# How sensitive are you about your height? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 10, 2010, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805 "2010-08-10T10:23:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805/21 "2010-08-10T15:02:17Z")
I am 6’1". It is tall but not surprisingly so no. It is about the height I would pick if I had a choice. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805/22 "2010-08-10T15:08:47Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > My adolescence was marred by height paranoia - I stopped growing aged 15 and never progressed . . . Me exactly. It’s hard to go from one of the taller boys in 8th grade – 5’ 8" and change (don’t forget the change, dammit) – to seeing a lot of your friends tower over you as a sophomore. I lived in Oklahoma, so wearing boots was no big deal, which I did every damn day. Now, I don’t usually think about it unless I’m in a crowd trying to see something, such as a Mardi Gras parade. I’ve dated women who were taller than me and didn’t generally bother me unless I happened catch both of us in a mirror. ---
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805/23 "2010-08-10T15:10:43Z")
I should point out that I never felt tall in my family. My father was 6’3" and the shortest of his 9 brothers - the tallest being 6’9". My 3 older brothers are 6’ - 6’2" and my nephews are mostly tall as well. Even my stepbrothers are both over 6’. When you grow up being short and then realize you’re taller than you thought - that’s when you are more aware of it. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805/24 "2010-08-10T15:12:41Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > 5’9" woman here - I like my height, but having long legs and not being able to buy pants off the rack at many/most stores is kind of annoying. It really sucked in middle/high school when I would get teased for wearing “highwater” pants, so at least I have money and access to options now as an adult. Oh yeah, I forgot all about that. I’m not tall anymore, as I’ve finally caught up to my growth spurt, but in junior high I was rapidly growing vertically, and not horizontally at all. I was too tall and thin to find pants that fit both my width and inseam. They called it “flooding” at my junior high. Little bastards making fun of me… _grumble_ ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805/25 "2010-08-10T15:15:43Z")
I’m perfectly average in height, so I just get to be super-sensitive about my weight. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805/26 "2010-08-10T15:16:18Z")
At 5’10" for a guy, you wouldn’t think I’d have any sensitivity at all, and for the most part, I don’t. But I _do_ notice that most other black guys I run across are quite a bit taller than I am (that’s right – I’ve introduced the race card into this thread). I can be a little self-conscious about it in a crowd, but it’s not something I ever give any thought to outside of that specific situation. Fortunately, my g/f is exactly the right height – about four inches shorter than me, and she’s really happy with the arrangement, as am I. 🙂 _“I wish I was a little bit taller; I wish I was a baller…”_ I just spent three weeks in DC working closely with a lady who is 4’11". She seemed perfectly comfortable with her height as far as I could tell, not having any problem asking for help reaching something when she needed it, and rolling with the (numerous) short jokes I heard thrown her way. But as she is around 30, I would think she’s been the butt of those kinds of jokes her entire adult life, and I can’t imagine that doesn’t get really aggravating at times. For those of who are on the extreme short or tall side of things, how much do you get tired of hearing about it from other people? Do you find folks are often rude and insensitive to you without necessarily meaning to be? ---
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805/27 "2010-08-10T15:17:57Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > > [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > > > 5’9" woman here - I like my height, but having long legs and not being able to buy pants off the rack at many/most stores is kind of annoying. It really sucked in middle/high school when I would get teased for wearing “highwater” pants, so at least I have money and access to options now as an adult. > > Oh yeah, I forgot all about that. I’m not tall anymore, as I’ve finally caught up to my growth spurt, but in junior high I was rapidly growing vertically, and not horizontally at all. I was too tall and thin to find pants that fit both my width and inseam. They called it “flooding” at my junior high. Little bastards making fun of me… _grumble_ Lol - my growth spurt was 6 inches in one year. I started off that school year with a dress that was down to my ankles and ended up above my knees. My mom gave up trying to buy me clothes and spent most of the year sewing me outfits with “rolling hems” - I hated those lines where my pants got let down. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805/28 "2010-08-10T15:18:14Z")
