Tall Girl Advice
Tall girls or girls above average height have always been asked a lot of questions growing up. Some questions and comments include the following:
“How tall are you?”
“WOW! You’re so tall”
Being tall can really force you into the spotlight wherever you go. STA talks to fellow tall girls to share their stories and advice for every tall girl out there!
Please give us a short background about yourself
Charisse, 20, College Student
What’s your height?
5’7
What’s the best thing about your height?
The best thing about my height is that I could reach things that are high up without the use of stool or ladder. I was always being ask for help by my family and friends to reach things at the top of the cabinet, shelves, etc.
Did you experience any type of bullying due to your height when you were in high school? How did you handle it?
No, I never get bullied because of my height, maybe because the bullies usually prey on the “weak”. I guess the bullies don’t classify me as one since I am taller than them. But a few problems that I encountered during highschool are: First, people usually mistakenly assume that I am a college student already and the oldest in our class or in my circle of friends.
Second, everytime random people see a picture of me and my friends — which are way shorter than me — they tend to comment “you’re so tall for your friends”, “you look like the BIG sister of the group”, etc. I wasn’t really confident about myself since I was a kid, and those incidents made me lose my confidence more.
What lessons did you learn from that experience?
Now that I’m more mature than when I was in highscool, I realized that I shouldn’t be offended by those petty comments. I learned that my height is an asset and it shouldn’t be a reason for me to lose my confidence. There are so many reasons to love my height, I could easily play sports, climb a mountain, be a model etc.
Moreover, I get more compliments than offensive comments so I shouldn’t really be bothered by the latter. Lastly, I learned is that I shouldn’t compare myself to others may it be regarding to my height, weight, skin, etc. I am my own unique self and I should embrace and love my self for that.
What is your advice to tall girls who are struggling to embrace their height?
Always remember that being a tall girl is normal. Many people will continuously make comments about our height but girls, we always have the option to just ignore them. Focus on embracing the reality and you’ll see that there are so many reasons to love our height.
For those who are not aware that their words could be hurtful, What are the things you should avoid saying to a tall girl?
To those who are not aware that their words could be hurtful, we don’t always have to make comments on others. We could opt to stay quiet especially if we don’t know how to filter our words. Avoid making comments such as “you look big”, “giant”, “you don’t need heels”, etc. All of these comments seem to be a normal comment but you don’t know how offensive it may be for us, that sometimes those “simple comments” that you make pushes us to lose our confidence.
Please give us a short background about yourself
Sarah, 41, Community and Brand Developer
What’s your height?
6’
What’s the best thing about your height
I get to help people put their luggage in overhead compartments, give my kids the best views at music festivals, and pick fruit off trees without a ladder.
Did you experience any type of bullying due to your height when you were in high school? How did you handle it?
Boys would make offhand remarks sometimes. My mom got teased a lot for her height growing up, so her stories primed me to notice that it was always only short boys that had something to say. Otherwise, I might have taken it much more personally.
What lessons did you learn from that experience?
I used to crouch in pictures; mastered standing in a way that made me seem closer to whatever the average height of the group was. It seems inconsequential, but the body is wise—it notices when you’re trying to shrink to fit in, and silently takes cues from that. It was only when I started surrounding myself with tall people that I realized how much I’d been shortchanging myself. My posture started changing, and in no small way, so did my outlook and opportunities in life.
What is your advice to tall girls who are struggling to embrace their height?
You have an opportunity to kiss the sky—take it. You were designed to have a different perspective than your peers. To graze ceilings, so that you might raise them for others. To stand straight is to know your true center. I want this for you, for it is inextricably linked to finding balance, and stability, and peace.
For those who are not aware that their words could be hurtful, What are the things you should avoid saying to a tall girl?
I would just recommend pausing and doing some self-reflection before commenting on anyone’s physical features, period.
Please give us a short background about yourself
Denise, 20, College Student
What’s your height?
I’m approximately 5’7 (171cm).