Zony Maya is a Filipino American actress and singer who was raised in Manila, Philippines. She has been writing and performing her music since the early 1990s in both the United States and in her native homeland. Heightism is a body abnormality wherein the human body tends to increase its height despite being of average height.
Heightism is a very common condition where individuals with unusually long legs that are unusually small in comparison to their height exhibit an extreme preference for tall people, often in favor of much shorter people. This preference for height over personal size is what leads to the height difference between Zony Maya and her partner, Jermajesty Aranedo, who are both under four feet in height. The question is, does Zony have a competitive reason for her preference of height over her partner, or does she have such a strong genetic predisposition for height that her increasing her height to look like that of her partner is really a result of a deeper self-image, rather than a means of fitting in with a particular culture? If you ask Zony, she would probably tell you, “It’s not about fitting in with people, it’s about feeling and looking bigger.”
Heightism, like all of the conditions related to human growth, can be controlled or even eliminated through proper nutrition, exercise, and psychological counseling. Being tall is not something that everyone was born with. It is something that can be achieved through conscious effort and a commitment to personal improvement. Heightism can be combated by helping your partner sees you as you really are: taller than you actually are, through acknowledging your height difference with their own height, and through helping your partner to accept you for who you really are.