Why do people think it is socially acceptable to comment on extraordinary hieght (tall or short)?
I’ll admit, I read the comments to this question, and agree that there seems to be an ever-increasing sense of entitlement to “the attitude formerly known as Rude” (TAFKAR). However, as you note, it appears to have been “acceptable” to comment on height even in generations past. Here, IMHO, is what plays into that: • Height is assumed to have been entirely genetic & beyond your control. Of course, it is influenced by nutrition & injury, etc., but there is probably nothing abnormal about your appearance (e.g., dwarfism) so people feel “free” to comment on something they assume you have accepted. I assume you have accepted it as well, but anyone who stopped to THINK, would realize you might not want to be REMINDED of it, randomly, outta the blue, because… • There are plenty of studies that show that males, particularly, are “rewarded” for greater stature, in dating, in intelligence, in assumed leadership abilities, and so on. I am not aware of a similar, consistent bias against women o
It’s really ridiculous if you think about it. When something is obvious like a person being shorter or taller, you would think that most people would think, it’s really not necessary to comment on the fact that they are tall, surely all of their life they must have heard that comment. It’s like they don’t think before they open their mouths. Let me tell him that he’s overly tall, maybe he doesn’t realize it and he needs to know. He could hurt himself in a doorway. It’s ridiculous! My daughter played Division I volleyball, she was an outside hitter at 5’9″. The middle blockers were over 6 feet. Her best friend was a beautiful, intelligent middle blocker at 6’1. Most everywhere she went and when they went out for the night, some guy would automatically ask, “Do you play basketball?” What a brilliant opening line, right? She would often laugh and say how ridiculous that particular comment seemed. I told her to tell them, “No, but I am a professional ballerina?” Wouldn’t that have been gre
and don’t realize it. Heck, the song “Short People,” much as I like Randy Newman, generally, would be enough to make my Aunt Elizabeth want to bite. She’s also 4’11”. My ex is 6’5″. I’ve heard the tales of woe from them both, and witnessed some with my ex. I would NEVER comment on height. It’s just as rude as commenting on weight, or any other ouot-of-the-ordinary physical attribute.
Yes, you’re right, it’s rude and thoughtless. But for the most part, people don’t mean anything bad by it. They just don’t see it as being offensive, esp. for short women (it’s seen as being terminally ‘cute.’) I’m taller than average, and I’ve gotten all the tall remarks my entire life. It never bothered me, but then, in our culture, being tall is considered to be an asset. It’s actually bad form to make any kind of remarks about how someone looks, outside of an obvious compliment, and even there it’s rude if it makes the person uncomfortable. But then in an age of cell phones and the reply of “no problem” instead of “you’re welcome,” you’ve got to understand that people in general are ruder and cruder than they used to be. You could always make a smart-azzed remark to someone who comments on your height, but that may not be appropriate because it can escalate a casual remark into much more than it is (and was meant), and it makes the offender and everyone else around you think that y
Why do people think it is socially acceptable to comment on extraordinary hieght (tall or short)?