The National Organization of Short Statured Adults, based out of New York, has an online petition aimed at the entertainment industry. I don't know how long this has been up, but it only has 168 signatures as of 7:40 Eastern Time this morning. Many say that heightism is one of the only remaining forms of discrimination that people accept - to many people, calling someone "shorty" isn't as insulting as calling an overweight person a "pig." But it does make some shorter people insecure. We are a society obsessed with being tall and yes, the entertainment industry has much to do with it. How many award-winning actors have been short? How many shorter actors get major dramatic roles? Not many. Shorter people are usually given comedic roles or, if dramatic, "real person" roles. This seriously contributed to our society's dislike of shortness.
Many super-short kids (according to the petition and the FDA, "super short" would be girls who have a predicted height of 4'11" or shorter and boys whose predicted height is 5'3" or shorter) are given hormone treatments. But should these kids be given treatment if they don't have any other health issues? The treatment is not only painful, but expensive, at $20,000 US annually. In some parts of the world, people are getting surgery to extend their legs because local laws allow height discrimination for jobs that don't require one to be a certain height (I can understand why some bars and clothing stores want "models who serve" or "models who sell" but I'm talking about working at an office.) The corporate world doesn't need "models who manage." The corporate world needs managers. Period. Height discrimination needs to end, not only in the fashion industry (which this and other petite-related sites seem to focus on), but socially and career-wise too. We need to stop treating shortness as a problem. We need to stop thinking that short people are some how inferior, and this starts with the media, since they are such a major influence (whether we like it or not) in our lives.
Other short-related petitions:
A More Petite Friendly Fashion Industry
Short is Beautiful - Canada's Next Top Model Height Restriction
Petition for a Petite Forum at Lou Lou (this one hasn't seen much activity, unfortunately)
