Asymmetrical Information

I've never commented on this blog before but I must say that I relate all too well. I'm 5'10 and always wanted to be between 5'2 and 5'7. Petites are always so cute and tiny. And can wear all the heels they want without looking ridiculous. It also doesn't help that I'm half Filipino and that I'm viewed by that half of the family as a freak (an admired freak, but a freak none the less).

I've gotten over it to a certain extent. (I'm in my mid twenties, so give me time!) I'm happily married to a man my height which means kitten heels for me. The only time it irks me now is when I'm trying to buy pants or have been photographed with my tiny female friends. I feel like I look oafish in comparison. Of course, they all want to be tall so around it goes.

I know what you mean. In my 5'1 friend's wedding, the photographer had me bending at right angles to get in the shot. And there's a woman in our New York office who's so tiny that every time I go into a room she's in, I feel like I should shout "Fee, fi, fo, fum!"

http://www.ilovejeeps.com/forums/images/smilies/wwp.gif

Sorry, it had to be said.

O.K., unless I'm mistaken you turned down some hot lesbian action. As a journalist, you should be open to new experiences because they are the surest sources of interesting material. (Assuming that would be a new experience).

You said you were happy with your height. But what is this about not wearing heels on dates? Does it really matter though if you are taller than him, with or without heels?

Actually, I think the econoblogging makes you sound really attractive.

But I can relate. I'm 6'3" and around 275 --- and while I could certainly lose a few pounds, I'm one of those football-player types who is heavily muscled and much larger around the chest than around the waist. When I acted, I wanted to play Hamlet or Caesar --- and I was always cast as thug number three, the one who gets killed amusingly in the second act.

My ex-wife was 5'1" and our best married-couple friends were 5'3" and 5'6". They really liked swagged lamps, on which I was constantly hitting my head, and all pictures were below eye-level.

I felt like Dorothy in Munchkin-land.

Oh, and I agree with donut.

"The same girl who had first let her in had apparently just opened the door and was still standing in the doorway. Jane now conceived for her that almost passionate which women, more often than is supposed, feel for other women whose beauty is not of their own type. It would be nice, Jane thought, to be like that-- so straight, so forthright, so valiant, so fit to be mounted on a horse, and so divinely tall." --C.S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength

So how tall are you, anyway?

Why so many women go for what you properly termed the "Underfed Valkyrie" look, I'll never know.

If a girl wants to know what men find attractive, it's really not hard - Sir Mix-A-Lot made a famous tune explaining our preferences in detail.

I've never, ever once heard another guy tell me he thought Nicole Kidman was "hot". And yet, girls always rave about her as some sort of ideal.

I'm 60 inches tall and have always liked being short. I am somewhat aggressive, so I like the fact that I have an "element of suprise", so to speak, once I hit people over the head with how fearless I actually am, despite my small stature.

I do have some hang-up about dating tall men - never liked it. My high school class included a pair of dwarf twins girls - about 4'8" or so. One of them was dating the star of the basketball team, who was about 6'5". Ewwwww...I'll never get the image of them making out in the hallway out of my head!

FWIW - the only advantage that tall women have, IMHO, is that they can usuall EAT more!!! An extra 5 lbs on a short person looks like 10 on a average person.

Ewwwww...I'll never get the image of them making out in the hallway out of my head!

How did that work, exactly? Did he pick her up, or bend at the knees, or at the waist?

One of my professors, back when I dabbled in the social sciences to decompress from the stress of an engineering degree, was a woman who could be described as "stately-tall". I don't know if I ever learned her exact height but it was somewhere around 6-0.

Her husband, also tenured in the same department, was an unusually large-boned Korean who still stood a good head's distance below her.

Not sure why I bring that up, but I think the moral is that there's no accounting for individual taste, so if you both want what makes both of you happy, non-legal societal expectations can take a hike.

All I want is to be able to drive a car without sitting on a phone book and tying blocks to my feet, and people complain about being too tall? I am outraged, and will only be mollified by lesbian econoblogging stories, or suitable substitute fanfic.

