Saddest, most beta story: Guy pays $75,000 for major surgery to go from 5-7" to 5-10"

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Before the $75,000 procedure he had in January, he was about 5'7". By the time he’s done lengthening, a weekslong process after the surgery, he will be 5'10" — about an inch taller than the average American man.

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Scott, who is 25 and works in digital media, said that before the surgery, colleagues constantly made remarks about his stature. “I was not treated with respect,” Scott told me. “At every single workplace I’ve been in, there've been several situations where people commented on my height to discredit me entirely as a person.” One disagreement at work led to a colleague snapping at him and rebutting, “Don’t be so sure of yourself, short man!” Over the years, the insults began to take their toll. “I was waking up two hours before my alarm every day just to walk around the neighborhood and cry,” he said.

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For Scott, demeaning comments about height are everywhere — whether in his personal life or in pop culture. He singled out TikTok particularly, where jokes about men’s height are rampant. “I don’t know how many times I have to hit the dislike button for your algorithm to learn I don’t want to see jokes about height,” he said. He flags the TikToks as harassment and bullying, only to receive a note back that says the app reviewed the content and didn’t find anything wrong with it.

He paused our interview and pulled out his phone to show me a TikTok from @flossybaby, one of his favorite influencers. “When I see a woman that is 5'8", I’m like, ‘That’s a tall woman,’” she says to the camera. “But when I see a man that is 5'8", I’m like, ‘Look! A garden gnome!’” In the comments, users had added to the bit: “No because who let him out unsupervised.” Humiliation flashed across Scott’s face. “Before the surgery, I was 5'7". I was not even a garden gnome to her.”

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