4 ms·

Men paying thousands for leg lengthening surgery

29 points by pseudolus 1y ago

Molitor5901 1y ago
Is it really this bad for men dating, or is this more ..internal?
- dakial1 1y ago
  Internal in my opinion. Post 30 y/o specially, the dating scene for men becomes increasingly better (by market dynamics of offer/demand). But of course you need a minimum of soft skills to get more hits than misses in the dating game. My take here is that people like the guy in the article lack the soft skills part but as he has grown up being self-aware of his height, probably blames all short-comings on that. It would probably be simpler and more effective to do proper gym (better looks and more confidence) than this extreme and painful process. I would like to hear someone who did the same procedure to hear if things actually got better now that they are taller.
  - hilux 1y ago
    In the online-dating realm, you could have the best soft skills in the world, and they won't matter if the woman swipes left before meeting you. Yes, plenty of short guys do extremely well. I know a couple. And they have exceptional personalities and self-confidence. But we can't expect most people to be exceptional, by definition.
- dvfjsdhgfv 1y ago
  The height factor is definitely a thing. Of course you can (or: have to) counterbalance it with other aspects but the sheer awareness that for some (substantial) population of young women you are disqualified form the start can be depressing.
- jmclnx 1y ago
  Both really. I think taller men have an easier time getting a first date, but the second is more personality and how the guy acts.
tengbretson 1y ago
[flagged]
- anacrolix 1y ago
  I'm not a short guy, but I think it's unfair. Short guys are stereotyped with a particular personality, but the same buckets exist for women with other unpopular traits. I think men are being increasingly disenfranchised of the qualities that made them attractive. I think it's sad that people are reaching for surgery but I don't judge them.
  - goku12 1y ago
    > Short guys are stereotyped with a particular personality Could you elaborate? I'm not familiar with this.
- maxerickson 1y ago
  It's the kind of thing a guy who is 6 feet (5 foot 10 inches) tall will do.
- jalapenos 1y ago
  Kind of a shame since a 7ft plus guy doing it and becoming like Slenderman would be badass
givemeethekeys 1y ago
[flagged]
star-glider 1y ago
Geez I feel like a (more subtle) version of the Ron Desantis Maneuver would be a heck of a lot less invasive.
- soupfordummies 1y ago
  what's that?
nytesky 1y ago
This was covered in mainstream press (maybe WSJ?) a couple years ago. I think renewed interest because of its plot points in Materialists. https://www.gq.com/story/materialists-leg-lengthening https://www.gq.com/story/materialists-leg-lengthening I forgot it was in Gattaca right? That was an outstanding movie, should watch again. There has been a weird emphasis on height even greater than in the past, maybe from online dating? Short kings have been featured in SNL. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2Wc-nLNHtl/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2Wc-nLNHtl/?hl=en I’m shorter than Frank, and I never thought it was that much of an impediment, but I wonder if culture has moved to prioritize it even more in dating and careers? Frank had a wife, so it’s interesting how it persists.
- jf 1y ago
  Yes, this was a plot point in GATTACA
- 5555624 1y ago
  GQ back in 2022: https://www.gq.com/story/leg-lengthening https://www.gq.com/story/leg-lengthening
jethronethro 1y ago
[flagged]
toomanyrichies 1y ago
[flagged]
- Nervhq 1y ago
  [flagged]
  - tonyedgecombe 1y ago
    Why are you assuming toomanyrichies is female?
- goku12 1y ago
  The thing with therapy is that it works well if the problem is an imaginary one or from the past. But it's only a band-aid coping mechanism against ongoing real-life problems. Body shaming and judgement are ongoing real-life problems. It's not hard to find videos of men being judged by their height. These problems can't just be hand waved away with suggestions of therapy. Besides if you read the article, it does mention a female patient as well. So it's clearly not a man problem or a therapy problem. It's a society problem. I must point this out. Many here on HN are getting too comfortable with being judgemental against men.
  - protocolture 1y ago
    [flagged]
    - tdeck 1y ago
      The point goku12 was making was that the videos are evidence that such discrimination exists in the real world, not that the videos themselves are the only problem.
      - protocolture 1y ago
        My point is that social media is not indicative of reality.
cultofmetatron 1y ago
life has gotten easy enough that we're starting to value unimportant bullshit like height over the ability to make society function. go to any non-western country. height still matters but personality, integrity and intelligence is enough to get you ahead in the dating market.
- hilux 1y ago
  Because the dating market in India or Saudi Arabia or Ethiopia is so much better than in the US?!
- jjani 1y ago
  > go to any non-western country. height still matters but personality, integrity and intelligence is enough to get you ahead in the dating market. Any non-western country? Bold statement. I can tell you that there are non-western countries where height matters more than any Western country.
recursivecaveat 1y ago
I can't imagine a sense of shame that would be more powerful than the knowledge that I spent $32,000, many months of my & my partner's life, and risked dying to be a few cm taller. Definitely one of those things where its baffling to me how people consider it appropriate to mock people for. Imagine someone walking around in public today describing someone as having a "flat chest personality" or how most westerners are very uncomfortable with "skin lightening" as a beauty thing.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- dvfjsdhgfv 1y ago
  I don't understand your comment - what partner are you talking about? These surgeries exist because of the ongoing trend among young women to date tall man only.
- goku12 1y ago
  Ridicule based on arbitrary and frivolous attributes are shaped by jealousy and the associated urge to eliminate social competition. That's why the highly talented kids (even adults at times) are bullied. Meanwhile, such peer pressure has an awfully powerful influence on emotions and decisions. Both are fundamental human behaviors and they're not going away. The only way to overcome it is to burn some social capital by calling it out and protesting it. If you're lucky, you may even earn some social capital. > or how most westerners are very uncomfortable with "skin lightening" as a beauty thing I'm not sure I catch the meaning (due to cultural differences). Could you elaborate?
- 31carmichael 1y ago
  We should all try it. what's a few months of pain.
- general1726 1y ago
  > many months of my & my partner's life, and risked dying to be a few cm taller Wrong assumption. Men who wants to be taller are doing it to have more success in dating, because women are heavily biased towards taller men.
31carmichael 1y ago
I got my arms broken to make them longer. This is not as common, but something I wanted to achieve. Now they are extra-long and look a bit funny, but I'm happy.
- hilux 1y ago
  It's all about the Ape Index!
tomhow 1y ago
Previously: Software engineers paying 75K to get 3 inches taller - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32860250 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32860250 - Sept 2022 (207 comments) I wish I was a little bit taller - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32852962 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32852962 - Sept 2022 (95 comments) Radical surgery permanently extends your legs - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22654609 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22654609 - March 2020 (65 comments)