And yes, Nicole Kidman is gross. Every time I reload my printer I am reminded of her.

Nicole Kidman is pretty, but it's not her height that I don't like: she's too damn skinny. And how that became the 'ideal'? Like you wrote, "...the women who run fashion magazines, and the gay men who design the clothes in those magazines."

As to why so many pay attention to the jerks, I have no idea. But I wish they'd stop.

And go ahead and wear the heels if you like them. Tall with good legs is just at nice as short with good legs.

There are really so many things in this post and the comments that could be spun off into their own posts, but honestly who has that kind of time. I will only mention the following random thoughts:

. . . I'm 6'4" (ok, 6'3 1/2". Yes it's pathetic to mention the 1/2 inch, so fine I'm only 6'3") and at different times in my life found myself attracted to smaller women only to receive a raft of crap from my vertically-enhanced female friends. I'm talking a very large raft here. I think the resentment had many components, including the obvious, i.e., I was removing myself from the pool available to taller women, but also the implicit foundation for that thinking - i.e., it was ok for a guy to date some significantly shorter than himself but was just not an option for women - a combination of the fact that women just don't like the idea of men shorter than them, but even allowing for a particular woman liking a particular man, there's the fear of what others will think and the constant reminders due to heels, photographs, etc, as mentioned.)

. . . At a fraternity party I once made out with a woman who was 4'11". We were on the dance floor and I was on my knees. I got an awful lot of hell for that one. She went on to marry someone about the same height.

. . . In the end, however, significant differences in height are not the norm. While we all might know someone who is 6'3" with a 5'2" woman - it's not really all that common, and we tall men are also eliminated from consideration by a whole lot of women under 5'7".

. . .(Just to be clear, however, I'm fine with this, because at the end of the day so many things are much nicer with a woman closer to your own height, including, dancing, walking and talking without having to lean over.)

. . . For those who asked, I believe Megan's FAQs indicate she is 6'1". Having met her once, her frame and body type (and I guess the fact that she was in flats) made me think she was shorter than that. And while I believe that she sincerely doubts her "drawing power" my recollection was that she was surrounded by men very interested in getting her attention. A lot of this was most certainly due to her "hot" intelligence and her conversational abilities, but no one should discount the physical hotness factor.

- i.e., it was ok for a guy to date some significantly shorter than himself but was just not an option for women - a combination of the fact that women just don't like the idea of men shorter than them, but even allowing for a particular woman liking a particular man, there's the fear of what others will think and the constant reminders due to heels, photographs, etc, as mentioned.

This has been my experience certainly.

I consider myself fortunate in that I feel like I got over any hang ups about finding taller women attractive very early on (whoever made that comment about great legs is right on the money). However on the flip side I often find that taller women don't seem to find me attractive, or at least don't seem to let themselves show it.

btw, I'm 5'7"

ALP:

"FWIW - the only advantage that tall women have, IMHO, is that they can usuall EAT more!!! An extra 5 lbs on a short person looks like 10 on a average person."

It may be a substantial advantage in the job market. Studies have shown strong correlations between height and income.

I just want to be tall so I can reach things.

And yes, I wanted to look different than I was when I was a teenager. Doesn't every girl?

I always liked being tall (6'2). People look up to me, and when I eat like a slob, I don't get morbidly obsese.

As a tall girl, you stand out and attract more attention (assuming you're comfortable with that).

Funny D.C. story: I was in the jazz club on M Street in Georgetown.

I see a neon sign for Jagermeister on the wall. So I ask the waiter: "Can I get a pint of Jagermeister?" The waiter replies, "You don't want a pint of Jagermeister." He explained what it is, a 70 proof liqueur.

Since the name sounds German and remembering Germans love beer, I concluded incorrectly that it was beer.

I thought it was the money and power that women looked for more than height. Look at Tom Cruise - he married and dated women who were all I believe 2/3 inches taller than him. I have seen photos and videos of Tom and Nicole or Tom and other tall women, it doesn't look that odd. There are tons of short rich and famous men who women have no problems dating and marrying. I think if the height difference is more than 7/8 inches either way then it will have a "odd look" factor. Other than that, aren't we just making a big deal of it. Come on, it's 21st century - at the end of the day it's the content of the character that will carry the day not any physical attributes. I know it's cliched but I do believe it's true.

