I tried getting over it but yesterday it was all I can think about. I am trying to accept my 5'4 height with a lot of difficulties. I don't want limb lengthening, the idea of that scares me too much. Though at one point I was so depressed I didn't care if it did scare me. I am still looking at HGH hormones but just feeling like nothing but a slap in the face after I'm always told they won't do anything for me because I'm done growing already. Now I'm looking at elevator shoes but my only concern with these are taking the shoes off when at a friend's house or family's house and everyone will definitely notice I'm not that tall. I suppose there's nothing I can do about that?   Also I was thinking if I work out and get really bulky will that at least make me appear taller? Seriously it just keeps bringing down my confidence no matter how hard I try not to think about it

i'm also 5'4... it's weird though, because in my head i'm a lot taller, i feel a lot taller.  like you, i've considered elevator shoes, but again, i know people would eventually notice... can't keep em on all the time.  my ideal height is around 5'10.  people have told me i appear taller than 5'4 though.  i think a lot of it has to do with how one holds oneself, which is a confidence thing.  i know tall people who are self-conscious and slouch and shrink, and shorter people who give the impression of being a lot taller, simply because they're so assertive.  where my dysphoria with it comes in is wishing i was taller so that i can cuddle someone better standing up... lol.

@schism ive heard that too lol. But I still am kind of having a hard time with being small unfortunately.

I know lots of short guys. They're awesome.

@Road to Trista. Ah. Why thankyou  But yeah I know a lot of short guys too. My dad's girlfriend's brother being no more than at the most 5'0 and he owns his own business, has a wife, a son and a daughter. I look to him for inspiration but I still have bad days where I can't see past my small size at all. 

Schism pretty much nailed it on the head.  I am also 5'4 and I used to hate a lot but now the height dysphoria is a bit more tolerable.   Confidence is the key.  If you are still have a hard time trying to gain confidence from your height I suggest this website of guys who are short.

http://->-bleeped-<-yeahshortguys.tumblr.com/page/2

What personally helped me have lower height dysphoria was having the mentality of an MMA fighter and the mindset that I may be short but I could probably still kick some behind if I needed to.

@Malachite thanks i am already aware of that site tho

No problem-if all else fails you could go with the "well it could be worse" attitude.  Like Trista said short guys are awesome!

thanks for the link to that blog, it's great.

I understand how you feel. When I was in my early teens and I had thought about being transgendered, I believed it was pointless because no woman would want to be with a short man. How foolish I was. And just so you know, I'm 5' 3" at my tallest (Depends on doc) But yeah, I have found the most amazing woman on this earth. And she is at least 4 inchest taller than me. She doesn't care and neither do I. When I pick her up in my arms, height doesn't mean anything. Or when we are laying in bed. I know that it must cause bad dysphoria. But slowly learn to love yourself for EVERY bit of you. Because at the end of the day, that is all that will matter.

I'm shorter than you and I pass to people who used to know me in the past.
They don't even recognize me anymore.

Dude, I know it sucks being short, but there's nothing you can do about it. That's your lot in life. If there's nothing you can do to change something, you're wasting time and resources beating yourself up over it. I don't intend to diminish your feelings at all, but you post this thread so often that it's clear you need to start accepting yourself for what you look like and who you are.

I'm five feet tall and it sure bothers me a lot sometimes. I hate having to stand on my toes to reach something that most people can just reach out and grab, and I feel puny compared to most people I encounter on a day to day basis.

But here's the secret: just about everybody, cis and trans alike, has at least one thing they hate about their bodies. And a great deal of the time, it's something they can't really help. And an even greater deal of the time, it's something that matters zero to the strangers, friends, and acquaintances in their lives. We are our own worst critics.

Short men exist, it's not as if we're doomed to be pegged as assigned female at birth for the rest of our lives just because we aren't six feet tall. I guarantee that if you go out anywhere in public with a decent amount of people you will find men shorter or the same height as you, but you wouldn't question their maleness. Similarly, you'd be surprised at how tall some women can be, much taller than the "average" or expected height, but they're still clearly women.

