A Short Piece

I am short. That's right, in a world where men average out at 5'11 ( about 1.8m)and women are about 5'5 (some at 5'8), I am very short. I am 5ft (1.5m). But you know what? It never used to bother me. When you are young, short people are cute. I've been told "short people run faster", "short people always look young" (this one from my 47 year old mother) even "short women have tighter vaginas". I suppose this was all to make it seem like being short is okay. But being short isn't okay anymore.

Now, I don't judge myself by other peoples standards; I don't want to be model thin and tall. But I'm getting really fucking tired of being called a midget. Midgets are people who are under the size of 4'8 (1.4m). I am not a midget. I will say it again, I am NOT a midget. Don't call me that. Midgets are usually, if I understand it correctly, the product of a genetic defect/mutation. Midget is an offensive term for dwarfs/little people. For many narrow-minded people, a midget is often synonymous with a retard (another offensive and narrow-minded term which often means, in its pejorative form, not only someone who suffers from mental retardation but who is also ugly, stupid, and creepy). Now, I don't subscribe to these views, but I won't deny that it is insulting to be described with a word that many people see as negative. I do not have a growth problem, I do not have a genetic problem. there is nothing wrong with me physically except that I'm short. Stop fucking calling me a midget. Stop calling me a dwarf. Or a troll, or a child. I'm perfectly normal. Catherine the Great was 5' (many at this point will remark that Napoleon was also short. He wasn't, in fact, he measured 5'7". that's French feet by the way, which I believe are bigger than English feet. He was average for the time, perhaps even a little tall. But, I digress).

When did being tall become such a valued characteristic? What can you do that I can't? I don't even want to be tall. If I can't reach something, I'll use a step ladder. But I'll never bump my head or have to duck uncomfortably. Shirts will always fit me because I don't have monstrously long arms. Pants never will of course, because the clothing industry must follow the norm. What I don't get about pants though, is why the larger sizes for women's pants have longer legs. Everyone knows that the pudgier you are, the shorter you probably are (this is not the case for men). And really, wouldn't it be more logical for industries to cater to short people? No matter how tall you are, you can always bend down to reach something. But I can't reach that 7 foot high shelf in the stockroom.

I used to not mind being short. You get to be first in line in school, and you can trick or treat for a couple of extra years before people catch on (although admittedly I stopped trick or treating at 13). I am very proportional and I rather like my bod. In fact, I have no problem with my height. It's everyone else who has the problem.