Brandon:

He bent at the waist to kiss his tiny girlfriend.

I can relate. I spent much of my youth wishing that I was a cat.

Are there any women out there who didn't spend a substantial portion of their youths fantasizing about being someone different?

Jane, surely you don't think women have the lock on that? Doesn't almost everyone, male and female, spend a good portion of their teenage years wishing they were different?

Oh, FWIW, I'm 6'4", and I'm curious - do you get asked by strangers in the supermarket to get things down from the upper shelves? Or do they only ask us tall guys?

At 6'7", I can't really make height a requirement for women I date. There aren't that many out there that are over six feet tall, so I (try to) ignore height. You shorter guys have a lot more to work with in the 5'8 to 5'10 range. Would I be interested in someone Jane's height? Absolutely... if she were smart like Jane. That's what interests me; almost every time I read this blog I think "hubba hubba". But clearly, I'm not the only one who thinks Jane's got a smokin' hot brain.

Don't worry about the restraining order; I'm living in China, where I'm not just tall, I'm a friggin' giant. They'd love you here - 'white' being another attribute they long for. You want to get stared at, take an assignment in South China; leave the big cities, and you'll be followed by small children and people will want to take pictures with you.

There's actually a lot of economics to report on here, and you could have clothing made to fit, cheap. Wouldn't count on finding shoes, though.

6'2". My cousin is 6'6", he married a girl 6'4". Her entire family is tall. The wedding picture is the only group picture I have been in my entire life where I was in the front row. Now I see how everyone else feels all the time.
Nicole Kidman IS hot. She was hotter a number of years ago when she weighed more though.

Doesn't almost everyone, male and female, spend a good portion of their teenage years wishing they were different?

You know, I tend to put my name and Blogville residence whenever I comment here, but not this time. As this one will be something I've never admitted publicly in my life. And, if you count the anonymity as a factor, I still would not have admitted it publicly.

You want to be short, Megan.

I want to be female. Yet this pesky Y-chromosome thing just won't go away.

I happen to be a small guy. You know the kid that was locked in lockers in high school? Even he had it better off than I did, as I could be (And actually was. Once a semester. Like clockwork.) folded up into a small ball and shoved inside a school desk. My senior year of high school, I was 4' 10" and weighed 85 pounds soaking wet. Anything and everything I wore was designed for boys 6 years younger than I, and believe me, with my unfortunately bad looks, most injuriously associated with being a cross between Pee Wee Herman and H. Ross Perot and shoved through a screen door, I was far from a GQ fashionplate.

All my life, I've had this extreme jealousy of women. Look at men's fashion. Everything that comes out, regardless of how allegedly daring and avant garde the fashion critics proclaim them to be, is a solid stream of "Variations Of A Theme" set to bad Eurotrash and good heroin. On the other side of the chromosomal aisle, you get color. You get fabrics. You get options. Short skirt or long? Pantsuit or dress? Short heels? High heels? Flats? Everything under the sun, and it's all as available to you as the nearest mall. And even better, it wouldn't be too much trouble to find something that (roughly) fit.

Slight aside: Do you have any idea how hard it is to find men's shoes in a size 6?!? Gah! Trust me, it's much easier to find women's dress shoes in a size 14 than it is to find men's shoes in a size 6.

Finally, even the most homely woman out there has the chance to shine, if only for one day. Every woman has the opportunity, if only once in their entire lives, to be beautiful. And then they can, by God, look back on that day for the rest of their lives and smile.

I would gladly trade 40 years of my life for that.

This trip into Way Too Much Information Land has been sponsored by the letters XX and LOC. (Hint.)

Every dimension has its advantages. I used to hate being on the short side (5'8), wide, and heavily built in a fireplug sort of way (ie, a good build for an NFL fullback). But when I lived in China, I discovered that a low center of gravity has its advantages when trying to navigate through vast crowds...

