Size Matters: How Height Affects the Health, Happiness, and Success of Boys - And the Men They Become

By Stephen S. Hall

An award-winning journalist tackles the hot topic of male body image and shows how physical size during childhood affects our psychology, social status, relationships, and income as adults. With a mix of fresh research, incisive reportage, and bracing candor, Size Matters traces the surprising history of society's bias against shortness and reveals how short people can and do thrive in spite of this insidious bigotry. Drawing on his own childhood experiences (he was shorter than 99 percent of boys his age), Stephen Hall explains the evolution of the growth chart, the biology of childhood aggression, and the wrenching phenomenon of bullying. He explores the factors that determine why one child's small stature may lead to anguish while another short child develops an emotional resilience that will enrich his later life. Weaving together recent findings from the fields of animal behavior, psychology, and evolutionary biology, Hall assesses the role of physical size in mating success and argues that the alpha male may not be king of the mountain after all. Hall also pinpoints the social forces that create and cash in on our anxieties about size, from bulked-up superhero action figures to pharmaceutical companies selling growth hormone to increase a child's height -- at a cost of up to $40,000 a year. He introduces us to families who have agonized over whether to make that huge investment. He explains new research showing that a person's height as a teenager has lifelong psychological consequences. He even tracks down kids he bullied in elementary school and kids who bullied him in high school to show that these childhood encounters have lasting effects on our adult lives. Along the way, Hall builds a persuasive case against societal attitudes that make size (or any difference) matter and argues forcefully that being short has psychological, social, and biological advantages. Size Matters will raise the consciousness -- and the spirits -- of any short male and anyone who cares about him.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0618470409
• ISBN13: 9780618470402
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Length: 388 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Who Knew?

This book was a gift. I heard the author discuss it on THE LEONARD LOPATE SHOW on WNYC and ordered it for a friend who might find useful information in it.

does size equal destiny?

Does physical size ultimately matter? Well, it matters to Stephen S. Hall, author of this book, a "former shrimp" and from his research, we can conclude that it matters to others as well, particularly men. With quotes ranging from Cicero to "Revenge of the Nerds", Hall takes a fresh look at how height affects the mental health of boys and men. Using research and interviews from assorted medical experts, Hall explores such topics as how size affects aggression and bullying, how environment cues shape growth and maturity, the controversy surrounding hormone therapy for youths; and the impact an adult's size has on his professional and personal life. The author also draws on his boyhood memories of growing up shorter than average, and he even contacts several of his former classmates (bullies, victims and those who had been both) to see how they turned out. He also provides a parent's perspective on the subject of size, as a father of two children, a son and daughter. While sometimes a bit haphazard in its approach, "Size Matters" is a thoughtful and compassionate look at a topic that touches all of us at some point, regardless of gender.