Look at this picture of mine very closely. In this picture, the photographer had to work his magic in order to make me look tall so that I get better opportunities in the world of modeling.
I did not like that my natural body frame was edited but I was told at the age of 16 that the world of fashion only belongs to taller models and that I had no other option that to edit my portfolio to get casting calls. In contrast to this, a friend of mine who is above 6’0 could not get opportunities in films since she was taller than the male actors and following the stereotypes, casting agents always say that a female should always look shorter than the guys. Male actors do not get opportunities in TV series if they are above average height as they are considered more fit for the runway. The bigger question here is “Who decided these standards? And why are we blindly following these standards without questioning from the past 50 years or more?
So whether you are below an average height or above average male/female, we all have experienced ‘Heightism’ at this point. What is Heightism? Is this a new term like Racism? Yes, it is. Heightism is when you lose opportunities to audition or get a casting call for a runway show/ fashion photoshoot or in TV series/films/movies due to a certain height criteria. If you have experienced Heightism at any point of your life, please use #SayNoToHeightism and share your story.
The height criteria can be precisely to cast shorter models or taller models based on client requirements. This means that a person’s height is given more weightage than their talent. A talented person who is shorter than the average height needed on runway shows is not even considered to audition because the casting advertisement would clearly state “Models needed above 5’8”. A talented person who is taller than the average height does not get to audition for movies because the advertisement states “Actors needed below 5’7”.
It is high time that influential folks working in the fashion industry work towards this and stop endorsing a certain height criteria. Let every talented person audition and choose individuals based on their talent and not how they look. 10 years ago, the fashion world started accepting plus size models because they realized that there is a target market they are missing out on. Then why is the industry not talking about accepting individuals without discriminating on their height. It is offensive to majority of people when asked about their height details. You and I can put a stop to this by informing others to stop promoting heightism. We are used to saying “Don’t be a racist”. Well now, learn to say “Don’t be a heightist”.
If you have experienced Heightism at any point of your life, please use #SayNoToHeightism and share your story. May be Heightism exists in your workplace or you see it in your day-day life. We would love to hear all about it. I have been lucky in my life and did get to work with best designers and best filmmakers in spite of being below average height but not everyone gets the same fair chances. It is time that we openly talk about this issue. Reach out to me if you wish to join the campaign with other like minded individuals.
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