Jane

- wear heels when you want to. A friend of mine is a top litigator, and 6'1"-- she wears heels in court when she really wants to make the point.

Heels are bad for you, full stop, from a medical point of view. But they will make you look more glam, have more impact. PS avoid stilettoes if you can, they are even worse for you.

- you might want to unleash your inner male transvestite/ transexual on this one. They don't seem to have big problems appearing glam (even camp). It there is a beautiful woman waiting to bust out of them, why not in you?

- I'll take a male viewpoint on skinny. Models are too skinny. Men like *breasts* (and some men, some cultures, bottoms) and skinny women don't have those assets (sans surgical enhancement-- don't get me started, to quote Apocalypse Now 'the Horror, the Horror').

*warning Rant warning below*

Women have this thing about dating men taller than they are.

I mean, I am sitting with two women in their kitchen: a liberated lawyer (50s) and accountant (20s, tall and gorgeous). And the complaint is how they wouldn't feel sexy or womanly dating a shorter man.

This is a kind of heightism that I really can't clock. It seems to be innate to women-- (men have their own pathologies about women's appearance).

I have all these dapper, intelligent, witty, devoted male friends. Their hardest problem in getting a date seems to be heightism.

Suffice it to say as a 6'2" guy, I don't grok any of this. In my family, I am the short one, so I think of myself as an average-height person. My girlfriends have ranged from 5' to 6', I would have happily dated a woman taller than I am ('a man's reach must exceed his grasp or what's a heaven for?') had I but found one.

My (female) partner is about 5'10", so maybe we have sorted ourselves into the typical male-female split unconsciously, and carry the same prejudices.

Last thought

Nicole Kidman in answer to the question of what's it like being divorced from Tom Cruise:

'I wear heels a lot more'.

I'm 5'2" and like it for the most part. When I'm not trying to see over people at a concert or reach the clutch without sitting on top of the steering wheel, at least.

I'll joke about wishing I were taller sometimes, but honestly I really think that there is something about women's social interactions that requires us to not be confident in who we are. We grump about the extra pounds, or if we don't have a lot of extra weight we grump about being too short or too tall. I always hate it because I was always 5'2" 115 (well, before the baby!) and decently happy with my looks, and there is this whole element of female interaction that I don't think I can join in on without pissing people off.

I tended to end up talking to the men about the baseball scores because I really don't feel like I can talk in group of women at a party without it turning into the height-weight thing. That has changed now, because we can talk about our kids, but it's really sad that a huge part of social interaction among women depends on discussing their perceived faults.

"Doesn't almost everyone, male and female, spend a good portion of their teenage years wishing they were different?"

I'd think so. I'm 6'4" and spent my high school and college years wishing I was shorter. Finding tall girlfriends is tough, and at least if I were shorter things like kissing a short(er) girl would be a hell of a lot easier. Easily finding pants that fit would be a welcome change.

I also had long hair for a good portion of my life, and used to wish I had straight hair instead of a wavy, almost-curly mess. I used to be in such a hurry to grow up. The list goes on...

Now, in my early 30s, I find that just about everything I used to fret about when I was in my teens I have come to appreciate and become quite comfortable with. This wishing-I-was-different business sounds quite normal to me for both males and females.

Jane, I could relate to all that you said, especially about finding clothes that were long enough. As a teenage, I was extremely sensitive about whether my pants were long enough and spent a lot of time trying to find ways to let out what little hem was there without the line showing, whereas petite women, who merely have to hem up their garments (as opposed to adding fabric that doesn't exist), had an extensive array of specially made clothing to chose from. I made many of my own clothes so that I could make them too long, with 4" hems. Now that I don't have time to sew, I've gotten into the habit of wearing dresses, since a couple of inches either way doesn't matter as much.

I'm only 5'9", not nearly as tall as Jane. And growing up in the midwest, I only felt a bit on the tall side (except for the clothing problem). It was going to college in New York City that made me feel like a giant. Jane, if you move to Minnesota, you'll fit right in!

