Are you a vulnerable woman now?

[cindybc]

Hi Kate I really don't know if this is common anywhere else but I have seen many tall women in supermarkets and malls around Vancouver here. They truly are beautiful looking ladies to, and sometimes I feel like running to Wing Walker and say "De plane!" "De plane!" and then jump her arms. 

Cindy

[Wing Walker]

Vulnerable? Only in the sense that I'm aware that (near-sighted, half-blind) men might see me in sexual terms now. I'm not afraid of them...

Ya know, I sorta take that back. Since reading these threads about fear and vulnerability, I've been paying more attention to how men look at me now. And ya know... it's not exactly FRIENDLY. Older men, and younger but obviously married guys are often super-sweet and chivalrous. THAT I love.

But in noticing my encounters today, AND in hindsight, younger men often give me this look of... I dunno... Wariness? Discomfort? I USED to fear I was being read and making them uncomfortable. But no one else seems to notice me, so I doubt guys have some special ability to tell.

Women are almost always friendly with me, smiling and laughing at whatever chitchat we come up with. But men... men go very quiet, and don't seem to want to make eye contact. They're obviously uncomfortable, but I'm not sure why? I DO think the height has something to do with it, so maybe they're intimidated. I dunno. But in any case, it doesn't exactly give me a warm and fuzzy feeling, lol...

~Kate~

Hi, Kate,

I hope that what I have to share with you here is of help to you.

There are more tall women in the general population.  I am not a demographer or a marketing specialist but when I casually observe that there are "Tall Girls" stores in shopping areas I believe that there must be a clientele someplace.  Same goes for shoe sizes.  Many stores stop at women's 10 but more are going to women's 13, in medium and wide widths.

There is much truth to what Keira said about tall women being intimidating.  I worked with one woman some years ago who was a perfectly proportioned woman well over six feet tall.  I should have had her curves and stature.  When she took charge of a meeting she was in-charge. 

If you look at the general population you will find more women closer to your height than you know, and here in BC there are many taller than I am, and I am six feet tall, and not thinly-built.

I make eye contact with all people I can as they pass me, however briefly. 

With guys I project a "no fear" at young guys, a confident look for those not quite my age, and a warmer, "just-between-us-baby-boomers" look to those my age.

All women get a look that projects a sort of sistership or bonding, however loose it might be.  I flash and return smiles of varying degrees of cordiality to all women and I never decline to answer a civil greeting or off-hand remark from another woman.  Quite often I hear how nice my nails look or how my skin or makeup look.  I always have a smile ready for those times.

No one has had whatever they felt they needed to ask me about my gender.

Wing Walker

[Keira]

While there may be a lot of tall girls, what's considered tall for a girl is not 6 foot or over usualy.

there's less than 0.5% at 6 foot and over and that's even in the younger generation.

Btw, people think height is going up all the time but in fact, children in this generation or probably less than half an inch taller than the previous one. Height is related to nutrion of the mother and the child as he grows up rather than genetics and there's a limit to how tall a population pool can get even if you feed them well.

In Montreal, french canadians are not very tall (avg height for a women is 5 foot 3)
and I'm the tallest women I've seen anywhere.
There may be taller women than 6 foot around here but they are very very rare indeed.

[joannatsf]

While there may be a lot of tall girls, what's considered tall for a girl is not 6 foot or over usualy.

there's less than 0.5% at 6 foot and over and that's even in the younger generation.

Btw, people think height is going up all the time but in fact, children in this generation or probably less than half an inch taller than the previous one. Height is related to nutrion of the mother and the child as he grows up rather than genetics and there's a limit to how tall a population pool can get even if you feed them well.

In Montreal, french canadians are not very tall (avg height for a women is 5 foot 3)
and I'm the tallest women I've seen anywhere.
There may be taller women than 6 foot around here but they are very very rare indeed.

I did some research on this awhile back.  According to the USA Census for 2000, the average height for women in the USA 5' 3.8" .  The standard deviation is roughly 2 inches so the vast majority of women in the USA fall between about 5' 2" and 5' 6".  That sounds about right to me.  At 5' 10", the average height of a USA male, I fall in the 90th percentile of women.

C'est la vie 

[Lisbeth]

The height of most Americans appears to have largely leveled off, failing to keep pace with the increase in height in many parts of Europe, especially Scandinavian countries, said Richard Steckel of Ohio State University.

"Northern Europeans are now 2 inches taller than Americans," Steckel said. "Seventy-five years ago that wasn't the case. We're falling behind."

Seattle Times: Americans grew in height and weight over past 40 years

See also: Wikipedia: Human height: Average adult height around the world

[lady amarant]

The height of most Americans appears to have largely leveled off, failing to keep pace with the increase in height in many parts of Europe, especially Scandinavian countries, said Richard Steckel of Ohio State University.

"Northern Europeans are now 2 inches taller than Americans," Steckel said. "Seventy-five years ago that wasn't the case. We're falling behind."

I read somewhere that this is largely due to the overall better standards of healthcare in Europe. Don't quote me on that though...

... damn, South Africans are short. Oy vey. Another nail in the coffin of my passing... 

[cindybc]

America must be a country of midgets, "oooops!" sorry scratch that one. Average height 5'3.8" Wow that's still .8" taller then me. How many other hobbits are there on this board? 

Have a good sunshiny day all.

