Is it harder to be a tall girl than a tall boy?

by Kristin Darguzas (Subscribe to Kristin Darguzas's posts) Sep 14th 2007 8:01AM

Categories: Just For Moms, Teens & Tweens, Development

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I spent most of my life cursing my height. I am the slouched female Lurch in the back of elementary school class photos, the sole girl in the boy's back row. Nolan will be tall, too, not just because it's common sense (his Dad is 6'3", I am 6'0"), but because he already is taller than the four year olds at the playground. But it's OK, because he's a boy, and I firmly believe that it's totally different to be a hugely tall boy than it is to be a hugely tall girl.

Anyway, all of this talk about tallness is due to a fascinating post Jonathon wrote at our sister blog, That's Fit. The post is about a study that says that height may be impacted by siblings (as well as Mom). I found it interesting that Jonathon spoke about height as a good thing, a coveted thing.

I am OK with my height now, for the most part. But when I look at photos of myself, I am always hunched over, compensating for the fact that most people have to stretch awkwardly to talk to my face instead of my neck. But I hated it when I was a child. I hated:

That school coaches always tried to recruit me for basketball and highjump, only to watch me flail miserably and apologize "Sorry. Maybe you're not cut out for this after all."
That boys did not like the tallest girl in the class.
That I was always the one forced to try to buy liquor for my friends at 14 (because I was tall, I looked old? Wha?

As I said, I'm not worried about Nolan, because he's a boy -- it's OK if he's in the back row, it's OK if he's taller than all the girls. But I would worry if I had a little girl. For me, being tall wasn't fun.

Comments (4)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jennifer 9-14-2007 @ 8:13AM

It's funny, I have two tall girlfriends - both six feet. One is a sloucher and always hated being so tall (although she is athletic and I think she liked the advantage it gave her there). The other loves being tall and will be disappointed if her daughter does not turn out as tall as she is. I think being tall would make adolescence harder, but then, adolescence is not easy for anyone. I have red hair and hated that becuase it made me different.

Tamyu 9-14-2007 @ 8:46AM

I don`t know anything about being tall - I`m fairly short myself, as is my husband.
But I do think that it`s hard to be a short *boy*. My son is about the height of most of the 18 month olds we encounter, and he`s three. Everyone assumes he`s a girl, as he is so small.
All of the short boys I encountered in my school days were made fun of, ridiculed, etc. I imagine things haven`t changed much, and a boy with a projected adult height of 4'10" (my son) is going to go through hell.
Of the short girls I knew, they were all "cute", and I don`t recall any of them being made fun of.

I think that children will always find something to pick on, but height is very obvious, and makes an easy target.

Ethel 9-14-2007 @ 11:28AM

Wow, I always liked being tall (6'), even when my boyfriend at one time was an average 5'6"! Tall is a great thing, being fat was and is my problem - along with a big chest and upper arms. The only real problem I have with being tall is the rest of the world is a miniature, seats at the theater, booths at a cafe, airline seats, bathroom stalls, shower stalls at the dorm... And Lord, the dang shoes! I'd like to have cute shoes too that I can go and try out instead of having to order them - that's ridiculous. Instead I wear shoes for men since they fit (and with the metro-sexual thing there are more feminine varieties), tall men's t-shirts, and thank God I'm tall and that when I am trucking those little short people can't keep up.

Lauren 9-14-2007 @ 12:13PM

I am on board with Ethel on this! I LOVE being tall, but the short counter tops, movie theater seats, mirrors hung low in the ladies room.... Not so fun.

I was six feet tall in the sixth grade, so I have been taller than pretty much everyone I know forever. I never saw it as a burden though - maybe because I am an athlete. I wasn't teased about being tall, but I had plenty of other ammo for teasing - like really great acne and needing braces.

My daughter is 27 months old, and is 28 pounds and 37 inches tall. So she is well on her way to following in my footsteps. I don't worry for her, but instead I will teach her that being tall is OK, and others will catch up eventually :)