The Characters
	Lawyer by day, stand up comic by night, Tom Rubin is 37 years old and 5’3’’. Successful, good looking and funny, Tom should be a great catch among women. The only problem is – his height. “There’s a fetish for shit - but not for short men. There’s a midget fetish. I’m too tall for that.”
	At a combined height of 10 feet 8 inches, Stuart and Stephen Seltzer are twin dentists sharing a successful practice in Montreal. For Stephen, one of the hardest things about being short and being a twin is that you are constantly reminded of your own short stature by seeing your twin in relation to others.
	Joe Mangano is one of the most outspoken height activists in the United States today. He has been writing articles about heightism, and making radio and television appearances for the past five years. Unfortunately, heightism is still not taken seriously. “The big problem is it goes on and it is not recognized and because we are not looked at as a group you can’t even talk about it - you call a black man a nigger - you’re in trouble - you call a short person a shrimp and people laugh.”
	Matt Campisi used to be a cop until height issues got in his way. He is now President of NOSSA, the National Organization of Short Statured Adults. People often laugh at him, telling him that everybody has problems, and that this isn’t a real issue. “I’ve been ashamed of my height my whole life, and I don’t want my kids to grow up that way. In fact, I don’t want anybody to grow up that way.”
	Akash Shukla had limb lengthening surgery. The process involves breaking bones in the shin area, growing new bone, and slowly stretching muscles and tissues over the course of months. After a painful year spent mostly in bed or in a wheel chair, he is 2.5 inches taller.
	Graham Faeh is seven years old. As far as the doctors know, he's perfectly normal, and perfectly healthy. But his projected adult height is only 5 feet tall. His parents have decided to give him growth hormone. This was not an easy decision. After carefully weighing the medical risks against the difficulties their son might face later in life—difficulties attracting a mate, disadvantages in career advancement—they opted for the daily injections. Sadly, they admit that “if Graham had been a girl, their decision would have been different.”
	Jiang Tao sued the People’s Bank of Chengdu for height discrimination in their hiring practices. He made Chinese legal history in 2002 when the court agreed to hear his case. It was the first time that the concept of equality was debated in a Chinese court of law. Jiang Tao is 165 cm tall.