“You’re so short!”: the stigma (and disability) of being a short woman
Disability and Intersecting Statuses
ISBN: 978-1-78350-156-4, eISBN: 978-1-78350-157-1
Publication date: 27 December 2013
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter examines the everyday experiences of short women, focusing on the problems they face and the coping strategies used to navigate being short in a heightist society. Further, this chapter views height as a stigmatized identity, which both negatively and positively impacts short women.
Methodology
Sixteen qualitative interviews were conducted with women 5′2″ and under.
Findings
Using the literature on stress, and coping models laid out by social psychologists, this chapter elucidates the unique place of short women in American society.
Originality
While there has been a wealth of literature on how short stature impacts men, research on how short stature impacts women has been scant.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgments
The author first thanks the women who took part in this study and shared their experiences of being short statured. The author also thanks Renee Anspach, Elizabeth Armstrong, and Karin Martin for comments on several earlier iterations of this chapter. Finally, the author thanks Sharon Barnartt and Barbara Altman for graciously allowing this chapter to be included in this publication.
Citation
Rott, L. (2013), "“You’re so short!”: the stigma (and disability) of being a short woman", Disability and Intersecting Statuses (Research in Social Science and Disability, Vol. 7), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 207-240. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-3547(2013)0000007010
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2013 Emerald Group Publishing Limited