Cindy

[Kate]

Probably again because many women are used to have
other women be taller than them, so they don't see that as a manly trait per see.
Its an automated response in the brain. The brain does a lot of automatic gendering.
In our case, with the height with otherwise female attributes it creates a mixed signal I think.

Awl, darn it! I was hoping I was just "sexy and exotic" to men, not being read, lol...

But you sure make a good point. Heck, my coworker (woman) across the hall is 6'1" or so, and I have to admit *I* was intimidated by her at first. I'm definately not used to seeing women eye-to-eye. It's an odd feeling, lol.

In any case though, these threads and those reactions HAVE made me more wary of men in general now. It's kind of ashame, because as a guy I really never got any negative reactions from men OR women. But now I fear I've sorta alienated a significant portion of men now

Oh well. They'll just have to get used to having a tall woman around!

~Kate~

[cindybc]

Awwwwwww! Kate, com on over hon. I'm use to having people taller then me in both sexes and I do think tall women  who are

sexy and exotic

I don't think much has changed for me pretty well anyone I meet likes me. I guess my silly sense of humor has something to do with that to. I should have been a stand up comedian. Cindy doffs her hat with long plume and holds it to her midsection and bows gracefully to the clapping, shouting, and whistling crowd. "hee, hee, hee!" Have a wonderful day hon.

Cindy

[Ms Bev]

Older men, and younger but obviously married guys are often super-sweet and chivalrous. THAT I love.

...... younger men often give me this look of... I dunno... Wariness? Discomfort? I USED to fear I was being read and making them uncomfortable.

Women are almost always friendly with me, smiling and laughing at whatever chitchat we come up with. But men... men go very quiet, and don't seem to want to make eye contact. They're obviously uncomfortable, but I'm not sure why? I DO think the height has something to do with it, so maybe they're intimidated. I dunno. But in any case, it doesn't exactly give me a warm and fuzzy feeling, lol...

~Kate~

Kate, Listen to what you said, girl:


1.)  Older men are friendly and chivalrous.

2.)  Women are almost always friendly, and chit chat.

3.)  Younger men don't make eye contact, and go all wary.

So, it sounds like it's just the young guys who have some mystic knowledge of who you are.  Problem is this:

4.)  Younger married men are also friendly and chivalrous.

Two sets of younger men, the married ones friendly, the unmarried ones not friendly.

Okay, my pop psych answer to all this:

Married men, regardless the age, find you attractive, and no threat, since they are not generally "shopping" , but rather, window shopping.  Women find you no threat.

Unmarried, usually younger men find you a threat, probably because of your height, because they don't want a negative response from you to any contact that could be construed as an advance.

Okay, this analysis comes from a 5' 6" girl who sees eye to eye with most women.  Young unmarried men, and older men alike treat me in a friendly way.  I'm no threat to them.  Only occasional homophobic women who have their gaydar going feel threatened, and give me the wary look.

Amazons don't give tall men the willies.  You gotta find a tall one, if you're looking around, and ignore all those who feel threatened.



Bev
luvs amazons....hehehehe....

[Keira]

Height is about power in men.
Why do you think that the avg height of a CEO is 6 foot 1.
That tall people are seen as more intelligent, charismatic, etc,
regardless of their intrinsic quality (that's been studied extensively).

When your taller than a man, you put him outside his usual role
or protector, of being the strong one in the relation, thus they
are intimidated. Especially if they're not sure of themselves,
which most younger men aren't.

Why do you think models always seem to be dating ordinary older guys.
Because these guys are no longer intimidated by them or because they
have money or whatever, they have some other base of power than their looks
or physical presence.

[Kir]

I like short people. I like tall people. I like people.

I personally don't find tall people intimidating. It's the really small squirrelly ones you have to look out for (ankle biters are the worst!)

[cindybc]

Hi Kir Better invest some money into buying stove pipe to put around your legs when you go int small squirrely people territory.  Don't have to worry about me though, I do more barking then biting.

Cindy

[Lisbeth]

But you sure make a good point. Heck, my coworker (woman) across the hall is 6'1" or so, and I have to admit *I* was intimidated by her at first. I'm definately not used to seeing women eye-to-eye. It's an odd feeling, lol.

I am used to seeing women eye-to-eye, but that's because I live in Minnesota "where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average."

[soldierjane]

The height of most Americans appears to have largely leveled off, failing to keep pace with the increase in height in many parts of Europe, especially Scandinavian countries, said Richard Steckel of Ohio State University.

"Northern Europeans are now 2 inches taller than Americans," Steckel said. "Seventy-five years ago that wasn't the case. We're falling behind."

I read somewhere that this is largely due to the overall better standards of healthcare in Europe. Don't quote me on that though...

... damn, South Africans are short. Oy vey. Another nail in the coffin of my passing... 

I wonder if that's why people usually think I'm European. Doesn't being foreign/different always have a sexual connotation in people's minds? LOL

No one cares how tall you are if you're cute, Simone

[lady amarant]

No one cares how tall you are if you're cute, Simone

Operative phrase being "IF you're cute."

[soldierjane]

No one cares how tall you are if you're cute, Simone

Operative phrase being "IF you're cute."

You're just a closet hottie, admit it. 

[lady amarant]

You're just a closet hottie, admit it. 

Aw, thank you!!! But no.