Tuesday, December 10, 2002

On height... Dude, you aren't 6'0". Give it up. In our society, height is equated with status. This is by no means an absolute rule (Tom Cruise is a noteable exception), but we have a great and abiding respect for height. Many of us would like to be taller, as we equate being taller with being better. I am prone to this myself; as a child, Dr. DiGi projected my adult height at 6'2", and I've always wished that I hadn't stopped growing at 6'0". Nevertheless, I've never pretended to be taller than I am, unlike the majority of my contemporaries (note: this mostly refers to males); as in, most guys overestimate their height. Any guy 5'9" or taller claims to be 6'0". I'm looking at the top of this guy's head and he's telling a girl he's 6'0". When I point out that I'm almost precisely 6'0", he tells me that I must have grown since I was last measured because I must be like, 6'1" or 6'2" (by most people's reckoning, there is no longer inch than the one between 6'0" and 6'1"). In fact, being measured about every six months, I have for years been 5'11 7/8". So, no, most guys who claim to be 6'0" are not. I'm not trying to push myself as superior because I live life near the exalted 6'0" altitude, I just wish guys would stop lying about their height. (And for the record, the Bald Mountain, for all his Mountainesque nature is "only" 6'2", not 6'4" as most "6'0"" guys assert.) And if you try to tell me my height in centimeters, we won't speak ever again.

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