I reached a towering 5 ft 7 . I don’t care at all. I lived with a girl for 3 1/2 years that was 6 ft tall. Height is a silly and stupid way to judge people. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Nene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/da6949/32.png) [@El\_Nene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Nene)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805/29 "2010-08-10T15:26:44Z")
I’m 5’6" but not at all sensitive about it…any more. My wife is taller than me and likes to wear heels so it was either get over it or find a new, shorter wife. It’s hard to find pants the right length sometimes though. Usually have to order from online catalogs. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805/30 "2010-08-10T15:31:13Z")
I’m 5’7" and it feels about average to me. But many of my friends are about 5’2" and I feel like a hulking Amazon around them. They make me feel ungainly. ---
**Author:** ![cuberdon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/45deac/32.png) [@cuberdon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuberdon)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805/31 "2010-08-10T15:31:27Z")
Female here, 5’5" so just over average. I never think much about my height so I’ll take that as being comfortable with it. No trouble finding clothing that fits though shoes can be a pain as my feet are different sizes. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805/32 "2010-08-10T15:37:12Z")
I’m ~ 6’3" but that’s only a little over average here in the Netherlands so it’s not really an issue; clothes are almost always available in my size, for example. For some reason I also “feel” a little less tall than I really am. I only really notice my height abroad - I’m really noticeably tall in Northern England, for example, and I had one little old lady there suggest that I should be a police man 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805/33 "2010-08-10T15:37:21Z")
5"7 male here. It bothered me a lot as a child since I was consistently behind the curve. As an adult I don’t mind at all. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805/34 "2010-08-10T15:59:02Z")
I’m a 5’4" man, much shorter than average, and used to be sorta sensitive about it. Especially when it seemed to put me at a disadvantage in the dating scene. But I got over it, especially now that I’m married and don’t have to worry about dating anymore. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805/35 "2010-08-10T16:10:42Z")
I am sensitive about my height only because thanks to the combination of bone and joint issues I lost 2 inches, so now I am 5’5" ☹ On the plus side, I think I have stopped shrinking … ---
**Author:** ![wolf-alice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9e8a1a/32.png) [@wolf-alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf-alice)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805/36 "2010-08-10T16:17:09Z")
I’m 5’10" and it’s never bothered me, which is funny because I’m not above a little irrational complex about my appearance. In heels I clear 6’, which I think is awesome - I feel Amazonian rather than mannish. Matt, the better third, is 5’6"-ish, and we’ve absolutely never had any worries about that, either - when we’ve been out together with me in heels he thinks it’s hilarious - “This is great! You look like a supermodel. Think how rich people must assume I am!” ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805/37 "2010-08-10T16:22:43Z")
I am also 5’4". Not sensitive about it at all, really. In the past, the word “short” annoyed me a bit, with its connotation of deficiency. Like the caterpillar that Alice met, I think my height “is a very good height indeed.” It hasn’t been much of an impediment, as far as I can tell. I never hesitated to pursue taller women if they were attractive to me, and as it happens, my wife fairly towers over me. (Not that I favoured taller women in general - just seemed silly to keep them out of the pool.) I am frustrated sometimes when things are juuuust out of reach, but as far as handicaps go, that’s pretty trivial. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805/38 "2010-08-10T16:57:59Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > I get stared at a lot, and sometimes get rude comments. What rude comments? I’m 6’5" also, and I’m having trouble remembering any remarks I’d consider _rude_–and I find rudeness easily enough in many contexts. I occasionally tire of “do you play basketball,” but that’s only meant to be friendly in my experience. I appreciate the impulse to be friendly and conversational, even when the things said are a little inane. I suppose stares _without_ comment could become rude. One possible response to the basketball line, if you’re feeling mischievous: “No. Do you play miniature golf?” ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805/39 "2010-08-10T17:13:56Z")
Normally, no. I’m 6’0". When I’m in the UK, definitely. For some reason, I feel tall in the US and tiny in Britain. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805/40 "2010-08-10T17:17:50Z")
5’9" female and it was a problem in Junior high when I felt very tall and skinny. Not bad now, except when I went to Singapore and felt like a blond Godzilla [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sensitive-are-you-about-your-height/549805.md?page=3)