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Limb lengthening surgery is becoming more popular

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141–150 of 817 posts

Re: Limb lengthening surgery is becoming more popular

#141
post #99

> “Don’t be so sure of yourself, short man!” The problem is that it's still socially acceptable to see short stature as some objective faux-pas. There's really no difference between a person proudly declaring they only like "white" people and a person declaring they only like "tall" people. If the guy said "Don't be so sure of yourself, black man" maybe it would have been acceptable in the 1920s, but it surely isn't…

>there aren't really downsides to short stature in modern life It even have several health benefits. Except that in dating, women overwhelmingly prefer men over 6', and very small differences like 5'7 vs 5'9 double or triple the matches in online dating sites. If we are talking about 5'6 vs 6'0 the difference is ridiculous, like over 200X more matches. Women even divorce short men at double the rate of tall men. Thos…

I'm somewhere between 5' 7" and 5' 8".

I've experienced the "filter" issue with online dating, but my conclusions are entirely different.

I really don't mind it, in fact I appreciate it.

Anyone who would filter me out over something as shallow as height would undoubtedly be an extraordinarily poor match for me.

I prefer quality over quantity.

As to the "die alone" thing - that seems a bit grim.

I'm 46, since age 14 when I actively started dating the longest I've been single was for about 3 months after a bad break-up, and that was by choice.

Sure, when you don't have a height advantage you have to make it up in other ways - personality, fitness level, professional success, etc...

In general, I think my relatively modest stature has been a benefit to me. It forced me to be a better person, and to focus on qualities that matter, rather than superficial things.

Re: Limb lengthening surgery is becoming more popular

#142
post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

> This reads like pure cope from a short guy. I don't see how one can dictate to others what they should find attractive. That's not how it works. No one is dictating anything about attractiveness , and you really shouldn't be trying to marginalize my arguments on the ground that I might be short. It really has no relevancy here. I wasn't talking about dating and people's dating preferences. I was referring specially…

>the winners will be those that are able to make a decision beyond superficial factors

You're just inverting reality now. "The winners of dating are those that pick partners with the least desirable physical traits".

If there's two men with identical personalities, but one is 6'5 and muscular and the other is 4'2 and 300lbs what exactly would a woman be "winning" by going with the second man?

Re: Limb lengthening surgery is becoming more popular

#143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You seem to be defending the thesis in the original comment, so yes.

I think you may have misunderstood the OP and didn’t align with the HN rules of assuming the best meaning. They didn’t equate racism and discrimination based on height, they said that there’s no difference in someone discriminating based on that - meaning discriminating based on something that wasn’t a choice and cannot reasonably be changed.

Respectfully, your accusation does not hold.

It doesn't hold because:

1. I pointed out this distinction in my initial comment, and the OP has not conceded the point that "x and y are members of set S" is different from "there are no differences beetween x and y".

2. This in turn negates the "best meaning" you seem to be assuming.

And the first point bears repeating. Even if height discrimination and racism are both instances of prejudice based on immutable characteristics, there are very important differences between them.

Your waiving of the rulebook in response to this is puzzling.

Re: Limb lengthening surgery is becoming more popular

#144

As a 5'5" guy, no one ever calls me short, and when I joke about being short my friends tell me that they don't perceive me as short unless I'm joking about it, so I stopped haha.

You are blessed to be surrounded by a great group of friends!

I have a friend who is short as well, probably 5'5" and he married a girl who is taller than him when she wears her heels. Neither of them care, which is great and I love both of them.

I have another friend who is around the same height or shorter and can't get past how short he is. I keep trying to help him find a girlfriend, but he resists all efforts and I think he's still a virgin at age 45. So the stigma is very real and can be extremely damaging.

Re: Limb lengthening surgery is becoming more popular

#145
post #108

> “Don’t be so sure of yourself, short man!” The problem is that it's still socially acceptable to see short stature as some objective faux-pas. There's really no difference between a person proudly declaring they only like "white" people and a person declaring they only like "tall" people. If the guy said "Don't be so sure of yourself, black man" maybe it would have been acceptable in the 1920s, but it surely isn't…

Yep. Nobody wants to talk about it, but the amount of abuse that is directed from otherwise-socially-conscious women towards short men is pretty disgusting. It's extremely common for groups of women to laugh at and deride short men, both online and publicly in real life. It's eye-opening. (And before you ask, no I am not short, I've just witnessed the abuse first hand).

I'm 5'5" and 120 lbs and that hasn't been my experience. My past promiscuity is the butt of jokes far more often than my stature.

Re: Limb lengthening surgery is becoming more popular

#146
post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are overestimating and being too kind on “modernity”. Even if today short stature is not a disadvantage (and that’s a big if), it can perfectly well be in one month, after a war or pandemic breaks out, or in a generation when your children will be shorter because of current preferences.

Isn't the opposite equally plausible? Tall people kind of stand out in foxholes, and they require more calories that may not be available in desperate times.

Height is not necessarily an end in itself. It’s much easier to be short than to be tall. For someone to be tall many things have to have gone exactly well. So tallness is a proxy for generic success.

Re: Limb lengthening surgery is becoming more popular

#148

I had a short friend in high school who was insecure about his height. He is about 5’3. In his eyes, it was the first thing people noticed about him. Last time I saw him he had gotten incredibly fit. Most people noticed his muscles more than the fact that he was short (also you might he less likely to tease someone who can throw your 6 foot body across the room). I think that would be a more appropriate investment th…

Shorter bodybuilders tend to look more muscular too because of their shorter limbs and torso.

Re: Limb lengthening surgery is becoming more popular

#149
post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>there aren't really downsides to short stature in modern life It even have several health benefits. Except that in dating, women overwhelmingly prefer men over 6', and very small differences like 5'7 vs 5'9 double or triple the matches in online dating sites. If we are talking about 5'6 vs 6'0 the difference is ridiculous, like over 200X more matches. Women even divorce short men at double the rate of tall men. Thos…

I'm somewhere between 5' 7" and 5' 8". I've experienced the "filter" issue with online dating, but my conclusions are entirely different. I really don't mind it, in fact I appreciate it. Anyone who would filter me out over something as shallow as height would undoubtedly be an extraordinarily poor match for me. I prefer quality over quantity. As to the "die alone" thing - that seems a bit grim. I'm 46, since age 14 w…

I knew there would be answers of the style 'I'm short and Im great with girls' yes, but you are only a data point. I'm talking here of statistics, and in general short guys have it bad, according to online dating sites. You can easily do an experiment with a fake profile and see it yourself.

Re: Limb lengthening surgery is becoming more popular

#150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

Being tall had several competitive advantages in the past. Basically before guns were invented the bigger guy usually could kill smaller guys, and get more food for the family. Quite obvious that women would prefer the big guy, and instincts don't change that quickly.

Height is an historically reliable signal of access to good nutrition, and hence wealth and security.

It’s not so much that being bigger helps you get stuff, it’s that it’s unfakable proof that you’ve been getting stuff long term.

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