On Mon, 8 Sep 1997, Petra Mayerhofer wrote:
>
> I have not read 'Triton', but do I understand it correctly, that in
> that novel man and women are about the same height?
>
Yes. Moreover, for both, average height was about 6'4", if I remember
well, but most celebrities and people who was considered beautiful, were
about 5'8". So I guess, the modern adoration of height has been done away
with as well.
Actually, after reading that book, I started paying attention on how many
women are actually smaller than most of men, and on the relative height
of people in couples. I think that in most cases, women are already
the same height as men. Even though those, whom you can see with a guy,
are usually thinner than average.
Marina
> A friend of mine has read somewhere that (in Germany ?) the
> average height of women has come closer to that of the men in the
> last decades (without mentioning that both are increasing). One
> reason given was the obvious, nowadays girls do NOT get less or worse
> food than boys. The other was, that with emancipation girls are no
> longer psychologically held back. That would mean that the relative
> average heights of women and men could be a measure of equal rights
> and opportunities.
>
> I was quite intrigued by that concept. It reminds of the variance in
> the average lifespans of women and men between the countries.
> I think it is generally accepted nowadays, that on average women
> live longer than men of the same gen pool, if they have the same
> opportunities, although nobody can say how much longer. There are
> only few countries in the world, in which the lifespans of women
> are shorter than that of men (e.g. India). As far as I know, the UN
> has integrated that fact in some sort of measure of equality of men
> and women.
>
> Please note, that that story about the average heights is only
> hearsay, I have not heard it from anybody else. Furthermore, I wonder
> how the pressure on girls and women to be thin, i.e. take less
> food in, does fit into this. So if somebody has some information on
> that (also contradictory), I'd be glad to receive it.
>
>
> Petra
>
> ** Petra Mayerhofer ** pm@ier.uni-stuttgart.de **
>
"Femininity is code for femaleness plus whatever society
happens to be selling at the time."
Naomi Wolf
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