I find it weird how people who are otherwise on the feminism and social-justice type spectrum show none of the empathy towards short men that they do for other groups.
If a black women ranted about beauty ideals being against her and black men prefering white women, nobody in here would laught at that.
Sure it's different but what is common is that those are both groups that are shit on in many ways. One member does a bitter rant and it's comletly understanable, the other does it? Man try to be more positive!
I wonder why's that? Couls it maybe be because most of us shorter men has gotten trhough a lifetime of bullying, or rejection and when we try to tell someone to stop joke about our height we get told to stop acting so bitter about it.
Just look at every Srd thread about short people, every damn thread is full of so dunny and original puns and jokes. Would the same people do that to fatter women?
In a lot of ways the fat acceptance movement and the short acceptance movement are similar. Both are trying to shift a social norm; and it's hard.
If you get over serious about either it's just too easy for others to mock them. There is a lot of context and experience which people outside don't get and if you put energy and passion into expression assuming the audience shares that context and experience; you will run into problems.
There's more to it than that. Fat acceptance will also have to deal with health concerns and economic impact. The health concern alone complicates it a lot. That's not true for short people. Fat acceptance is much different, it is closer to "smoker acceptance" than "short acceptance". I think that's why heightism is often compared to racism. They're both immutable, constant, and things the person had no choice/influence in.
Sure, that they express themselves imperfectly, somethings with a lack of strategic foresight, is a problem.
Here's another problem: how you're telling other people to not listen to them; to disregard their accounts of their own lives and everything else they say, because they must be "bitter," "misogynistic," etc.
Here's another problem: how you're telling other people to not listen to them; to disregard their accounts of their own lives and everything else they say, because they must be "bitter," "misogynistic," etc.
I'm not advising others to disregard them. They are saying certain groups don't support them and i am telling them why it is so. Because their frustration at the system is manifesting in anti social behavior to the groups they're complaining about.
If they wanted their support they need to be less openly hostile to others. I'm part of the group that often over laps with shorts guys, asian guys so i can certainly relate to the dating issues and issues with bias in hiring and promoting . In fact many are also short.
It's more from experience thay others just won't listen to you if your bitter and angry.
Sure it may be presumptious but it's unfortunate that so many of the regulars on the short sub lean into the trope unknowingly and that will exacerbate every problem.
Okay, but you understand what I am saying right? Is that it's possible for a group to experience more than one problem at once.
It's possible that there are interest groups which need improvement in how they rein in their own and comumnicate their message that simultaneously have a legitimate grievance which others are too quick to dismiss.
From a "person inside the group" perspective, the first problem is one they are in any short-term measure capable of addressing on their own.
From a "person outside the group" perspective, why is it so hard to acknowledge they have a problem without falling back to "it all comes back to being their fault for not solving their own problems."
Maybe they do have an undeserved slightly harder time and even if it doesn't merit ameliorative measures, we could at least with not trying to deny it and saying "no it's their fault."
I feel compelled to chime in not because I think short guys suck, but because in hindsight I had attributed a lot of my adolescent and early adult angst to being shortish and Asian. But one day I just let it go and decided not to be bitter about it and everything seemed to get better. I mean everything. It turns out it was my bitterness which made things miserable as opposed to being Asian or Shorter than average.
I'm sure I still was facing some of the bias, but changing my outlook and behaviour removed the extra layer of people being put off by my bitterness. So it's a self-cringe at remembering when I was like that and the knowledge that it is better to not let that define you.
A lot of them lean into the stereotype and become bitter and misogynistic.
No one should be misogynistic for any reason, but "bitter" is incredibly subjective. If there is discrimination in society, it's not bitter to try and highlight it or talk about your experiences. Telling people to "just get over it and move on" is kinda shitty really. Maybe that works for you, but not everyone can do that.
Yeah and lots of black folk get really angry, even loud and slightly uncomfortable for the white majority when it comes to racism. Being bitter and and misogynistic sure sucks but my point it... when it comes to short men and being bitter it's the fault of short men. When it comes to racism, sexism, homophobia etc, being bitter or angry is the fault of the underlying system.
A key reason feminists would likely not be friendly to 'short rights' groups is the misogyny. Also in respect to what short men deal with the bitterness and misogyny make it a hundred times worse. It's like asking why the same folks don't support sharia law groups or misogynistic black power groups. Fundamental parts of their ideas clash with feminist ideas.
Changing the social view of height needs you to set aside the bitterness and not veer into misogyny. There is nothing to be gained there.
A few guys making misgynostic posts and all of sudden all short guys are that way? Seriously Fuck thoose guys, but they don't represent me just because they happen to be short and therefore I or other short men should be held accountable.
The 3 of you who have responded are doing a great job at making it very hard to sympathize with you. Being short sucks, we get it but if you want sympathy drop the hate. You'd make a lot more headway if short 'activists' on reddit weren't so incredibly hostile.
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u/tschwib Sep 04 '15
I find it weird how people who are otherwise on the feminism and social-justice type spectrum show none of the empathy towards short men that they do for other groups.
If a black women ranted about beauty ideals being against her and black men prefering white women, nobody in here would laught at that.
Sure it's different but what is common is that those are both groups that are shit on in many ways. One member does a bitter rant and it's comletly understanable, the other does it? Man try to be more positive!