When I lived in Hong Kong I again felt tall. But there, I wasn't a tall woman. I was a tall white foreign creature, a gweipo or female white ghost. They expected foreigners to be strange. Sometimes, in a crowded elevator, I would look around and realize that I could literally look over the top of every other person's head. Once in MongKok a sprightly elderly woman that couldn't speak English stopped me just to gesture at our relative heights - she was well under 5' and thought that the difference between us was amusing. It's too bad that we don't all have her attitude.

Doc, you're right about the shoes!

Once I got past my teenage years, I've enjoyed being tall. But almost everyone wishes that they were different, at some point. Here's a good test, Jane - were you happy with your hair, or did you often wish that it was curlier/straighter, thicker/finer, or more/less wavy?

... there is this whole element of female interaction that I don't think I can join in on without pissing people off.

You too, eh? Guess I'm not very good at concealing my "dear God, you're boring me. Don't you have anything interesting to talk about?" thought bubble. (Worst time is pregnancy. Seems like all the "let's drone about weight" zombies in the universe appear out of nowhere and start button-holing you on the assumption that you share their tedious neuroses about weight gain.)

...it's really sad that a huge part of social interaction among women depends on discussing their perceived faults.

Not so much sad as excruciatingly boring.

I'm 5'7'', not terribly tall, but certainly tall. I've always wanted to be shorter to be one of these pretty, helpless girls that guys can protect. Men behave more chivalrous towards short girls.
In the office, however, I found being tall helpful to be taken serious (especially in a male-dominated industry), and if small guys behave nasty, being tall often seems to intimidate them.

For the one who asked: I do get asked by strangers in the supermarket to get things down from the upper shelves.

Silver Spring is kind of close to an Ikea - go take a look at their fluorescent lamps. That's where I buy mine, and I like the color quality.

I'm skipping past all the previous comments, so this is likely redundant. Mea culpa. But maybe your blog is an economic blog. The angst of teen and twenty something women is the engine that runs entire industries. I'm pushing 60 and it kills me to think about the time when I was most attractive, and I was feeling fat, ugly and worthless. So I don't think about it now. Wish I hadn't then. BUT everytime (and it's often) I see something designed to grab our insecurities, I RUN in the other direction. I seem to run alone, though.

Models often have trouble getting dates, because no one dares approach them.

"My heart bleeds for the Snicker-Snack Cereal Company." -- Linus van Pelt

Wide eyed girl,

Small is beautiful.

I think you're cute too, silly goose.

If your 6'10" ex becomes famous, and is not an athlete, he will pass Michael Crichton and J.K. Galbraith, by one inch in each case, for the title of Tallest Person to Become Famous for Reasons Unrelated to Height.

In my cousin's regiment in the British Army, you can't be an officer, practically, if you are under 6'-- it doesn't work on parade before Her Majesty.

I would say the average officer there is 6'4", and the tallest 6'8" or so.

They don't take women, though (combat regiment).

Frederick the Great of Prussia had a special unit of men over 6' (in those days, that really was rare). They used to kidnap and pressgang tall men to fill the ranks.

If your 6'10" ex becomes famous, and is not an athlete, he will pass Michael Crichton and J.K. Galbraith, by one inch in each case, for the title of Tallest Person to Become Famous for Reasons Unrelated to Height.

A couple of things

1) I think tall is more attractive on an accomplished adult woman than a girl. It contributes to a whole stunningly impressive aura, which is different from a cute cheerleader shtick.

2) It is the job of models to sell clothing. That clothing represents a lifestyle and I think its the lifestyle young girls are pinning after. Women whose job it is to be solely attractive don't look like models. Pornstars don't look like models. Strippers don't look like models, either. They're both pretty much average height and extremely curvy. However, no one thinks that a stripper has a flat on Park Avenue or is expected for afternoon tea at the Ritz.

This post is steeped in marginal preferences and human wants, even if it is spiced up with some socio-biology and evolutionary psychology. So if you ask me (here's my number...), you're still econo-blogging, hot stuff!

