Shortchanged: height discrimination and strategies for social change

Height is an important aspect of identity, yet people have little control over it. Just like a person’s gender or race, height can lead to subtle and overt forms of discrimination. Despite its dominance in influencing social structures within society, there is limited acknowledgement regarding how heightism is problematic. Tanya Osensky unpacks the subtle prejudices people who are short experience on a daily basis.

Shortchanged provides a detailed analysis of the underexamined discrimination short people encounter within society. The book aids in moving height discrimination forwards and being recognised as an actual form of discrimination. The author provides a strong argument to make heightism as important as other forms of discrimination; for example, recognising how attitudes towards short people would not be acceptable towards other minority groups. As a woman with dwarfism, I have found that many of my own experiences of height discrimination have either been denied or ignored by others, as they are not taken as seriously as sexism or racism. A downfall of the author is her claim that heightism is not as severe or as harsh as racism or sexism. This seems to contradict her argument about trying to equate heightism with other ‘isms’.

The book is split into five chapters, which each explore notions of heightism within society. Tanya draws on her own personal experiences as a 4 ft 11 inch woman to demonstrate examples of height discrimination she has experienced as both a mother and a lawyer. These personal accounts add some validity to her arguments, which are further supported by other research. What is lacking, however, are some theoretical arguments that could be drawn from disability studies. For example, Tanya explores how the medical industry is striving to make people taller through various procedures. The book draws on some shocking examples to show how the medical industry is trying to carry out procedures where there is no medical need for them. This chapter coincides with arguments within Disability Studies that oppose the notion of disability being a personal problem that is in need of fixing.

In some parts, the book can be considered an uneasy approach to examining the discrimination short people encounter, as there is little distinction between people with dwarfism and people who are just short. This creates a bit of confusion. It is not unusual for people who are just short to dismiss the experiences people with dwarfism encounter, based on their own experiences of being short. Thus, not distinguishing between some of the experiences that people with dwarfism encounter could exacerbate these beliefs. People with dwarfism encounter some unique forms of discrimination based on their stature. For example, people who are just short are not considered a form of entertainment. Pritchard (2017) explores how people with dwarfism encounter numerous unwanted social attitudes within society, which are based on how people with dwarfism are represented within the media. Although there are short people jokes, people who are just short are not hired out for the amusement of others and were never performers within the freak shows. For example, Tanya claims that Peter Dinklage’s refusal to accept roles that mock his dwarfism, such as being a circus clown, is more acceptable than it would be for an actor who is just short. However, short people are not stereotyped as clowns and are not associated with the circus in the same way as people with dwarfism are. Unlike people with dwarfism, short actors are not offered roles that reduce them to fantasy-like creatures or figures of fun. Tanya uses several well-known short actors, including Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino, as examples of short actors who have also never stooped to act the role of the clown. These are a poor comparison, as they are non-disabled actors who have been given the opportunity to play some very iconic roles. These roles would never be offered to someone with dwarfism. It must be remembered that Peter Dinklage is one of the very few actors with dwarfism to not be typecast as a clown or an elf, and this is down to years of refusal as opposed to luck. This is not to dismiss that there are some problematic stereotypes within television shows and films associated with being short, but they are not the same as those related to dwarfism.

The last two chapters also offer ways to combat heightism through activism and change that challenge social and cultural bias. Promoting the positive attributes of shortness aids in questioning society’s bias towards tallness and acts a way to think about changing our attitude towards height. This leads to some interesting suggestions made by Tanya to help short people combat the negative attitudes they experience. Whilst not quite a self-help guide, this is an empowering chapter that aids in helping short people to see their height in a positive manner and provides ways to challenge discriminatory attitudes.

Drawing to a conclusion, chapter five calls for better public acknowledgement and debate regarding heightism. Shortchanged purposes a cultural shift towards better public attitudes towards height. This leads questioning what relevance the book has for academics interested in heightism. Shortchanged provides a good basis for further exploration. Whilst the book lacks a theoretical approach, it remains an insightful read that is challenging a form of discrimination within society that has been overlooked for far too long.

Erin Pritchard
Department of disability and education, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, UK
[email protected]