short guys?!!

[Sinar_Matahari]

I used to have a boyfriend who was around my height (5'5") give or take an inch.
I also remember being crazy about him because I loved his attitude and his personality. I do like tall men, but height alone is nothing. I've had a boyfriend who was 6'2" and he couldn't even compare to my shorter ex.

 

[Hastings & Main]

Too short, too tall, too thin, too fat. I'm 6-1 and 15lbs underweight. I turn sideways and disappear. Hug me, get a paper-cut.
ANYone not considered the "norm" are going to be picked on sometimes. It's how I learned to hate normality.
Anyways, I've had two managers at an old job who were both around 5-3 or so. One quit and opened a bistro with his lover in Quebec, the other was always out on dates and very good with the ladies.
The trick isn't inches, it's view of self-worth, made all the harder to grasp and keep a firm grip on when the norm's keep getting high off of making someone else feel like crap.
If that's their addiction, let them have it. Laugh at them & be glad you're you, shake your head at their lack of intelligence.

 

[EdgeCrusher]

yea im just under 5'7 and i always kind of thought of myself as too short for a guy.

 

[Phoenixx]

Us short girls need shorter guys.

^ Totally agree

 

[systemanic]

I'm 5'9, skinny as a rake, as well as petite, and usually pale as a ghost. And i've had "a good amount" of ridicule about my looks over the years, so i also know what it's like to suffer loads of personal insults, year-in-year-out. It totally abolishes one's self-confidence, and significantly damages one's sense of self-worth. If only they knew the true damage they are doing...

I don't know the solution, except for that it probably lies in the mind (as one cannot change the body). When you have a seemingly hopeless & unresolvable problem, I find what helps is to try to understand it as much as you can. That helps you to accept it, and then you can hopefully "move on" from that problem, or at least not have it bother you so much.

As for society, it does seem that "social etiquette" has more-or-less been abandoned. Maybe people think they can get much more out of life without it? Or our upbringings are too anti-social? Or something.

And about the culprits themselves, once again an extra "dose" of understanding is in order. I've recently been reading a book entitled "A New Earth", and the other day I was reading about the "ego". You probably know most of this, but here it is anyway, in black-and-white (quoted from book): "Any conceptual sense of self - seeing myself as this or that - is ego ... Behind the confident ego's feeling of and continuing need for superiority is the unconscious fear of inferiority ... Many people fluctuate between feelings of inferiority and superiority, depending on situations or the people they come into contact with. All you need to know and observe in yourself (& others) is this: Whenever you feel superior or inferior to anyone, that's the ego in you"

 

[aidan]

thanks for all the reply's from everyone. i guess the general message is to just deal with it and that its pretty much about having a positive attitude and personality rather than focusing on how short i am. i work in a warehouse, guy dominated of course, and its only really 3 or 4 guys that have to get the odd jab at me or joke at me, its not that often even, i know they are just having a bit of a laugh but its hard when the jokes always on you.

i see that some women here have a same problem too, it sucks and i am sorry if someone is making fun of it keep your head up, (i need to follow my own advise), girls can be nasty to each other. generally i think its usually the men that have to be taller, or are 'in general' the taller one of the relationship etc. but to be honest i prefer smaller girls myself, maybe its because i am short side and to have a girl shorter than me would make me feel good about myself then!!! i don't know. Hollywood and society has always thrown out the conception that a guy is supposed to be a few inches taller than a girl. its just the way its always been. a mans superiority based on height,skill, muscles and a bank account. the typical macho egotistical alpha male.

i don't play sports i was never into sports and also the gym is kinda out as of my SA prevents that social aspect of getting out there. im pretty much normal, im 8 3/4 - 9 stone in weight, is considered very normal/average for my height/weight ratio.
i guess i will have to try deal with it before i can move one, but its good to know im not alone, not good.. its bad any of us are unhappy with our height, but good in a sense that i there are others that i can talk to about this.

 

[Feathers]

Hey Aidan! Places like warehouse or a factory can be pretty bad about these things, and teasing in general.. My dad is pretty tall & he worked in a factory, at a time he was real skinny and they teased him a lot.. Anyone that 'sticks out' in any way will probably get teased in an environment like these, and they probably mean nothing by it at all.. Like in some songs, it's 'shortie this, shortie that'.. (sometimes/often even affectionate & friendly!!) I always wondered if those wo/men were insulted if a song was written about them like that..
I think it can be boring to just lug around things all day, so people can get 'restless minds' and just think of something to say, and some may not be particularly creative about it.. So if you think of any more interesting things to say (or creative nicknames for them or you) maybe you can turn things around a bit?

You can say things like 'Well, you know what they say? Poison is in small bottles ' (a pretty well known saying in my country) Or even, 'Everyone who thinks small isn't powerful, has never been in bed/in the same room with a mosquito!'
Or you can tease them even more, 'My girlfriends don't complain' or such (if they don't )

Maybe the 'strong and tall' men resent it if they have to carry 'heavier cargo' than any of you 'smaller' guys, or just want to feel good about themselves.. If there are any resentments about other things, they can easily be masked and people say what first comes to their mind. (Even when it may not bother them at all, but they know you're sensitive to the word!!) In that case it might be good to clarify any resentments and have a word in private.. (The book Dealing with Difficult People by Kirschman & Brinkmann tells you how to do that, sort of.)

So, that's a bit about teasing. Mostly it's probably just friendly banter anyway.
I'd recommend finding interesting topics to talk about (news/what you saw on TV/internet, did they see the new girl in office/on TV or anything that interests them..) to just divert attention.. Or just start calling them, 'Hey, skyscraper?' or something affectionate like that?

I'm one of the girls who does prefer dating a taller guy, though I have dated guys my height too, and slightly shorter too.. and sometimes regretted A LOT that I wasn't shorter, cause some really way shorter guys were way CUTE & nice!! And yup, some tall guys are no good dating material either!! I know a couple where the girl is way taller and they've been very happy together for many years!
You have a job and seem to be a friendly guy, and many women out there would be happy to be with you!!

PS You know in Hollywood sometimes they had to 'dig trenches' for the taller leading female actress if the leading man was not so tall?!! (not sure exactly for who anymore, Prince and Tom Cruise come to mind..) Take care & wishing you luck!!

 

[Cynic]

My boyfriend (of 1 year tomorrow : is 21 and only 5'3" so i'm 6 inches taller than him. It's all about accepting yourself. He hates being short but he doesn't let it get him down too much. He's more of a man than some men I know who are 6 foot plus.

He would likely knock some of them out too I bet.

 

[Joeh]

Clothes can make you look taller than you are, search it up there are a bunch of great tips online. Being 5'6 myself age 23 it bothered me at first, though I think I've come to accept it. Though it may sound contradicting and almost shallow but it would bother me if my partner was shorter than me.

 

[eek]

I am 5'5 but where I come from that is average height. I've dated a girl that was 5'9... that was very fun

 

[freestylemonster]

I'm 5'6". It used to really bother me, being short. But I really couldn't care less now. It doesn't make me any less of an awesome guy, and the only reason my love-life suffers is shyness - I doubt it has anything to do with my height.

 

[Aussie_Lad]

You just need to learn how to assert yourself better. Never ever let people pick on you. I can bet that it isn't the shortness of you that they are targeting, rather they are picking on you because they perceive a weakness that they don't like. You can't do anything about your height, but you can do something about your attitude, so work on it to prove that you can make a success from life.