To answer your question, I certainly haven't met any women who didn't spend their teenage years wishing they looked different.

Personally, I'm hardly short (5-feet-6 since I was 12), but I have always wished I were taller...although it is much more of a passing thought than it used to be. Anyway, my reasons were twofold: one was vanity, as others have mentioned, but the second was purely utilitarian. I was always an athlete, so being 5-6 more or less ended my basketball career in junior high, and it was a substantial disadvantage in my college soccer (I was a goalkeeper) career.

I'm 5'11" (I think you have a few inches on me) and alas, thought I wanted to be a jockey when I was...um...8. After that I outgrew that particular profession. I do remember going shopping with a gaggle of women on a business trip, and just peering sadly through the window of the 5-7-9 while they bought cute clothes.

By the by, my husband is 6" shorter than I am, and I wouldn't trade him for the world! Oh yeah, he encourages me to wear heels, which leaves the whole wardrobe thing still workable...

Some tall women seem to have trouble finding men they like because they want men taller than they are. I'm a tall guy myself (hence the name) and hear that complaint often, but (sadly for them) for me it's the near-anorexic petite waifs that prompt the instinctual "oh I want that so bad" reaction.

I've dated a couple models, one a 5'11" runway model who told me "it's so weird I don't have to lean over to kiss you." They don't really have trouble finding dates as guys are always hitting on them -- just usually not the guys they WANT to hit on them, those guys being enough in demand they generally won't waste much effort chasing what comes to them without the effort and concomitant risk of rejection.

As for emotional issues, I'd say not so much issues per se as a general deep-seated compulsion to manipulate men with their looks and tricks (one girl was getting her car payments taken care of by one ex-bf, her tuition by another), which, after all, is what modelling is all about...

I've known some tall girls and women, Megan, and I have to say that once you hit adulthood, height no longer matters. It's those miserable middle-school and high-school years where it matters.

Besides, you can't be what you aren't, so why pine?

I'd be more inclined to retort with "I've always wanted to be more content with myself exactly the way I am", but it's rather lacking in snap.

Always have liked tall women. I'm 6-2 and happily married for 26 years to my 5-10 wife. I married into a tall family - my father-in-law was 6-4 and my wife's four brothers are 6-4, 6-4, 6-5 and 6-7. Before we got married, my father-in-law promised he'd never hold it against me that I was stunted.

Our daughter is 5-11 and always wanted to be tall being the volleyball jock that she was. She has always blamed my genes for not reaching her ideal height of 6-2. That didn't stop her from getting a volleyball scholarship to college, though. She is now happily dating a 6-5 300 lb former USC/Detroit Lions/Denver Broncos football player.

Of course, she has very curly hair - and always wanted straight hair!

I'll agree with TallDave re: Models. Generally men don't find models any more attractive than women who don't meet the modeling ideal (tall and "waifer" thin - pun intended). I can only imagine that, if this *is* important to you, that you're not after a relationship anyway...you're after ego gratification.

I once dated a woman who, by any standard, could have been on any runway in Europe. She was 5'11" and had "the look" (I am 6')... and she was damn nuts. I absolutely didn't need it. A few months later I met my future wife. I don't feel like I "settled" in any way when I met her: I find her not only beautiful but sensible, fun and sexy. Could I ask for more? The fact that she'll never be invited to glide down a runway couldn't possibly matter less.

So yes...what men want and what women idealize are often very different. Oh and Jane - height never mattered to me. Indeed, your attitude towards being tall appears just right. The idea of wanting small and cute never occurred to me any more than wanting tall and statuesque. Truly, I can see no pattern of height, hair color, etc. that drew me consistently to one "type" of woman. A healthy glow, a keen mind and a nice smile are about the only consistent attributes that they all shared.

I'm not exceptionally tall at all (5'8"), but my husband's tallest relative is 5'9" and every female member of his family, including his stepsister and our niece, is 5'2" or shorter. Family portraits are a kick. All the girls and women, ranging in age from our 5-year-old to 60-something, are in the first or second rows; I'm in the back with the guys.

