I’ve always been tall. Taller than the other girls and often taller than the boys, at 6′ my height has always been a defining characteristic. Yes, the weather is just fine up here, no I don’t play basketball, and of course I’ll get you that jar off the top shelf, little old lady.
But besides the obvious – that I’m tall – my height doesn’t garner much discussion. To others it’s a novelty, a passing observation, a descriptor. “Oh, you know Katie. The tall one.” But female height should get discussion. Because just a few extra inches can make miles of difference in how society perceives and treats women.
That’s why I’m excited to see the new documentary, Tall Girls: A Story of Giants (Click for the trailer – it’s being stubborn and doesn’t want to embed). While every tall girl’s story is different, the collective story of how society reacts to women with height is one I haven’t heard discussed before.
I’ll admit that the tone of the trailer is on the dour side: women who can’t find partners, girls having surgery to stop them from growing taller. Being tall isn’t always easy, but I hope that quotes like ” Obviously that’s a body size a girl can’t be happy with,” and “Girls aren’t proud to be that tall” are countered with positive examples of tall women kicking ass and taking names.
On a related note:
P.S. If you’re in the Denver area, Long Tall Sally is hosting a pop up shop April 28-29! Other pop-up shop locations and dates here.
