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
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
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.
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”.”
-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.