It used to be that I'd walk into a room where my husband's mom and two aunts were and be sorely tempted to rest my elbow and/or a drink on their heads.

As for dissatisfaction with appearance, I remember being as young as 5 and wishing my blond wavy hair was the absolutely straight, blue-black curtain of my across-the-street neighbor and best friend... and when, on high school graduation, my vital stats equalled Marilyn Monroe's, I was busily trying every exercise and wardrobe trick I could think of to reduce the hindmost (in a word) of those stats. (Time, turn backward in thy flight! I'd like to see those numbers again...)

Wear heels if you want to. Any man who's insistent upon being taller than you isn't worth your time.

Years ago I saw an article about then-Chicago Bulls center Artis Gilmore (6' 10"). The gist was that his true "soul brothers" weren't other blacks, but other 7' players, including whites. They had a shared experience of dealing with the constant unremitting hassle of being that big.

I've also read that many successful jockeys have tall wives. They're used to women being taller and they're tough guys (have to be) who don't back off easily. They often get the tall gals average men pass up.

As to the basketball star who dated the petite cheerleader:
"Aw, she's no bigger than your hand!"
"Yeah, but she's a lot more fun."

"It is not a ticket to glamour, except in the minds of the women who run fashion magazines, and the gay men who design the clothes in those magazines."

You've hit somehting right there that has puzzled me for years. Who runs the fashion industry? Gay men, right? So why do straight men such as myself have to take all sorts of feminist guff about anorexic women dying trying to meet "our" unrealistic expectations? What the hell kind of sense does it make to destroy your health trying to meet the physical ideal of men who are completely out of the dating pool, and blame the men who are available for it?

Stupid female mind games.

By the way, if you miss being thrown into the pool, I'd be happy to oblige. Not that I'm a major league pool in-thrower, but anything (within reason) to please a lady. Just so long as I don't have to get an earful about Barbie. Heck, I'll toss her into the pool too, why not.

I went to the local googleplex to see a movie when I was home for Christmas. The girl taking the tickets was young(18-ish), thin, and tall. Probably 2 or 3 inches taller than my 6'1". She seemed very self conscious and her body was sort off folded into itself to minimize her height. I would have talked to her, but for her age.

The only time I wish I was shorter is when I have to fly Coach class. I envy the stubby people who can fit comfortably in their seats.

Somewhere in my long distant past,
my mind wants to throw out,

"Nose to nose, toes to toes,
don't give a damn, 'cause we've done that already".

But, then, I have immense trouble "remembering" at my age. {:^)

D.

As a single 6'4" athletic man, I'd walk a mile to meet you, Megan! (OK - make that 'many.') TALL is cool - Tall is sexy. To borrow from Getrude Stein, there's more 'there' there. In all the best ways. My GFs tend to be around 6 feet tall. You, Megan, would merely be towards one end of the bell curve of my norm.

Otherwise, just call me an admiring jangalt fan. I've downloaded your photo, just in case I ever make a blogger bash in NYC all the way from Colorado and need a reminder of the woman behind the mind on display here!

(PS Hey "Charlie [Colorado]" - love your posts elsewhere. Why don't we hang out in LoDo sometime? Gawk and yak?)

(PPS TallDave-you mention the HPD issue. Histrionic Personality Disorder. It's real and perhaps more prominant with tall women. Especially those with model looks. So I usually combine tall with sporty women. I mean looks and height matter less when you're over-awed by a magnificent mountain. And How does the HPD compete with that? Can't.)

Ah- Tall women.

I am a guy at 6' even. My last 3 relationships have been with a 5'9", 6', and 5' 10" women (two of them easily could model.)

SO, being on the other side, I have noticed some really interesting things. First, while you are alot easier to spot in a crowd, that works against you. Somebody who is 6' tall in 3" heels with red hair, well, all the guys can see her. Nothing like coming back to the dance floor to have 4 asian guys trying to dance with your date.

