The Height of Vanity

While reading about the process of leg lengthening I was completely shocked. I knew that there are surgeries for this kind of thing for patients with back problems because they were born with legs that weren’t the same height but I had no clue that people would want to go through this willingly for just a few inches. In the article it’s discussed the amounts of pain and the process some of these people go through for less than 5 inches. It’s said that it increases their ability to get a job or even a partner but in the scope of things is a year or more of your life in bed worth it? To me it’s insane to think about someone being this self conscious about their height but it is even a big thing in America as well.

This photo shows the average body of a model, a playmate and an average woman. We dream to six feet or above like the models who walk on the runways but clocking in at six feet doesn’t seem to be all it’s cracked up to be. The average man in America is only five foot ten and most men admit they wouldn’t want to date someone taller than them. It has also been seen in studies that many women are intimidated by women that are taller than them especially in the work place.

The superiority complex women get from models has reached new heights in the past few years mainly due to social media and the press putting these models up on pedestals. Women still desire to look like them despite all studies shown saying that some of these models have the worst health problems, they don’t eat and they generally have shorter life spans. To me women are striving for something virtually impossible. The height and weight of super models, the ability to eat whatever they want when they want and the picture perfect health to go with it.

-Mare

By reading this article, I found out that there is such thing as a surgery procedure that makes women, or men, taller (according to this article, women tend to do this surgery more, especially in China). The reason it’s so popular, and necessary, is because Chinese society links height with beauty and power, that even companies set a height requirement on hiring! “The Chinese government – the Foreign Ministry requires would-be female diplomats to measure at least 5’3”, and males, 5’7”’. 

The procedure- a total of 5 surgeons and 3 hours of sawing, drilling, hammering, and grafting. “A hole is cut into the patients leg just below the knee joint, and the bone is sawed in half… a long metal pin, ‘locked nail,’ is inserted into the bone cavity. The nail is banged into position with a metal hammer, and then the frame is secured around the leg. The frame is adjusted to force the bones apart and stretch the skin, muscles, and nerves.” The total time is takes for a full recovery: 1 year. 

I found an article from the American Psychological Association having to do with height and jobs. I just quoted a few sentences from each of the articles:

“Each inch above average may be worth $789 more per year”

“…Someone who is 6 feet tall earns, on average, nearly $166,000 more during a 30-year career than someone who is 5 feet 5 inches –even when controlling for gender, age, and weight.”

“The process of literally ‘looking down on others’ may cause one to be more confident… similarly, having others ‘looking up to us’ may instill tall people more self-confidence.”

“… The average height of American men is 5’9” and the average height of American women is 5’4”.”

I think the only difference is that China lets people know that there is a height requirement, but here, it’s not told. It’s more disguised.  

-Alex

As discussed in the article "The Height of Vanity" in the book The Meaning of Dresses you begin to see that China's economy is growing quickly, but you may be surprised that some Chinese citizens are growing, too.

Research shows that in China, Chinese society equates heigh with beauty and power. But this surgery is no joke. It will take a team of surgeons over 3 hours to drill, hammer, and graft a patients legs to lengthen their height. The surgeon will then insert a metal rod into the bone and with time will begin to expand vertically allowing the bone and muscle to grow. This procedure is quite expensive averaging out to about $85,000 in the US. Most patients will most likely go to a foreign doctor to spend less than half of that. But as you know, you get what you pay for.

In the video below, it is said that many people struggle with height dysphoria, which means they are unhappy with their height. Therapy hasn't shown to make a difference and there have been cases of suicides due to unhappiness with ones height.

This procedure is said to be extremely painful and causes the individual to be bed ridden for months at a time. But in the end they have been able to add at most 6 inches to their height. And in the video below, the man that chose to do this to himself has not just done this procedure once, but twice to continually keep growing.

It has been said that the few extra inches has increased the patient with self confidence, as well as helped them with their dating life as well as in a business atmosphere.
 

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/taller-surgery-15783649

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/cutting-edge-male-plastic-surgery-15788724


-Val