29 points by pseudolus 1y ago

Molitor5901 1y ago

Is it really this bad for men dating, or is this more ..internal?

dakial1 1y ago
Internal in my opinion. Post 30 y/o specially, the dating scene for men becomes increasingly better (by market dynamics of offer/demand). But of course you need a minimum of soft skills to get more hits than misses in the dating game. My take here is that people like the guy in the article lack the soft skills part but as he has grown up being self-aware of his height, probably blames all short-comings on that. It would probably be simpler and more effective to do proper gym (better looks and more confidence) than this extreme and painful process. I would like to hear someone who did the same procedure to hear if things actually got better now that they are taller.
- hilux 1y ago
  In the online-dating realm, you could have the best soft skills in the world, and they won't matter if the woman swipes left before meeting you. Yes, plenty of short guys do extremely well. I know a couple. And they have exceptional personalities and self-confidence. But we can't expect most people to be exceptional, by definition.
dvfjsdhgfv 1y ago
The height factor is definitely a thing. Of course you can (or: have to) counterbalance it with other aspects but the sheer awareness that for some (substantial) population of young women you are disqualified form the start can be depressing.
jmclnx 1y ago
Both really. I think taller men have an easier time getting a first date, but the second is more personality and how the guy acts.

tengbretson 1y ago

[flagged]

anacrolix 1y ago
I'm not a short guy, but I think it's unfair. Short guys are stereotyped with a particular personality, but the same buckets exist for women with other unpopular traits. I think men are being increasingly disenfranchised of the qualities that made them attractive. I think it's sad that people are reaching for surgery but I don't judge them.
- goku12 1y ago
  > Short guys are stereotyped with a particular personality Could you elaborate? I'm not familiar with this.
maxerickson 1y ago
It's the kind of thing a guy who is 6 feet (5 foot 10 inches) tall will do.
jalapenos 1y ago
Kind of a shame since a 7ft plus guy doing it and becoming like Slenderman would be badass

givemeethekeys 1y ago

[flagged]

star-glider 1y ago

Geez I feel like a (more subtle) version of the Ron Desantis Maneuver would be a heck of a lot less invasive.

