I’m short at 5’1" but it doesn’t bug me. Occasionally clothes can be a problem but petite sizing usually works and if not there are always tailors for that fix.
It’s surprising how many people don’t even notice that I’m short because of the heels I normally wear.
I got the short end of the genetic stick, both parents were short, mom 5’2", Dad 5’6". Two of my siblings are also below average height but at least over 5 foot. Two other siblings managed to get to 5’10". My height was possibly additionally stunted by a couple serious illnesses in my first years of life. I am under 5 feet but not technically a “little person” so people think it’s perfectly acceptable and not rude at all to say stupid stuff like “wow, you’re really short, you know that?”. Do they really think I don’t know how short I am? Seriously, would you say that to an actual little person? Don’t we have a little person here? I’d like to hear from them if they get comments like that.
I’ve learned to adapt to some things like not being able to reach things on top shelves but sometimes it still pisses me off to the point that I get annoyed when I finally snag something and then someone offers to help me, at which point I yank the item and have it come flying off the shelf and hit me on the head.
So yeah, I’m sensitive about my height but only when idiots feel the need to point it out.
5’6" guy here. It’s hard to find pants off the rack that I don’t have to get shortened. With all the “Big and Tall” stores, you’d think there would be a “Short and Skinny” place or two. Other than that, I got no problems with it.
5’8 and not sensitive about it. I’m all legs though and finding pants to fit is a trial. My husband is 6’3 and our legs are the same length.
Same here. I’m 5’6" and 3/4" - I specify three quarters because it’s more accurate rather than that I’d be bothered at being seen as 5’6" or 5’7". I’m also a UK size 10-12 and a B-C cup. Ordinary clothes seem to made exactly to fit me.
Bizarrely, though, people tend to think of me as short. I’ve even been frequently described as ‘petite.’ I know I don’t stoop, and I’m not exactly shy; maybe I just tend to stand next to lots of tall people.
I guess I’m taller than average for a woman (between 5’7" and 5’10" depending on what doctor’s office is measuring) but I’m not sensitive or self-conscious about my height unless I’m with someone that’s being weird about it. My legs seem to be more average in length, so I generally don’t have trouble buying pants - I do have to seek out longer shirts, however. Usually I wear a long camisole under whatever shirt I’m wearing to cover any gaps.
Wait, one office has measured you at 5’7" and another at 5’10"? That’s a big difference. I think I’d be scared of those offices! The health issues usually get more complicated after “height”
6’6" male, and in a way I’m not at all sensitive - I do get lots of comments, but not really negative. Someone mentioned some annoying things like hitting your head on door frames in old buildings, and I’ll second that. There are advantages too, though, like being able to change a light bulb without standing on anything. On the whole, I like being tall. If someone actually made fun of me about it in a mean-spirited way I’d probably just laugh at them.
However, I’m curious if anyone else is sensitive in the following way: I think because my friends often comment, being The Tall Guy has managed to become part of my identity, and so on the occasions when I’m around someone significantly taller than I am it is really distracting and weird, and makes me self-conscious - I think if I became friends with someone who was much taller than me, I’d get past it, but for a little while part of me would be thinking “Hey, he’s stolen my identity!” Yes I am aware that this is shallow and ridiculous, and particularly ridiculous that someone my size would be sensitive about not being tall enough, but there it is.
I’m 6’0" tall, so not very sensitive to my height.
But frankly, I wish I was shorter. Back seats of cars, and airplane seats would be much more comfortable.
I am also short-legged; I have a problem with normal cut shirts, they do not stay tucked in my pants.
A combination of my standing differently or maybe equipment that’s off could explain the differences. If it were the same office getting different measurements I might be more concerned, but as it is it’s sort of like a game and only a range of a few inches. Will I be 5’7" today? Maybe 5’9"! I should take bets.
I stopped growing at age 15 and 5’7". It’s never bothered me in the slightest. I figure it’s the way I’m supposed to be and I can’t do anything about it anyway so why worry about it.
I’m the oldest of 4 kids and the shortest. The baby is 17 and about 6’4", my sister is 5’8"ish and my other brother is around 6’1".
