Standing Tall: Examining the social experience for exceptionally tall individuals

Abstract

This study aims to start a new dialogue on the underdeveloped field of the social experience for exceptionally tall individuals. I aspired to shed light on this topic by examining forms of deviance and stigma as it pertains to the tall experience. Due to the lack of existing work on this subject, the data I analyze is comprised of my own participant observations as well as interviews conducted with significantly tall individuals about the self and social perceptions of height. It is assumed that tallness is a desired trait that brings forth many advantages, but I aim to see if those assumed positives hold true for deviant individuals who are significantly taller than the average person