Heightism, as the word implies, is the discrimination based on the height of a person. There are different concepts related to the heights of people in politics, sports, professions and marital relationships. In most countries there is a slight preference for people of larger height in many professions. USA is a huge example of such discrimination. In sports like American Football and basketball, players with greater heights are preferred over short ones. In many manual jobs people with greater heights are preferred and paid more than people with shorter heights. According to a survey the average height of CEOs is 2 to 3 inches taller than the average height of American public. Even in politics people with greater heights have at least an inclination if not preference. This kind ofdiscrimination in an extremely advanced country is truly a shame. Only one state of the US, Michigan illegalizes height discrimination.

In many countries there is no such thing as height discrimination like many Asian countries. Still there has always been a slight inclination towards height in almost all social backgrounds. Shorter height has never been preferred over large heights; however, there is an interesting observation about the opposing concepts of intelligence related to height. In the US there is a slight inclination towards the belief that taller people are more intelligent than shorter ones. In some Asian countries the concept is the exact opposite where in some rural areas and old myths shorter people are more intelligent than taller ones. In fact according to those myths taller people almost always “slow”.