soupfordummies 1y ago
what's that?

nytesky 1y ago

This was covered in mainstream press (maybe WSJ?) a couple years ago. I think renewed interest because of its plot points in Materialists. https://www.gq.com/story/materialists-leg-lengthening https://www.gq.com/story/materialists-leg-lengthening I forgot it was in Gattaca right? That was an outstanding movie, should watch again. There has been a weird emphasis on height even greater than in the past, maybe from online dating? Short kings have been featured in SNL. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2Wc-nLNHtl/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2Wc-nLNHtl/?hl=en I’m shorter than Frank, and I never thought it was that much of an impediment, but I wonder if culture has moved to prioritize it even more in dating and careers? Frank had a wife, so it’s interesting how it persists.

jf 1y ago
Yes, this was a plot point in GATTACA
5555624 1y ago
GQ back in 2022: https://www.gq.com/story/leg-lengthening https://www.gq.com/story/leg-lengthening

jethronethro 1y ago

[flagged]

toomanyrichies 1y ago

[flagged]

Nervhq 1y ago
[flagged]
- tonyedgecombe 1y ago
  Why are you assuming toomanyrichies is female?
goku12 1y ago
The thing with therapy is that it works well if the problem is an imaginary one or from the past. But it's only a band-aid coping mechanism against ongoing real-life problems. Body shaming and judgement are ongoing real-life problems. It's not hard to find videos of men being judged by their height. These problems can't just be hand waved away with suggestions of therapy. Besides if you read the article, it does mention a female patient as well. So it's clearly not a man problem or a therapy problem. It's a society problem. I must point this out. Many here on HN are getting too comfortable with being judgemental against men.
- protocolture 1y ago
  [flagged]
  - tdeck 1y ago
    The point goku12 was making was that the videos are evidence that such discrimination exists in the real world, not that the videos themselves are the only problem.
    - protocolture 1y ago
      My point is that social media is not indicative of reality.

cultofmetatron 1y ago

life has gotten easy enough that we're starting to value unimportant bullshit like height over the ability to make society function. go to any non-western country. height still matters but personality, integrity and intelligence is enough to get you ahead in the dating market.

hilux 1y ago
Because the dating market in India or Saudi Arabia or Ethiopia is so much better than in the US?!
jjani 1y ago
> go to any non-western country. height still matters but personality, integrity and intelligence is enough to get you ahead in the dating market. Any non-western country? Bold statement. I can tell you that there are non-western countries where height matters more than any Western country.

recursivecaveat 1y ago

I can't imagine a sense of shame that would be more powerful than the knowledge that I spent $32,000, many months of my & my partner's life, and risked dying to be a few cm taller. Definitely one of those things where its baffling to me how people consider it appropriate to mock people for. Imagine someone walking around in public today describing someone as having a "flat chest personality" or how most westerners are very uncomfortable with "skin lightening" as a beauty thing.

deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
dvfjsdhgfv 1y ago
I don't understand your comment - what partner are you talking about? These surgeries exist because of the ongoing trend among young women to date tall man only.
goku12 1y ago
Ridicule based on arbitrary and frivolous attributes are shaped by jealousy and the associated urge to eliminate social competition. That's why the highly talented kids (even adults at times) are bullied. Meanwhile, such peer pressure has an awfully powerful influence on emotions and decisions. Both are fundamental human behaviors and they're not going away. The only way to overcome it is to burn some social capital by calling it out and protesting it. If you're lucky, you may even earn some social capital. > or how most westerners are very uncomfortable with "skin lightening" as a beauty thing I'm not sure I catch the meaning (due to cultural differences). Could you elaborate?
31carmichael 1y ago
We should all try it. what's a few months of pain.
general1726 1y ago
> many months of my & my partner's life, and risked dying to be a few cm taller Wrong assumption. Men who wants to be taller are doing it to have more success in dating, because women are heavily biased towards taller men.

31carmichael 1y ago

I got my arms broken to make them longer. This is not as common, but something I wanted to achieve. Now they are extra-long and look a bit funny, but I'm happy.

hilux 1y ago
It's all about the Ape Index!

tomhow 1y ago

Previously: Software engineers paying 75K to get 3 inches taller - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32860250 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32860250 - Sept 2022 (207 comments) I wish I was a little bit taller - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32852962 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32852962 - Sept 2022 (95 comments) Radical surgery permanently extends your legs - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22654609 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22654609 - March 2020 (65 comments)