# The "Amazonian" stereotype needs to stop. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 15, 2014, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazonian-stereotype-needs-to-stop/693185 "2014-07-15T17:39:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![missyevelyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5ac83/32.png) [@missyevelyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missyevelyn)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazonian-stereotype-needs-to-stop/693185/1 "2014-07-15T17:39:11Z")
This has been getting on my last nerve. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been referred to as an “Amazonian.” I’m approx. 5’11" with no shoes on, and I’ve gotten the rudest comments from men. One time in particular drove me crazy. I was at a beach one day, on vacation with some friends. I was laying in the sun, in my bikini, when I overhear two guys talking about me. One said, “I’d like to tear up that dark, busty, and tall Amazon lying down there”. Not only did I feel racially offended (I’m African-American), the whole idea of the sexualization of tall women annoys me. Another time, I was in my college class, with some guys that I DID NOT like at all (they were racial, ignorant, and very chauvinistic) One says, “wouldn’t you love to make love with Missy,” loud enough for me to hear. The other one said, “perhaps. But we’d have to tie her down first, those giant jungle women are hard to tame.” I let loose some choice words on them, and didn’t regret it at all. This has annoyed me since I was in high school. Am I just overthinking it, or not? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazonian-stereotype-needs-to-stop/693185/2 "2014-07-15T17:46:17Z")
Comments like those are horrible, but not because of any reference to size. I would consider it the height of rudeness to make any such sexually suggestive comment within earshot of a woman. I have no idea whether “non-Amazonian” women have it any better. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazonian-stereotype-needs-to-stop/693185/3 "2014-07-15T17:49:12Z")
I think you have just been overhearing men who habitually make rude comments, and your own particular characteristics are the natural ones that they would zero in on. If you were short, they would be just as rude, but referencing different attributes. ---
**Author:** ![missyevelyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5ac83/32.png) [@missyevelyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missyevelyn)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazonian-stereotype-needs-to-stop/693185/4 "2014-07-15T17:50:23Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Comments like those are horrible, but not because of any reference to size. I would consider it the height of rudeness to make any such sexually suggestive comment within earshot of a woman. > > I have no idea whether “non-Amazonian” women have it any better. This is why feminism can’t die. People would like to ignore it, but chauvinism still reigns, especially in America. ---
**Author:** ![missyevelyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5ac83/32.png) [@missyevelyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missyevelyn)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazonian-stereotype-needs-to-stop/693185/5 "2014-07-15T17:51:37Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > You’ll never get a rude comment from this man. I’m 5’11, and I’ve never been afraid of tall women. Thanks. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazonian-stereotype-needs-to-stop/693185/6 "2014-07-15T18:07:37Z")
> [@missyevelyn](#): > > This is why feminism can’t die. People would like to ignore it, but chauvinism still reigns, especially in America. Feminism or not… men are attracted by physical appearance. Some people (of either gender) seem unable to think something without also speaking it, regardless of how inappropriate. So whatever attractive trait you have will be the one they comment on. You either learn to brush off other people’s rudeness or you spend your whole life being bothered by it. Even if feminism rises up and men are reduced subservient sperm-donors for women’s pleasures… you’re still going to occasionally hear these kinds of comments. I don’t condone or approve of it, but if you want to change things, you might as well end world hunger and figure out why we can’t all just get along while you’re at it. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazonian-stereotype-needs-to-stop/693185/7 "2014-07-15T18:25:11Z")
Do you live within a Penthouse magazine? ---
**Author:** ![missyevelyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5ac83/32.png) [@missyevelyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missyevelyn)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazonian-stereotype-needs-to-stop/693185/8 "2014-07-15T18:28:31Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Do you live within a Penthouse magazine? I don’t really find the humor in that statement. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazonian-stereotype-needs-to-stop/693185/9 "2014-07-15T18:32:00Z")
The comments seem way out of line. More for the racial aspects than the height issue. As a man, I assume that most women have to deal with something similar, regardless of race, height, or body type. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazonian-stereotype-needs-to-stop/693185/10 "2014-07-15T18:34:48Z")
> [@missyevelyn](#): > > Thanks. 😃 Me either. I’ve always liked taller women and am married to one who is only 2" shorter than I. ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazonian-stereotype-needs-to-stop/693185/11 "2014-07-15T18:43:39Z")
