Short shrift

The weather down there is full of bitterness

Don't call them shrimp, shorty, stumpy, smallfry, munchkin or runt. Short guys are mad as hell and they're not going to take it anymore.

S&M: Short and Male is a documentary about the societal bias against men of short stature, a bias that, according to this movie, is right up there with inequities based on race, age and gender.

An interview subject in S&M: Short and Male will tell you that all shortpeople are bullied aschildren in some way or another, be it emotional or physical.

Later in life, the prejudice against short men can be measured in economic terms: There's an income difference of about $1,000 an inch in height between short and tall men.

Howard Goldberg, the filmmaker, shows the difference between a short man and a tall manmoving through pedestrian traffic, has women talk about how they don't want to date a short man, offers bizarre statistics (such as how most sperm banks won't accept any donors shorter than 5-foot-11) and has short-guy testimonials about how hard it is for the diminutive to find true love. Or even clothes that fit.