Why tall women don't exist: a thread

I am 6'1". I've been this tall since I was a pre-teen.

Society conspires in many ways to say that tall women are either wrong, unattractive or just plain don't exist.

Here's how:

#tallwomen

Feet:

Shoes above size 42 are rare. They are easier to find now online, but are still unusual. Most manufacturers don't make shoes in large sizes.

If they do, they are invariably clumsy clogs in very few colours. And they're not cheap.

Cool, large feminine shoes do not exist.

Body:

Tall women's clothes barely exist. Some places make extra long trousers, but very few make tall shirts. Jackets are the holy grail.

Tall women's professional clothes are expensive. Being poor and tall means wearing men's clothes, or cobbling together from random places.

If you want to go sexy and short, no problem. If you want clothes that fit your body and cover all of your arms, legs or torso: fat chance.

Tall women live in a world where the available clothing is not designed for their bodies.

#tallpeople

Movies:

Tall women only exist as supermodels or comedy gags. In couples the girl is always shorter. The girl can only be taller if she is a model or it is funny that she is taller.

Much cinematic jiggery pokery is engaged to ensure that the man appears taller.

#MovieMagic

There are only two cinematic depictions of tall women who are just tall because women are tall: Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones and Chummy in Call the Midwife.

Their heights are commented on by others but this is not the central feature of their character development.

Technology:

A lot of products come in tall sizes, but only the men's version. Recently I tried to buy a bicycle and a sleeping bag. Both women's versions did not come in tall. But the men's sizes did.

Occasionally unisex products will come in tall, but not women's products.

This all amounts to the erasure of tall women.

We are repeatedly shown that only certain body sizes are female.

In many, many ways society conspires to make tall women freaks.

Anomalies that are best ignored as they upset the status quo.

This is deeply, deeply frustrating.

Tall women do exist- in large numbers!

I saw 5 six footers on my walk to the office today. We all looked at eachother in passing and gave eachother the nod.

Tall women are a regular, ordinary, magnificent part of the spectrum of womanhood.

I am taller than a lot of the men I know. This has always been the case. And it is totally, objectively fine.

There is nothing wrong with being small, nor with being big.

The only bad thing about being tall is the people who lean their seat back during flights.

#assholes

There is a larger relevance to this, which is the harmful stereotype about what women look like.

Women contain multitudes. We are all sizes and shapes and colors.

A good number of us are tall, and many are taller than men.

I see this stereotype deployed in talks about sports.

Some people feel comfortable getting on their soap boxes to "defend" girls in sports, engaging a stereotypical narrative about trans athletes being tall and strong and scary.

Well, I was that kid as a teen- taller and stronger than almost all other athletes, except one girl.

Women and girls can be tall and muscly. Some of us are scary.

We are all badass and awesome, even if we sometimes don't recognize it or are too busy to remember.

Many different types of bodies exist.

#bodypositivity

The promulgation of the narrative that women are small, and that they are smaller than men is wholly incorrect and very harmful.

There is not a correct type of female body, or a range of acceptability.

There is absolutely no correct balance between male and female.

Tall women exist. We rock, and we want people to know and recognize this.

Also we want cooler shoes and sleeves that come all the way past our wrists.

And more pockets, for cripes sake.

#womensrights #pocketsplease