“Height Challenged”

~ Elizabeth

Nestled among the fall blooming asters I spied a 6 inch tall volunteer sunflower. Eventually I discovered that it was actually blooming at the end of a sturdy stalk lying woven between the asters. But first I was delighted at the idea that somehow a very short sunflower decided to show up before the later mammoth ones now sprouting.

Height challenged appears to be the new way to say “short.” While I reached the average American female height of 5’4″, it took me a long time–until I was seventeen–to get there. For many years I was distinctly short. It proved to my benefit in elementary school since we were assigned seats according to height and I always ended up in the front rows. This obscured my need for glasses which wasn’t discovered until eighth grade. I was astonished to learn at that point that the stars hadn’t disappeared from the night sky, I just hadn’t been able to spot them!

I was particularly challenged by needing clothing for teenagers but still fitting girls’ outfits. Fortunately I was not alone among the baby boomers, and manufacturers came out with “junior petite” sizing. Petite seemed to be a polite way to say “short.”

Before I end up going on a rant about the ways I am now supposed to describe heretofore normal observations such as fat, short, pudgy, scrawny, and skinny I best quit while I am somewhat ahead. Still I wonder what was gained by dictating a change in our vocabularies. I was still short (and a little skinny!)

33 thoughts on ““Height Challenged””

  1. I loved the solo sunflower!
    I am considered to be ‘short’ in the UK, as I am only 5 feet 7 inches tall, and take size 7 shoes. (Size 8 US) Luckily, my wife is three inches shorter. 🙂
    Best wishes, Pete.

    Like

    Reply

  5. The sunflower is beautiful 🙂 Reading your post I was reminded of listening to Lost Voice Guy’s audition in Britain’s Got Talent. I liked your post. Thank you.

    Like

    Reply

  6. Lucky you. I was always an ox! ‘Fairy Elephant’ was a common term used for me in my childhood. I was actually not that tall at 5’6″ (now reduced to 5’4″ in my 70s) but I have proportionally short arms and legs (my excuse for my weight being on the hefty side). If my arms and legs were in proportion I’d have probably been nearer 6ft (like my eldest son).
    I must confess though that I like little things – small laptops, small watches, small trees and flowers… and your sunflower.

    Like

    Reply

      1. It certainly didn’t increase my confidence… although at the time I don’t think it bothered me. We’re more politically correct now and aware of the possible consequences. it didn’t bother me till I was 12 and the doctor suggested Mum put me on a diet. Now my mother suggested the same thing for my youngest daughter when she was around 11 or 12. (It’s true, she did look like a sumo wrestler sitting on the side of the swimming pool.) I did no such thing, and by 16 she’d grown up into a swan. Whereas I spent my life unsuccessfully dieting. (Apart from my last attempt last year, but I know what I’m doing now – and why.)

        Like

        Reply

  7. I guess I would have been considered ‘height challenged,’ too, reaching only 5’4″ by rounding up. Two of my sisters are shorter than me, barely reaching 5’1″. The only downside for me continues to be finding pants of a proper length, as regulars are too long, and petites are too short – or are they also height challenged? 😉

    Like

    Reply

  11. Why does vocabulary change words? To soften any hurt. Well, that makes it more complicated. I’m sure there’s a fitting Gary Cooper quote. That sunflower is a winner!

    Like

    Reply

  13. I was born tall, I think. I once had a co-worker who was tall like me. She coined the term ‘gazork’ to define herself. I understood and identified with that.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment