Podcasts

YR via RSS

For Educators
Teach Youth Radio
Curriculum

Youth Programs
CORE
Outreach

Being Tall

"Most people believe that being tall is a wonderful gift- but there is more that came with my 73 inches."

Listen to this Commentary!

By Thessaly La Force

I have been a tall girl all my life.

I remember when I hit the six foot mark. I swore to my mother, "If anyone asks I'll just say I'm five foot twelve." I was a freshman in high school.

Today, after three more years, I have grown one inch from that six foot mark. I am 17 and stand at six feet and one inch. Most people believe that being tall is a wonderful gift. But there is more that came with my 73 inches than just that. I wouldn't say I've suffered, but I've certainly had a difficult time with my body image.

Let me tell you what it means to be this tall. It means that in fourth grade you stand in the last row on picture day, next to all the boys. It means that when you go shopping for pants at Macy*s with your mother for the first day of high school, nothing fits. It means you get called bigfoot, the giraffe or a giantess. It means that when you wear a miniskirt and high heels you don't feel like normal girls and people go up to you and say, "Damn girl. You know you're too tall to wear high heels." But the next time you confess your fears of wearing high heels someone says, "No, you should be able to wear whatever you want."

Thus, the contradictions of being a tall girl. Everyone supposes that you are a supermodel or champion basketball player. But when you're not, people struggle. What else can a tall girl really do? Are they supposed to be smart or something? My tallness is appreciated in Vogue magazine but not in department stores, where I can never find anything that fits. My tallness is supposed to be attractive, but the only thing it attracts are competitive boys: "No, I'm taller." My long legs are supposed to be a worshipped asset, but airline and car companies beg to differ. I hate flying for entirely different reasons than most people: I just don't fit.

Amazingly, I've recovered from a lot of my angst over being tall. I tried to ignore my tallness for too long. And in many ways I still try to ignore my six foot one stature. But now, I do it in a good way. I wear high heel shoes when I want to and show off my long legs. I've spent too many years gazing into mirrors wishing I was shorter, not just skinnier…and too long enviously watching my friends slow dance with boys without stooping.

My friend once confessed a secret to me in overcoming body image issues. "It's not that I'm not attractive," she said, "It's just that people haven't realized it yet. They're in denial." I've taken her words to heart and I will hold them with my height for the rest of my life. I've denied the beauty of my tallness for too long. So watch out, there's a giantess coming through.