Too many times, I’ve found myself in this situation: My friend is showing me a picture of their latest hook up or date, and I am giving my approval after hearing about his behavior. But sometimes, no matter how gentlemanly the boy is, I hear my friend say, “But I’m not gonna see him again… He’s not six-foot.” Even if the male in question is five-foot-eleven he is cut out, Bachelorette style, sent home without a rose.

Height. To some people it’s a deal breaker, and to others it’s a matter of preference. I’m five-foot-two, and I prefer my significant other to be taller than I am, but that doesn’t stop me from dating people who are the same height or shorter than I am. While being physically attracted to my significant other is important to me, height is not the end-all-be-all of any relationship I consider.

The “he’s not six-foot” mantra runs deeper than just a preference. Every time I hear that excuse, it makes me seethe. If someone outright refuses to go out with someone simply because they are not six-feet tall, that falls onto the spectrum of discrimination.

On the lower end of the spectrum there are height and hair color; but on the other end there is race, sexuality and ethnicity. At the end of the day, it’s all some form of discrimination. Discriminatory behaviors start small, so one day you could be ghosting someone because of their height and the next day it could be because of their race.

Judging someone based on something they were born with or cannot change about themselves is wrong. No one should have to change anything about themselves to please you.

A person’s height will not tell you if they’ll respect you as an equal. A person’s height won’t tell you if they’ll stick with you through tough times. A person’s height will definitely not tell you whether that person will love and support you for all the time that you share.

Next time you are on a date, put away the measuring tape and the judgment. He may be five-foot-eight, but he might have the heart of a giant.