I’m 5’5″, and the average is 6′ 0.8″ for Dutch male, far more than the so that sucks when I’m living here.

Quite bigger than the average American white male: 5′ 9.3″

My young son has mellowed in his expectations when he realised that his height is ideal for his dreams…to one day go out in space and explore….

So soon our tempest subsides and we become the best we can aim for …. for what we have before us is our universe that isn’t measuring us with a tape measurer….

As a child who qualified for human growth hormone who had that opportunity taken away from him I want to let every single parent know, your child will not forgive you if he qualifies for growth hormone, desires it, and has that opportunity taken from him. I was a joke to my parents and as a short male I continue to be a joke to society. There is zero benefit to being a short male at all and do not let anyone trick you into thinking there is.

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My guess is that ultimately this relates to the usual human desire to “fit in” and “be normal”. Height might be a partial exception to this, in that I can imagine a small preference towards being slightly taller than average.

Personally it took me years to become very comfortable with my distinctness. I consider it to be a valuable marker on the journey to adulthood.

I am far smarter than the average bear (top 10 school undergrad, currently getting an MBA). I am creative, beautiful, outgoing, and in no way less than someone of average height. I do not have dwarfism or any other genetic disorder. I simply received short genes from both my parents. Am I short? Very. Am I handicapped? Hell no. There are people who have physical need for a parking spot closer to the door. I am not one of them. The American (and global) obsession with height has become unhealthy and counterproductive.

I find it funny when I talk to other short guys who fight for every inch. Younger guys who are a couple of inches shorter than me insist that I must be taller than 5’5″. “You’ve got to be like 5’7″ or 5’8″ because I’m 5’6″ and you’re taller than I am.” Let it go brother, we’re not tall people.

Again, I don’t mind being short. I’ve even dated a couple of women who are 6′ tall. I do not fret over the stigma of it all.

I embrace my short stature but I am also aware of its social limitations. I also look young for my age; even more so when I was in my early twenties. I have gone on many jobs interviews where I felt immediately judged due to my younger appearance and shorter height. I got a lot of comments like, “He seems like a good kid.”

I volunteered briefly promoting a speaker seminar a few years back and I recall someone making the comment, “When you’re old enough to get married.” I was 27-years-old at the time.

Being short has it’s downfalls but can ultimately be overcome socially.

Now, considering the use of HGH to enhance height. Hmm… I supposed I do not really see a problem with it if the patient consents. But I do not see it as an absolute necessity to make everyone taller. Being short just means that you’re fun size.

Giving HGH injections may be somewhat extreme when just trying to quell the anxieties about the height of children. Yet, as a proponent of enhancement technologies, I do not see a problem with voluntary HGH use.

How well does a shorter man do who stands out without relying on his height?

The label of disorder or disability is probably worse than the condition when it comes to shortness. I had a friend up until 6th grade who was on growth hormone. No one had a problem with him; his height was a non-issue for anyone that knew him for 10 minutes. But I think he ended up with some emotional problems, because it didn’t end well.

What are the repercussions for a body whose DNA blueprint is for one height when you muck about with a person’s growth and make it another? I’m not talking about cancer or the like, but what is the long term physical toll?

With regard to the disadvantages of the height in the business world, one would probably be well served to have one’s ethics and empathy removed as well as taking some HGH.

@Jim J: Great analogy with the blemish. I agree, being short isn’t a disability in the sense we normally think of. Again, it is a disadvantage as a result of a taller average height and social perceptions (like Mike and Tony’s dating frustrations). A big part of the point I was trying to make is that we lack a category for these types of treatment.

@Phyllis: From what I’ve seen, no concrete studies showing significant evidence one way or another re: cancer and HGH. More research and trials are definitely necessary. And, like I said at the end of the article, I agree with you: it’s up to the parents to make the call they feel will be best for their child.

@Cecile: You mentioned snowboarding. It’s interesting that Shawn White, who is “short” by most standards, is among the greatest snowboarders of all time. Why? Less mass to rotate, flip, and twist through the air (and he is outrageously talented). You also highlight a good point when you note that height and perceived age (and perhaps gender) play into your difficulties as a manager. Isn’t it bizarre how much authority we place in what are biological facts unrelated to ability?

A better word would be “disadvantage”. American men average nearly $1000 larger yearly salary for each additional inch in height, an “advantage” short men must do without. Think about that: every single year, every single inch in shortness costs a thousand dollars (on average).

With that in mind, the question of whether HGH treatments should be administered would be better looked at by observing the advantage that being “at least average” confers. If you had a young child with a disfiguring blemish on the face, you probably wouldn’t call that a disability, but would that prevent you from seeking a solution? Probably not. You’d know that although this blemish “won’t really hurt them”, it would still cost them both in the job hunt and in the mate hunt, so you would probably choose to have that blemish corrected if you could.

I’m honestly surprised to see such an ignorant article. I pity the author. Perhaps his parents should have medically altered him to make him more intelligent?

I’m 5’9″ and my husband is 6’4″ (and can barely fit his legs into our Toyota Corolla, much less an airplane seat) (and look, I’ve chosen a tall person as a mate!) and our kids are among the tallest in their classes. So would I give them some sort of hormone to make sure they’re *only* 6’0″ or so? Or should I give them growth hormone to make them tall enough to play center in the NBA? Or should we just leave them alone?

I think the decision will come down to the parents, the child himself…. and have there been any long-term studies on high doses of HGH and cancer or life span or whatever?

“Yet, at some point, being short goes from a relative and descriptive term (e.g. I am shorter than Yao Ming) to a normative one implying a disability.”

Well, yes, but if at some point you are describing yourself as shorter than everyone else, does that imply disability? Because at under 5′ in high school, I was shorter than the vast majority of boys (sometimes by a lot) and a big portion of the girls. Didn’t exactly do wonders for self-confidence.