a bioethics discussion.

The theme of our class discussion today was "Short people got no reason to live." It was essentially a discussion of human growth hormone and whether or not it should be used on people who have nothing wrong with them except for a genetic predilection for shortness. One classmate brought up the argument that short people are disadvantaged because, consciously or not, they defer to taller people when interacting with them. One person even called it a "parent-child" sort of mindset.
I wasn't sure if I agreed with that until later tonight, when I went to a birthday party for a friend (an ex-co-sponsee...whatever.) The room was packed to within an inch of its life, and, as one of the shorter people there, I found myself forced to the back. When I wanted to leave, it took me much longer than it should have to push past all the larger people and get to the door.
And it made me think: How often does this happen in a more subtle sense? In what situations do I hold less power than I should simply by virtue of my height? All my friends, with the exception of maybe two, are taller than me. All my boyfriends have been at least a foot taller. If I was, say, 5'6", would my relationships with these people have been any different? Would I be any happier, any more successful?
I'll never know. And thus the platform shoes.