Height

Being a woman at 5 feet 4 I was neither considered tall nor short. I believe my height was never an insecurity for me. Yet I witnessed a lot of events around me which told me that height can be an insecurity.

Once I was with my friend who was below 5 feet in height. Even after wearing heels she would barely reach the height of 5 feet. I had another friend who was towering at 5 feet 10 inches. This friend what always ask my short friend, "how is the weather down there?" Asking this question once or twice was considered to be a joke. When the question gets asked multiple times it no longer remains a joke. It feels like an intentional nasty attack. My short friend never said anything to my tall friend. It was no wonder that my short friend was insecure with her height.

The insecurity regarding height comes out in multiple instances. When you go to buy a pair of jeans or a trousers they would always be too long. They would require massive alteration to fit the frame. A lot of women decide to overcome this issue with wearing high heels however they affect the posture. Without realising they invite long term illnesses into their lives. A lot of women who wear high heels in their youth tend to get issues with back pain in their 30s or 40s.

Another instance where the insecurities of the height come out prominently is when the marriages are being fixed. Height often comes into the picture. A lot of rejections took place because of the height. Short women get rejected as well as tall women get rejected. Tall women get rejected because they sometimes are even taller than the aspiring groom. These are the circumstances when the tall women as well as short women feel helpless because they could not control and govern their height.

The issue related to the height is not gender specific. In my experience the insecurities towards height are also very prominent in men as well. If a man is considered short he becomes the target of all jokes. He too faces scrutiny at various levels. He also faces a lot of rejection because of his height.

Same is the case with men who are considered to be to tall. For them purchasing anything from clothes to footwear is a challenge. At most of the places tall man have to bend down to accommodate into smaller spaces. These challenges definitely affect their posture as well as the health of the spinal cord. One of my cousins was 6 feet 5 inches tall. Because of his height and constant requirement to bend down he started facing lower back pain at the age of 25. By the time he turned 30 he had a prominently hunched back. By the time we reached 35 he had multiple issues which arose because of his height.

Yet none of these realities are taken into consideration while making jokes about height. For me I had made a decision that I would never make fun of anything that would be considered as an insecurity. I may not be the fun at parties but at least I would not hurt anyone's feelings.