Are you self conscious about your height? It’s such a silly thing. I’m a tall guy. I get complimented on being tall. It’s bizzare. It’s not something I worked hard at to accomplish. It’s just as silly to belittle a man for being short. Or bald. There’s nothing they they didn’t or didn’t do to accomplish those attributes. But, I do understand. My wife is 6’0" tall and has been self conscious about her height all her life. Just never understood why it’s good to be a tall man - but bad to be a tall woman. Are you overthinking it? maybe. But, rest assured you’re not the only tall woman that does. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazonian-stereotype-needs-to-stop/693185/12 "2014-07-15T19:01:47Z")
5’11" is tall for a woman, but not “outlier” tall (my wife is 5’10"). And height alone, IMHO, isn’t enough to confer “Amazon” status (BTW I prefer the word “Amazon” as an adjective over “Amazonian”). I don’t think of a woman who is 6’5 but thin-as-a-rail as an Amazon. Now if you are 5’11" **and** substantially more muscular than the average woman, those combined features might be why people regard you as an Amazon. [Elana Meyers](http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/03/sport/elana-meyers-olympics-rugby-sevens/) was on the US Olympic bobsled team this year; she’s 5’7", but she looks like she could hold her own in a fistfight with _\_. In my mind, she’s an Amazon - but I would never be so rude as to say it within earshot of her. And I think that’s the primary core of the matter: in the incidents you describe, the offensiveness is not so much that the men are attracted to you because of your stature; rather, it’s because they’re ill-mannered pigs with nary a thought for your comfort. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazonian-stereotype-needs-to-stop/693185/13 "2014-07-15T20:27:29Z")
Amazonian is a compliment. It means you are a strong beautiful woman. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazonian-stereotype-needs-to-stop/693185/14 "2014-07-15T20:30:18Z")
> [@missyevelyn](#): > > I don’t really find the humor in that statement. Very little humor intended. The dialogue you quote is so stilted and sounds so like a badly-written pornographic story that I find it odd. I certainly have never heard people talk like that in real life. ---
**Author:** ![Methyl\_Ethyl\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Methyl\_Ethyl\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Methyl_Ethyl_Death)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazonian-stereotype-needs-to-stop/693185/15 "2014-07-15T20:46:29Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Amazonian is a compliment. It means you are a strong beautiful woman. Me want snu snu! ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazonian-stereotype-needs-to-stop/693185/16 "2014-07-15T21:10:17Z")
**ALL** stereotypes ought to stop. “Short men have something to prove.” “Fat people are jolly.” “Irish? Drunkard!” etc. Physical characteristics should not be “fashions.” “Oh, it’s so trendy: everyone short is ‘in’ this season.” Huh? Didn’t we learn anything from the “Twiggy” fiasco? (Hairstyles, okay. Body types? Bad idea.) ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazonian-stereotype-needs-to-stop/693185/17 "2014-07-15T21:32:33Z")
> [@Methyl\_Ethyl\_Death](#): > > Me want snu snu! Anything for you. > **[Sexy Lingerie Shop, Discount Lingerie, Sexy Clothing - Threadz](https://www.threadz.com/)** > > Get the best prices on the largest selection of sexy lingerie online. Shop teddies, babydolls and more in an amazing assortment of styles, colors and sizes. Free fast shipping from the USA on orders over $80. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazonian-stereotype-needs-to-stop/693185/18 "2014-07-15T21:50:04Z")
**Smeghead** , I am no longer surprised at the sort of things that members of the Asshat Bros demographic think are adequate to use in public as an expression of interest in women. I can just imagine her hearing those sorts of things. Because you see, those dudes, \*they \*are the ones who use _Penthouse_ letters as a model. It’s their strategy to do that sort of verbal dick-waving and see if one in twentyfive targets actually happens to respond favorably, and to them that’s proof that _“oh yeah bitches go for that”_. > [@missyevelyn](#): > > One said, “I’d like to tear up that dark, busty, and tall Amazon lying down there”. > > […] > > The other one said, “perhaps. But we’d have to tie her down first, those giant jungle women are hard to tame.” OK with these incidents there’s not just the sexist crassness but also the general context of aggression; that last one is especially up the creepometer on both the racial and rapeyness scales. (And, if he’s trolling for girls who are into bondage and raceplay [NTTAWWT], there are safer, more discreet ways to do so.) Those dudes wholly deserved to get told off. I would say they’d deserve to one day have a real Amazon kick their asses, but they may enjoy that. ---
**Author:** ![EMCEE\_98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5ac83/32.png) [@EMCEE\_98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EMCEE_98)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazonian-stereotype-needs-to-stop/693185/19 "2014-07-15T22:11:16Z")
I’ve dated both tall women (over 6 foot) and short women (under 5 foot). You just need to meet the guys who aren’t complete pieces of crap. Tall or short, the most attractive aspect of a woman is her personality. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazonian-stereotype-needs-to-stop/693185/20 "2014-07-16T01:21:22Z")
Those guys in your examples are asses. Don’t let the vocal minority color the entire male gender. We’re not all like that. FWIW, you’d be my kind of gal (you had me with the 5’11" and bikini comments), but you’d have to accept my balding head. :o [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazonian-stereotype-needs-to-stop/693185.md?page=2)