着名歌曲作家兰迪-纽曼曾说过，"小个子的男人没理由活在世上。他们的手和眼睛都小小的，却还四处传播弥天大谎。"虽然这样说很不礼貌，但他的话比你能想到的还准确。 SONGWRITER Randy Newman once said: "Short people got no reason to live. They got little hands, little eyes. They walk around tellin` great big lies." Not the friendliest thing to say, but more accurate than you might think.

上周，普林斯顿的学者们研究发现，比起高个子群体，矮个子们对自己的生活更加不满。而且，他们更容易产生消极情绪。在受访的45万人中，那些对现实生活最不满的人一般来说要比平均身高矮2厘米。 Researchers at Princeton University last week found that shorter people are less happy with their lives than taller people, and more prone to negative emotions. Of 450,000 people interviewed, those that rated their lives the "worst possible" were generally 2cm below average height.

对于这个结果，美国矮人协会（NOSSA）副主席Christopher Hamre一点儿也不惊讶。Hamre说："记得1997年某一天，我走在拉斯韦加斯的一条小路上，一辆卡车从我身旁经过。车上的一个男人冲我喊道： '嘿！侏儒！侏儒！我最讨厌你们这样的人，你知道吗？'他喊得很大声，路上每个人都听到了。两名途经的年轻女子听到后还跟着笑了起来。" This doesn`t surprise Christopher Hamre, vice-president of the National Organisation of Short Statured Adults （NOSSA）. "Back in 1997, I was walking down the Las Vegas strip," says Hamre, "A truck drove by and a man yelled at me, saying: `Hey midget! Midget! I hate people like you, do you know that?` He was loud and everyone on the strip heard him, including the two young ladies who passed by and laughed."

据NOSSA表示，这种对小个子的偏见--身高歧视，是全世界最不常公开报道的社会现象之一。肥胖已流于平常。而矮小则成了新禁忌。 According to NOSSA, prejudice against short people, or "heightism", is one of the world`s most under-reported social phenomena. Fat is mainstream. Short is the new taboo.

在这方面，科学技术也帮不上忙。荷兰格罗宁根大学的一项调查研究发现，高个子男人在追求异性和打斗中更容易获胜。而另一项研究发现，身高在183CM以上（包括183）的男人比在165CM以下（包括165）者更容易成家或拥有长期恋情。此外，身高的优势还发生在选举中。一项对1904-1994年间美国总统选举的调查研究发现，80%情况下是高个子候选人获胜。 Science doesn`t help matters. A study at the University of Groningen found that taller men had more success with the opposite sex and were more likely to win fights. Another study found that men who are 183cm tall or above are 50 percent more likely to be married or in a long-term relationship than men under 165cm or below. Height also helps you win votes. A study of US presidential elections between 1904 and 1994 found that, 80 percent of the time the taller candidate won.

想到这，矮个子名人的苦楚是可想而知的。上周，法国总统萨科奇（168CM）被指在视察一工厂时，特意挑选矮个工人作陪衬，以使自己上镜时显得高大一些。 It`s tough being a short celebrity. Last week, French President Nicolas Sarkozy （168cm） was accused of arranging workers at a factory visit so that he could appear taller in photographs.

同样，着名男影星汤姆-克鲁斯也因173CM的身高而屡遭嘲笑。当年，他与身高179CM的凯蒂-霍尔姆斯结婚时，就有人猜测他们是如何在结婚照上看起来身高相等的。克鲁斯还曾被指出带有"拿破仑情结"（拿破仑的身高是170cm）.这种自卑情结让矮个子男人过分激进，欲盖弥彰。 Similarly, Tom Cruise is ridiculed for his height （173cm）. When he married Katy Holmes （179 cm）, there was speculation over how they were the same height in the wedding photos. Cruise was accused of a "Napoleon Complex" （named after the emperor who was 170cm）. That`s an inferiority complex where short men overcompensate by being aggressive.

男人想要长高的压力就和人们遵循"瘦即是美"的信念一样。为了符合这些不切实际的标准，人们几乎要为之疯狂。 Pressure for men to be tall is on a level with the "thin is beautiful" mantra. And, people are going to drastic lengths to conform to unrealistic standards.

与此同时，Hamre将继续努力让人们正视这个问题。"我认为，身高歧视还没有得到社会的高度关注。如果你矮，人们总指望你能长高，当遭遇不公平对待时，他们也觉得你理应保持沉默。" Meanwhile, Hamre will continue fighting for awareness. "I do not think that heightism is taken seriously by society. If you are short, you are the one that is supposed to change and, when treated unfairly, you`re supposed to remain silent.