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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Calling pedants, teachers, wordsmiths and class warriors.

469 replies

shylock · 14/03/2007 08:22

I have a question.

OP posts:
Judy1234 · 17/03/2007 15:40

Some women in china have their legs broken and leg extensinos put in to gain height. You are more likely to get a husband if you're taller. I don't think that's very different from foot binding or indeed breast enlargement in the UK or perhaps even high heels.

Mhamai · 17/03/2007 15:48

What a ridiculous generalisation xenia, I'm 5" 7 size 12 in trousers and 14 in top because I have big boobs, I was once or twice a 10 when I had pnd and had lost weight but I looked unhealthy. You just CANNOT generalise like that. Really do you enjoy being a silly provocative woman for the hell of it?

whywhywhy · 17/03/2007 15:55

more likely to get a husband if you're taller????

I really can't believe that one.

HOrdes of male Kylie obsessives would surely laugh their heads off too. Xenia, point me to the evidence please.

easywriter · 17/03/2007 15:59

Dp has been a permanent fixture for ten years but hasn't popped the question.

Maybe she's got a point.

(I am joking)

Judy1234 · 17/03/2007 16:02

On the Chinese thing:
"It hurts, but it will be worth it to be taller. I'll have more opportunities in life and a better chance of finding a good job and husband."
www.guardian.co.uk/women/story/0,3604,1107085,00.html

Evidence on height and marriage prospects in the UK I can't be bothered to look up. Taller people including men get better jobs too. I think it was linked to upper classes being taller and eating better.

I am sure if you got out some random pictures of women who were size 10 and then a load that were size 14 most of the men would pick the size 14s and most of the women would rather be nearer size 10 than 14.

zippitippitoes · 17/03/2007 16:04

but because someone is quoted in a newspaper believing something is true doesn't make it true

there was some tosh about party bags having dvd players in the other day as quoted from a radio phobe in..it doesn't mean that party bags do have dvd players in

Judy1234 · 17/03/2007 16:48

Of course not but the Chinese operations are true and it's probably right that taller people are preferred.

lionheart · 17/03/2007 20:00

I think it's different because it's about seeking to emulate a Western standard of beauty

--some Chinese and Japanese people also have eye surgery, to make them look more Caucasian.

snowleopard · 17/03/2007 20:06

Being tall, I never understand why other women want to be. Most men don't like to be towered over and though it may help men's careers, I'm not so sure about women's. I once had and equally tall boss who told me to keep my head down and nose clean and never kick up a fuss because being tall put me at a disadvantage with the (very small and autocratic) top boss of the company - who was also female. IME it's short people who are often in top jobs.

SofiaAmes · 18/03/2007 06:54

Well, I would never rent to them. I pick all my tenants online based on their spelling and grammar. I have found that this is a much better indicator of potential to be a good tenant and pay rent on time than just about anything else including references and credit reports.

Anna8888 · 18/03/2007 07:11

SofiaAmes - very interesting. Good education = strong moral sense?

SofiaAmes · 18/03/2007 08:27

Anna8888, yes maybe that's part of it. But there are plenty of well educated people who write messy, emails with bad grammar. I think part of it is also that people who take the time to send a neat, proofread letter (or email) are likely to be people who take pride in their fiscal life and look after other people's things.

Hey your nickname made me think of another thing I use to judge people....never ever dated a guy whose phone number ended in 4.

Judy1234 · 18/03/2007 08:52

I suppose I should try to look up the job prospects and height thing in that case in case it's just a popular myth. I am 5 foot 5 just about and that's always been fine. Men that are too short are not that attractive I think, not to most women. Many have a sort of minimum height requirement.

Judy1234 · 18/03/2007 08:54

Ah this was the sort of thing I meant - so go off and feed your children well... or stretch them on the rack...

BBC web site
"Short workers lose small fortune

Every extra inch in height converts to hundreds of extra pounds on your salary, say researchers.

An analysis of three US studies and one from Britain found that the average pay difference for two workers was £500 for every inch between them.

The University of Florida study said that this could amount to "hundreds of thousands" over the course of a career.

It said bosses saw taller people as more competent - and their higher self-confidence could also boost pay.

Professor Tim Judge, who led the study, compared people of the same age and sex who were different heights.

He found that each inch in height added $789 (£471) to the annual pay packet - so someone who is five feet five inches would be paid over $5,000 (£3,000) less than someone who is six foot tall.

Tall fortune

Professor Judge said: "If you take this over the course of a 30-year career and compound it, we're talking about literally hundreds of thousands of dollars of earnings advantage that a tall person enjoys.

When humans evolved as a species and still lived in the jungles or the plain, they ascribed leader-like qualities to tall people because they thought they would be better able to protect them
Professor Tim Judge, University of Florida
"These findings are troubling in that, with a few exceptions such as professional basketball, no-one could argue that height is an essential ability required for job performance nor a bona fide occupational qualification."

When supervisors were quizzed about how they viewed their staff, they tended to rate taller people as more effective.

There were correlations between actual performance and height in some jobs - such as face-to-face selling positions.

However, the correlation between height and earnings rang true in other occupations such as computer programming, accounting, engineering and clerical work.

It was even more important than gender in defining how much one person earned in relation to another.

Growth hormone

Professor Judge said that the reasons behind the prejudice could be psychological on the part of the employee, or even be rooted in evolution.

He said: "When humans evolved as a species and still lived in the jungles or the plain, they ascribed leader-like qualities to tall people because they thought they would be better able to protect them.

"Although that was thousands of years ago, evolutionary psychologists would argue that some of those old patterns still operate in our perceptions today."

Professor Sara Rynes, from the University of Iowa, said that the bias was "difficult to eradicate".

She added: "I recently read that because of the widely-perceived advantages of height, an increasing number of parents are seeking growth-hormone therapy for their shorter-than-average children."

zippitippitoes · 18/03/2007 08:56

interesting and then I start thinking of short people like bernie ecclestone..unfortunately yeeuch thanks xenia

Judy1234 · 18/03/2007 09:11

May be growth hormones for children and elocution lessons may be cheaper than private schools and the hours of effort parents put into their school work and a better investment in their "sucess" (joke). High heels too.

zippitippitoes · 18/03/2007 09:19

of course there is the well known short persons tactic of over compensation for their height with a big bossy personality and dogged determination

Judy1234 · 18/03/2007 12:26

True. Some women marry men who are shorter than they are but it's fairly rare. One thing Indian matchmakers match amongst other things is height.

The classic class TV sketch having X looking down on Y looking down on Z (working class) has the classes at different heights.

Anna8888 · 18/03/2007 13:50

SofiaAmes - careful and precise when writing to others = careful and precise towards others in general? It would make sense.

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