Height dysphoria?

[Taius]

I was just wondering, how do you guys deal with any height issues?

Do you use inserts?

Find boots with a slight heel on them?

Become one with your inner Corgi?

I'd love to hear what you guys do!

[ReubenIsTheName]

I just joke about it. "Wait for me, I have little legs!"

I guess I'm used to it by now.  I do occasionally feel dysphoric about it, but I remind myself that I'm Fun Size.

[FriendsCallMeChris]

I blame it on genetics.  I tell myself it's the Cajun part of me and I'm as tall as a lot of guys in my family.  (which is almost true.)  I have an aunt that was only 4'8" or so. That makes me grateful for my 5' 4" feel tall.  (And I wear Timberlands and Eastlands that tend to have a thicker sole, which gives me a little more height.)

[Tossu-sama]

Become one with your inner Corgi?

This. Corgis are cute as heck so that must mean I am, too. Spoiler alert: I'm not. |D

Honestly, I wouldn't want to be any taller (I'm ~164cm). I just always joke about tall people needing their own radio frequences up there and how short people get wet later when it rains. xD

[DragonBeer]

I don't feel too dysphoric about it, I have yet to buy men shoes so i suspect it'll make me look like I'm 5'6-5'7ish with them because i noticed that have thicker soles. Currently I am 5'5-5'6.

[The_Gentleboy]

There are loads of  cis-guys i know that are really short but anyhow The inserts are used quite frequently but they only make you an inch or so taller, theyre a good ego booster for anyone feeling dysphoric. Certain brands of shoe have a higher insole inside them. if you wear inserts/wedges and you're young id advise high tops so you cant tell so much.

[LordKAT]

I blame heredity. I have a short daughter for proof. Although it isn't my genes that gave her, her height.

[FTMax]

It actually doesn't bother me too much. My best friend is over 6', and he's the tallest person I ever encounter, so it doesn't really come up too much. Boots are a staple in my wardrobe, so I get at least an extra inch from those. Maybe a little more, I've never measured.

I do admit to doing a happy dance whenever I find myself around a particularly short cis-guy. Especially if we're in a line or something and I really have time to compare heights.

[Garry]

I do have some height issues. Weird its only since actively transitioning that i've become more aware of it. Always comparing my height to those around me and not liking when Im the smallest guy there. I have got some elevator shoes but not worn them in ages cause  bought the wrong size so when i walk it hurts my feet. I forget that canvas shoes typically should go a size smaller than normally wear as the material is so thin theres more space in them. I need a size down to comfortably wear them. Not got round to getting a new pair yet. I was advised to go with a height increase no more than 3" if you are new to them. Can take some getting used to walking like that. I've found some pairs that increase over 5" which I would love but its too much for me just now, need to build up to it i think. Also i would not recommend inserts. Within a minute of walking with them in my feet were aching. Even using high tops there isnt enough space in the shoes so the inserts kinda crush your feet against the top of the shoe, and that was me just using the first level (out of 4 that i bought) impossible to use more there wasnt even space for my foot to fit in. Elevator shoes are designed with them built in so there is plenty space in them like a normal shoe. I used inserts as a cheap method but it wasnt worth it

When i was wearing them i did feel more comfortable though about my height, though it wasnt a huge increase. I dont want to be huge anyway, 5'8-5/9 or something would be nice. It would help too when im into basketball lol. Never understood how anyone can dunk, even at over 7 feet. When i look up at the net its like i may as well be jumping to the moon

[bambam]

I've gotten pretty used to being this height so it doesn't bother me. The only thing that sucks is when I have to get something off of a high shelf at work, then I have to be creative to get it or just ask one of the taller people to get it haha I don't really have height dysphoria.

[Maleth]

Yep, I pretty much just become one with my inner Corgi.   

I do martial arts and one of my instructors is about 5'4'' and he's one of the toughest men I've ever met, and I believe that if his height can't stop him than neither can mine stop me.

I was also feeling down about my height one day and so my friend told me something to cheer me up. He told me that he knew a (cismale) marine who was no more than five feet on the dot and he still looked like he could kick some serious butt, even if he was merely five feet and had a pink sparkly iPod. Goes to show that height doesn't have to stop/discourage us!

[Whynaut]

I get some height dysphoria sometimes but eh. It doesn't bother me for too long. My family are all pretty tall (my bro is like 6'1") so I just say I didn't eat my vegetables. Buying clothes is annoying at this height but I fit into department store sizing (30-30 pants) so it could be worse. I just pretend I'm part hobbit. I have the hair for it.

[ImagineKate]

Hope you don't mind me, I'm just passing through but thought I'd interject some advice from the "other" side.

