vertically challenged.

It's no secret that my height borders on the lower end of the scale. And I'm certainly not oblivious to the fact, as I'm constantly reminded by all my friends everywhere I go. I never really had a problem with my size; being small has its benefits (for example, a smaller target for snipers). But now I'm 19 years old, approximately 153cm tall, and in second year uni, surrounded by friends who (needless to say) are all taller than me and who also think that's funny. Admittedly, sometimes it is funny when they manage to come up with the (very) occasional original joke. But a lot of the time the jokes aren't quite all that witty and I do get tired of trying to laugh at them.

My point is that after a while of being teased and bagged about my size, I do start to wonder if there's something wrong with being small. Firstly, can I say that I myself am most likely guilty of the very thing that I'm complaining about in this post. And the very thing that I'm complaining about is the mindset that there is something wrong with being small. It's not conscious or deliberate as far as I can tell, but it's obvious that there is some sort of subconscious notion that being short is, well, wrong. To prove my point a little, you never hear someone saying, "Look! He's so average height! LOL!!"
Joking, as my eng lang buddies Rachel and Stair will confirm, identifies the social norm. As I've tried to demonstrate in the above example, we don't joke about things that we consider normal - "And he was HETEROSEXUAL!!! HahahaHAAAA!!" Therefore, what we do joke about, tends to be the things we think of as out of the ordinary or socially unacceptable. I don't hear Malaysians born in Malaysia joking about how they squat on the side of the road because that's normal and acceptable for them. For Australians, on the other hand, even Australian born Malaysians, this is a different story.

Can I just say here, I really don't see what's wrong with being small. And if there's nothing wrong with it, why is it so funny? Feel free to explain to me if you have an answer.
It's true that studies have shown that taller people get paid higher on average. But why is that? I think here we have primitive instinct at work, the subconscious idea that greater height is still desirable. May I remind everyone that size no longer determines one's ability to hunt for wilderbeest and other prey, most likely because we don't usually hunt wilderbeest and other prey anymore. In fact, my height is probably more conducive to catching a chicken than yours. So I win. Take THAT, you socially unacceptable tall person!! Height does not affect one's ability to work efficiently (unless one's work is stacking shelves or some other grunt work like that).

One other thing related to height that irks me is how people stereotype even my personality because I'm small. Just because I'm 153cm DOES NOT mean I can't and won't slap you if you annoy me. Just because I'm this size DOES NOT mean you can boss me around and I'll just stand there quietly in submission. Just because you're twice my height doesn't mean you can intimidate me - remember, you towering over me just makes it easier for me to kick you in the groin if you piss me off. Why are people surprised when I'm loud? Does my being small mean I'm meant to be quiet and shy? Well, sorry to disappoint.

I don't expect people to stop bagging me about my height just because I've written this post and I'm not overly upset. Another thing about joking is that you only joke with friends with whom you're comfortable enough. The point I'm trying to get across is that there's an underlying notion that there's something wrong or socially abnormal with being small and people think that I can be pushed around and bullied just because I'm this size. This post is just to try to make people aware of this phenomenon. If you want to call it a phenomenon, you heterosexual, average sized, Caucasian middle-class male. I laugh and mock you.