Think back to your favorite cartoons when you were a kid, then think about representation of short males…
They were ALWAYS the villain or some such unlikeable character. Tall bias is ingrained in our society so deeply that even children are indoctrinated into it by the cartoons they watch.
Occasionally there is a character in the hero’s posse that is “the short one”, I’m sure a few pop into your mind. Inevitably the writers will need to make an episode where they discuss the nature of being short.
Instead of an honest assessment of their strengths, the conflict of the episode is solved by the short character being able to fit in an enclosed space that the normal characters can’t.
Imagine being so wicked that you peddle to kids that the only redeeming quality of being short is that you’re such a deformed specimen that you’re able to fit into spaces that aren’t designed for normal sized people.
I seriously can’t think of one cartoon or anime character that tackles the reality of being a short male in good faith. So much for diversity and representation