As a male I had a ton of height issues, now I am 5'6" which I was surprised to learn is short. Used to be barely 5'8" with shoes which is what is on my NJ driver license, but age, hormones plus posture change has shortened me a bit. My younger brother is taller than me by a good bit, over 6'. I was frequently passed over by girls in online dating (meat market sites like match) because they want men over 6'. Girls used to ask me how tall I was and I was dumped by my ex wife for my height mainly. Oh well, I'm MTF and it works as an asset now, I guess? It's extremely appalling how short men are treated in society, IMO. It's not just dating but also general respect and tall guys I know would never trade it for the world because they are respected almost solely because of their height.

As to how I dealt with it, and how a lot of guys deal with it is to make yourself attractive in other ways, such as (and especially) building muscle and keeping fit. I never was into the shoes/pads etc and to be honest I haven't really encountered a lot of guys who use it. Maybe shoes that have thicker soles like boots would have been more popular. I wore boots, especially work boots and snow boots and they were nice. One thing I found is that apart from balding guys who use hair pieces is that guys don't really use prosthetic items all that much to alter their appearance in the way that women use shoulder pads, high heels, padded bras etc. Some guys do stuff their pants but I don't see that all that much tbh.

The biggest way to deal with it is self acceptance, IMO. Your height can't be changed short of really drastic, risky and extremely painful bone lengthening. Keep yourself fit, and develop your personality. But more importantly, love yourself and look to improve yourself. Also remember that men are judged for what they can do, not just their appearance as women primarily are.

Hope this helps some!

[LoriLorenz]

I'm 5'2"-5'3" and while that's average-ish for female, that puts me on the low end of the males. In my family it's worse, since my dad and my brother both topped 6' and several cousins outstrip that in no time flat. It's mostly a genetic issue for me, since I have syndromes of which one symptom is "short stature". So male or female, I'm stuck!

The good news is that the shorter you are, the less you have to worry about spinal compression in old age (aka old timers' shinkage). so at least I know I'll stay relatively the same height over time.

I've gotten used to my height, since I got the short jokes from family early on. So I'm one with my inner munchkin cat.

Just hold your tail high and nevermind the saysayers.

[Samu]

I usually feel a lot of height dysphoria, but I'm getting better at dealing with it. I'm roughly 5 ft maybe shorter. That's genetics. Most of the men in my family are under 5'4", and my oldest brother is only 5'2". I still think about it a lot and the majority of my male friends are over 6ft unfortunately but I'm working on embracing my inner corgi as well 

[Dante]

I'm 5'5" and some days it still bothers me but I've mostly learned to live with it. I've found the best remedy is to find a badass male character you like who is short and just remind yourself that they're even cooler because they're short. (Bonus points if you can relate to them as a character.) Kinda dorky but it always makes me feel better, haha. Also, having a friend who is shorter than you will definitely take your mind off of it.

[CursedFireDean]

I'm 5'5" and some days it still bothers me but I've mostly learned to live with it. I've found the best remedy is to find a badass male character you like who is short and just remind yourself that they're even cooler because they're short. (Bonus points if you can relate to them as a character.) Kinda dorky but it always makes me feel better, haha. Also, having a friend who is shorter than you will definitely take your mind off of it.

This works surprisingly well actually. There's a volleyball anime I love and I used to play volleyball. The guy who plays my position is not only a badass but also exactly my height. Makes me feel better to think about him, I really want to cosplay him too. (We are 5'2")

[awkward-shark]

I'm 5'5" and some days it still bothers me but I've mostly learned to live with it. I've found the best remedy is to find a badass male character you like who is short and just remind yourself that they're even cooler because they're short. (Bonus points if you can relate to them as a character.) Kinda dorky but it always makes me feel better, haha. Also, having a friend who is shorter than you will definitely take your mind off of it.

I do something similar and is to think of all the short cis guys I've seen in my life. I'm between 4'9''-5' tall and I had a friend in high school who was shorter than me but now I look at him and is kind of my inspiration, he has long curly hair and a badass beard and he's like 4'7'' or something. If he can pull off a badass look being a short guy so can I, I guess.
My height actually never bothered me untill I tried to look more masculine, and I noticed that most ftm or androginous people were fairly tall and slim (and I'm neither). But as the others have said, I try to focus on other aspects of my looks and my personality.

[FTMax]

I'm 5'5" and some days it still bothers me but I've mostly learned to live with it. I've found the best remedy is to find a badass male character you like who is short and just remind yourself that they're even cooler because they're short. (Bonus points if you can relate to them as a character.) Kinda dorky but it always makes me feel better, haha. Also, having a friend who is shorter than you will definitely take your mind off of it.

Comic book Wolverine!

[1984]

I'm 5'1 and sometimes I just hate it. I'm the smallest guy I know and it makes me feel really bad about myself. Also, I still hope I can grow one or two centimeters, but that's unlikely. The good part is that making jokes about my height makes me feel way better. If I don't take it too seriously, it won't appear as a big problem. Strangely, mocking myself makes me feel stronger and better about almost everything related to my dysphoria. I started calling myself Mr. Baggins and I kind of liked it.