a short story

Gay heightism is real, as this 4’10” Reddit user discovered the hard way

Man sitting on stairs

Every time we think we’ve seen all the ways people can be terrible to other people online, the Internet laughs and serves up a new offender.

This time, it’s a troll who called Reddit user u/sh0rtass “gross” for being 4’10.”

We only see a snippet of their conversation in the screenshot that u/sh0rtass uploaded earlier this month, but it seems like the other guy did something else that warranted an apology, even before the “gross” comment.

“I’ll leave you be,” he wrote. “Sorry again.”

But did he leave u/sh0rtass be? No, he certainly did not. Instead, he upchucked this bile: “But honestly, you are short as hell. 4’10”? That’s gross, dude. Take care.”

In another post, this one in the r/askgaybros forum, u/sh0rtass points out that the interaction is an example of “heightism in the gay community,” and not the only example he has endured.

“Anybody else get random hate messages from strangers about your body types?” he wrote. “People can be so mean hiding behind a screen, be it Reddit, Grindr or Tinder, ‘cause I’ve had similar experiences there.”

Related: Redditors rally around guy whose date pulled “the most d*ckish” move ever

Other Reddit users could relate. “My boyfriend is 5’3” and he either gets shit for it or guys love that he’s that height,” one commenter wrote. “I’m not too tall, but he’s shorter than me and it works well for us.”

“Exactly this,” u/sh0rtass replied. “It’s usually a complete turn-on or a complete turn-off.”

Another person said you could “pick a topic”—“racism, ageism, prejudice against weight, xenophobia, etc.”—and see examples of it in the gay community. “I’ve had people demand to know why I’m versatile, telling me I should be this or that,” he added. “At the end of the day, they’re keyboard bully boys, and they aren’t happy. People who go out of their way to put others down are never happy. So don’t take it to heart. There’s someone for everyone—in fact, many someones for every person.”

Multiple commenters, meanwhile, said short guys are sexy.

Related: This dude hilariously outlines his very reasonable wishlist for his next beau

And u/cravingsnuggles, another Reddit user, said he’s 6’2 and “would love to feel small, even for just one day.”

“Haha, judging by your username, I’m guessing you’d like to be held, which, I gotta say, is one of the few advantages of being fun-sized,” u/sh0rtass wrote back.

Another commenter had a brilliant idea: “People that shallow should be forced to be with other people just as shallow,” that user wrote. “Let them go at each other and leave the rest of us alone.”

And to that, u/sh0rtass said, “I’d watch this Netflix show.”

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