Being a tall woman of 6'1" there have always been perceptions both from others and myself of the acceptable height of a date. Sadly, society believes that the man in a relationship should be taller. This is something that has been bred into us, and a belief I am guilty of myself. I won't go into explicit detail (in case my mother reads this), but of the men I have *ehem* been with, only one has been taller than me.
I have had a strict rule about dating guys taller than me. My brain has been conditioned to discount the shorter men and only find taller men attractive. However, something deep within me has bent this rule on more than one occasion. Despite feeling that perhaps I am doing something wrong I will still fall for shorter guys. As a teen and young adult I was made to feel that shorter guys would be threatened by my height. To be honest, I probably had more of a connection on a personal level with short guys who were just one-nighters! Perhaps there were missed opportunities, but the choices I made have given me the outlook I have today.
I have researched average couple heights and apparently only 4% of women are taller than their men! However, it appears that there are quite a few celebrities who confidently shrug off the 'taboo' of a taller woman and crack on anyway: Tom and Nicole, Tom and Katie, Mick and L'Wren, Ethan and Uma. If it's good enough for them, why not me?
I found out last night that 'Peanut Butter Guy' (the man I've been chatting to online) is 5'11". We get on amazingly, we have a lot in common, he's very intelligent, good looking, lovely arms (they are), he loves animals, he is an incredible photographer, and yet two little inches made me stop and reconsider my efforts of getting to know him! It is such a shame that such a superficial thing would get in the way, and I am angry at myself for wanting to conform to societal beliefs that could result in a forcefield to my happiness. I am angry at myself, because when I jokingly (worryingly) asked him if he ever wore heels, rather than the response I was expecting: 'Shall we just call it a day?' instead, he sent me a photo of himself when he was younger in drag and said 'Funny you should ask....' He doesn't care how tall I am, so what am I worried about?
I think what us tall girls want is to not have to be the joker and 'one of the guys' just because you're the same height (or taller). We want to feel feminine just as much as the next girl and we need guys to not feel threatened or emasculated, and for them to feel secure enough in themselves to embrace our height. Upon meeting guys in a bar (for example) we regularly get the line, 'You're tall', to which my response is usually 'Too tall for you' or 'You're short/fat/bald/(insert other offensive comment). This puts an end to the conversation immediately. Wouldn't it be great if someone were not to mention the obvious at all? Maybe think outside the box (or stand on it) and say, 'Hey, you seem like a nice person. Can I buy you a drink?' Because, lets be honest, you wouldn't approach a girl you were seriously attracted to and expect a positive response from an opening line like, 'Your boobs are massive.' The only thing you would expect from a comment like that, is a slap.
![]() |
Leggy in the middle |