big & tall store... yeah, the waistline was 46... if you know anything about waistlines, that pair of jeans fits a 350 pound man.
Kitchens? I work in a kitchen everyday. I clean dishes everyday. My back hates me. I bend over more than a palm tree in a hurricane. When I make millions after this blog gains the entire demographic of China, I will install a higher counter in the new house that I build.
I could go on, but I shall spare you the agony. Instead, I will touch on the centerpeice of my argument. ALL OF THE TIME, people (usually women) tell me that they know somebody that is "as tall as me." The person is usually their boyfriend or their son. After a couple simple questions, I find that the person they are referring to is actually 6'2". I'm sorry, but that is not NEARLY as tall as me. That is freakin FOUR INCHES shorter than me. I have nothing in common with a 6'2" person. Imagine if you were black, and somebody said to you, "I know a black guy, yeah... he's from India." Or, "I know what you're going through... I once got jipped out of a seat on an airplane." Or imagine if you were a woman and somebody told you, "I completely understand what you're going through, my teacher once thought I couldn't do a project by myself."
The irony of the post is that somebody complaining about "Heightism" is just as offensive as the examples I just explored about ignorant people thinking they know what people are going through... Please know that I am doing it all in jest, and being stereotyped because of my height isn't anything in comparison to racism or sexism. It actually is sweet being tall, I just thought I'd point out a couple frustrations.
Per "tree" Nestingen
You are like Clifford the Big Red Dog.
ReplyDelete-Clara (4 years old)
Why is there not a "big OR tall" store? There is not a positive linear relationship between BMI and height, clothing manufacturers and carmakers! I write this not because I'm 6'6" (I am 6'3.5"), but because I have the femurs of a 7-foot homo sapien.
ReplyDeleteOn a scale of 1 to 10, I am psyched to be a follower of this blog.
Keen point, Mr. Hoegh, keen point. Maybe there is an entrepreneureal opportunity here. Big OR tall stores could sweep the nation... We couldn't go world-wide, though. I don't think there is an outcry for this type of clothing line in many of the Asian countries.
ReplyDeleteClara's comment reminds me of another little tyke that lives at camp with me this year. Sarah Allen is three years of age, and one day she asked her mom: "Mommy, is God bigger than Per?" Her mother replied, "Yes, honey, God is bigger than Per." Sarah then replied, "Wow... God must be really big!"