Also, generally taller women are treated more maturely at a younger age (from my emperical research) and hence, often more mature. All were very intelligent, mature, and were very mature relationships. On the other hand, there was a serious image problem with one, worrying about it because, well, living in the same town for her whole life and being very well noticed, she had a reputation wither she wanted it or not. Any thoughts on that?

As for dating, only the 5' 9" wanted to make sure that in 3" heels I was taller than her. And I was. Barely. Do you notice yourself slouching to "fit in" better? Also, the 6' tall woman had a really long set of legs- with a 36" inseam. She kept a pace that was a run for anybody with short legs. Do you notice yourself pacing down when you walk with other people?

Personally, I am kinda hooked now. All were attractive, intelligent, mature, and tall. It really was something to get the whole package like that. All had a good sense of self, and a good chunk of piss and vinegar.

And I would have no problem throwing them in the pool. Or the lake. Kinda got in trouble for that one......:)

Take care!

Josh

Jane

Jane again

I'm 6'1" and have had lady friends who have ranged in height from 4'10" to 5'10" and I'll take the tall end of the spectrum any day. I get exhausted watching short women with a crick in their necks looking up at my face. That said, my late father and mother were 5'7" and 5'10" respectively with my dad on the short end and they seemed to make it work. I have a wedding photo which shows my dad and mom smiling and looking (somehow!) directly into each others eyes. My dad had to have been standing on something to pull that one off!

Anyway, if two people like one another, height be damned. Just stand on a box when necessary. It worked for my dad.

It's the legs, stupid!!

I've never, ever once heard another guy tell me he thought Nicole Kidman was "hot". And yet, girls always rave about her as some sort of ideal.

Nicole Kidman is hot.

If your 6'10" ex becomes famous, and is not an athlete, he will pass Michael Crichton and J.K. Galbraith, by one inch in each case, for the title of Tallest Person to Become Famous for Reasons Unrelated to Height.

How tall was Paul Volcker? I thought he was about 6'10" also, but I've never measured.

Go to Holland if you want to be among tall women.

Steve Skubinna: I agree. I've made that same complaint (about gay men encouraging women to be stick-thin) to my wife and other women.

I'm 7'2", so even the tallest woman I've ever dated was up to my chest. Average or shorter women barely reach my chest. Don't get me wrong, I like a girl kissing my belly stading up, but sometime I feel like I'm dating 20 something middle schoolers.

How tall was Paul Volcker? I thought he was about 6'10" also, but I've never measured.

6'8", which makes him an inch shorter than Crichton and Galbraith.

'Tis better to have loved a short giirl than never to have loved a tall.

Nicole Kidman is hot.

I'll bet that impression doesn't carry to 8 o'clock in the morning with bed hair and no makeup. Granted, few people look their best in that condition, but even so.

I've heard that 20th century composer Sergei Rachmaninoff was 7'0", but lord knows what the source of that is. Supposedly his hands were so large that he could play an interval of a major 12th with his left hand.

I'm five feet tall. I've always wanted to be at least 5'4" because I have an identical twin who is that tall. I'm also 70 and am finding shortness to be more and more of a handicap. My joints don't work as well as they used to, so streching very tall to reach the SECOND shelf of the cupboard sometimes really hurts, and climbing up on chairs is not as safe as it used to be. Even though I was short I always thought there was nothing I could not do, change lightbulbs, put in beadboard ceilings, (I did that at age 62) and help build our entire house; but now I realize I do have a height handicap. You are blessed.

The German director FW Murnau was seven foot even. He could kick Michael Chrichton's arse in so many ways.

Tall, short... I don't care; I'll still have a big internet-crush on you.

Smart is sexy! Rrrrowwwww!

Wow.

"O.K., unless I'm mistaken you turned down some hot lesbian action. As a journalist, you should be open to new experiences because they are the surest sources of interesting material. (Assuming that would be a new experience)."

THAT ought to teach you to make non-economics-related posts.

hi, omg im 14 and im 5'5 im way taller than all my friends! i feel terrible even though im not THAT tall i think i am! maybe thats bc im skinny and im asian, asians r usually short. and i still have more to grow too unfortunately...im like as tall as half the guys in one of my classes

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