So reassure yourself of these things, and realize that your height is not what limits you in any way, it's your personality, how you relate to others and how you deal with problems in life. I just saw a trans guy on Youtube who might even be smaller than me and he looks amazing. I would love to look like him, height and all. You just have to make do with what you've got, and realize that even if it is a little out of the ordinary, so what, you're still a human being and that's what matters the most, THAT is why you deserve respect. Not because of some arbitrary number that says that's how tall "normal" guys should be.

EDIT: What really helps me is watching movies with short male actors. You could enjoy, say, The Breakfast Club or Back to the Future; Emilio Estevez and Michael J. Fox are your height, for example. It helps to watch films which feature short actors in kickass roles. It's good to feel like you can relate to others.

I think of your height dysphoria literally every time I walk off the train to campus. Out of like a hundred kids, I see a TON of dudes who are 5'4" (my height exactly). And more who are just a wee bit taller. You should move here.

I felt bad about my height for a long time until eventually someone told me I was about 5"6. I recently went off to college and made friends with two brothers, cis males, that are 5"5. We lament about being short but honestly there are plenty of short people. It's unfortunate but it's not something that needs to control your life. Also, I'd personally say that bulking up (in an exaggerated manner) might emphasise your height but that's just my opinion.

Sounds like you caught the return bus I took.

As a 6'2" transwoman I worried about sticking out like the proverbial sore thumb, but when i started watching a lot of women's sports on TV realised I wasn't that unusual.  Lots of models are tall too.

For guys, 5'4" isn't all that short really.  Especially if you workout and put on a bit of upper body bulk, you will look quite impressive.  Having self-confidence helps negate any percieved lack of height, it seems to make peoople more impressive. 
When he was an actor, Tom Cruise    married Nicole Kidman, and she was a good 6 inches or more taller than him.  Maybe looking  to actors like Vin Diesel , Cruise, Fox and others for inspiration will be a good start.  Other role models from the real world will appear as time goes on.

Karen.

I'm gonna hope that getting some muscle on me will help me appear at least two inches taller.

@Caseyyy .... 0.0 where do u live? 

5'4" isn't short.  Average height for men until recently was 5'7", so there must be plenty of shorter guys out there.  As for hollywood stars, they've always been short.  Cruise is small, as is Brad Pitt.  Sylvester Stallone in well below 6 foot and Arnie is no man mountain.  When Alan Ladd was around they often made his leading actresses stand in a trench.  Watch a lot of films and you will see that the leading man is often shot from a low angle to make him look taller. 

Repeat 5'4" is not short.

Quote from: Pippa on January 31, 2012, 06:13:30 PM
5'4" isn't short.  Average height for men until recently was 5'7", so there must be plenty of shorter guys out there.  As for hollywood stars, they've always been short.  Cruise is small, as is Brad Pitt.  Sylvester Stallone in well below 6 foot and Arnie is no man mountain.  When Alan Ladd was around they often made his leading actresses stand in a trench.  Watch a lot of films and you will see that the leading man is often shot from a low angle to make him look taller. 

Repeat 5'4" is not short.

You just called Tom Cruise (5'7") and Brad Pitt (5'11") small, so it is pretty obvious you know that 5'4" is short.

There's optimism, and then there's pretending. 

The real important point is that there's nothing wrong with being short. People come in all sizes and all that.

Vegeta from DBZ was 5'3.  Yeah it came from an anime show but he's still bad-a reguardless.

Quote from: Cody Jensen on January 30, 2012, 02:44:47 PM
Also I was thinking if I work out and get really bulky will that at least make me appear taller?

Yes if you put on some muscle it'll help a lot! There's no way to change your height so don't stress about that, but you can get bigger. I'm 5'5 and I've accepted that, but I've been trying to bulk up so I don't look so tiny. It's been working