5’4", close to average for an American female. I’m fine with it, but…
I used to be sensitive about my height progression because when I was a kid, all the Chinese/Taiwanese folks around me were obsessed with height. Whenever I was with another ABC kid, we’d invariably have to do the “stand with your backs to each other” thing so that our parents could compare our heights. I swear I had to do this every time I went over to a friend’s house, and it almost became a contest. Like, who grows faster, who grows more, etc. Furthermore, whenever I went back to Taiwan, my grandparents would repeatedly ask me how tall I was, and how much more I have to go before I reached 160 cm (the minimum ideal for a Taiwanese female, I guess). And once I grew past 160 cm, they would keep asking me how close I was to 165-168 cm (the “ideal”). I almost get the feeling that Taiwanese people are preoccupied with height the way American people are obsessed with weight. Don’t get me wrong, thinness is important there too, but most people there are thin to begin with. It seems really silly now that I’m looking back, but there you go.
What is this Tall Girl store you speak of? They don’t have those in Florida, but it would be really awesome if they did. If I want tall clothes, I have to order them online 90% of the time; somehow I occasionally luck out and can find a pair of pants that are long enough/slightly too long in stores.
I also had some of those issues, and spent quite a few years buying men’s pants to ensure that the inseam was long enough.
I’m 5’9.5" and have a less-than-willowy build-- even at a “thin” weight, I am built wide, so I’ve gotten used to the idea that my combination of height and proportions are not normal where I’m living. I’m closer to the norm in the area I just moved in, but I’m still considered tall. I’m not, however, in an area where 5’2" is the norm, so I don’t get the “OMG, she’s so tall!” looks like I did in my last area of residence. I’m not all that sensitive about my height, but I do find it annoying that clothing rarely fits me well– the best I can do most of the time with in-store clothing is it sorta fits or I can make this less awkward with layers to balance out coverage.
That’s funny – in grad school, a friend of a friend started hanging out in our friend circle who I think had the same problem. He was 6’6", which is pretty tall in most places, but I’m 6’8" and my friends were already bored with pointing out how tall that is, so no one really thought of him as the Tall Guy. I think he always felt kind of weird about it – he’d try to turn it into a “We Tall Guys” thing, but I’d always tell him he wasn’t really that tall when you thought about it, so he stopped doing that, too.
Eventually, he hanged himself. (OK, not really, I just didn’t know how to end the story.)
Word.
I’m 5’1"-ish and I’ve never been sensitive about my height but I am also tiny (typical size 0’s are too big) so I’m a bit sensitive about being mistaken for a 15 year old instead of a 25 y/o.
I dated a few guys that were around 6’ tall… I much prefer that Mr J is 5’8"… that way I’m not right at armpit level.
5’6" or so, female. I get a little sensitive about my height when I’m around a lot of other women, since most seem to be significantly shorter than me and I don’t like feeling like I’m towering over them. I’m not very fat, but not skinny either, which adds to my discomfort. My husband is 6’, which is perfect for me.
I was a, um, late boomer, so I was very sensitive about my height, along with the lack of other biological changes, before puberty finally came, and got teased mercilessly about it. I got the last laugh, however. I’m now 5’9, which is taller than average for Asian males, and not too particularly out of place even among North Americans and Europeans.
At 5’7" (M), I’m of 2 minds. On the one hand, I don’t feel handicapped in any way, other than maybe having to grab a stool to reach high places; I also feel blessed to not be a midget with the associated difficulties. The problems come in when competing against taller blokes, in sports, elected positions, attracting women, etc. Being taller does confer advantages in most societies, so yes, there is some sensitivity.
I’m also curious what rude comments are made about your height, 9sky*
I grew up being the tallest most of my life, until the more athletic people beat me at school. Now I consider myself average tall. I’m 6’2"-3"
The only thing I have to be concerned about is that, if I look angry, I’m big enough that I look more threatening than the average person. And I can look angry when I’m not. I’ve had to intentionally cultivate a “happy look.” I have to be especially careful with children–although now it’s so automatic that I tend to have “fans” as I call them.
*Trying out nicknames. I always have a shortened nickname for people I like.