Lots of people feel entitled to comment on a woman's appearance -- especially if that woman happens to be taller than them.
Just as skinny women are tired of being told to "eat a burger"[1] or that they "look like a toothpick," and short women cringe when someone asks "what the weather's like down there," taller women are subject to giraffe jokes[2] and questions about their femininity.
Some famous tall women have spoken out about being teased as children, and how their height has affected their careers. "Kill Bill"[3] star Uma Thurman told In Style[4] in 2008 that "there are plenty of challenges that come from being a tall girl," noting that no one would have expected such success from her as an actress given that she is six feet tall.
Gewndoline Christie, who plays Brienne of Tarth in "Game Of Thrones"[5] and stands at 6'3", explained in a March 2013 interview for Star Pulse[6] that she hopes her increasing visibility as a tall woman will effect positive changes.
"As someone who has always felt at times pretty genderless because of my size, it interests me to challenge ideas of prejudice and femininity, and what it is to be a woman," Christie said.
We polled our Twitter followers on what you should never say to a tall woman -- and they delivered. Here are 16 of the worst offenders:
- "It must be hard to find a man[7] who's comfortable with your height."
- "You have long feet[8] ."
- "I wish I was as tall as you[9] ."
- "You must have played basketball[10] in high school!"
- "Good luck finding a husband[11] !"
- "How TALL[12] are you?!?!"
- "Have you always been this tall[13] ?
- "You shouldn't wear heels[14] ."
- "Being petite[15] is so much harder than being tall."
- "Do you play volleyball[16] ?"
- 'You're an Amazon[17] ."
- "Could you grab that for me[18] ?"
- "You could be a model[19] ... you know, height-wise..."
- "You must have trouble finding nice clothes[20] ."
- "When are you going to stop growing[21] ?"
- "I'd date you if you were shorter[22] ."
We know perfectly well that women can be successful -- not to mention beautiful -- at any shape or size. So when is everyone else going to catch up?
Anything you'd like to add? Tweet @HuffPostWomen[23] using #NeverSayThis.
Also on HuffPost:
References
- ^ "eat a burger" (www.huffingtonpost.com)
- ^ giraffe jokes (www.theguardian.com)
- ^ "Kill Bill" (www.imdb.com)
- ^ In Style (www.instyle.com)
- ^ "Game Of Thrones" (www.imdb.com)
- ^ Star Pulse (www.starpulse.com)
- ^ hard to find a man (twitter.com)
- ^ long feet (twitter.com)
- ^ as tall as you (twitter.com)
- ^ played basketball (twitter.com)
- ^ finding a husband (twitter.com)
- ^ How TALL (twitter.com)
- ^ this tall (twitter.com)
- ^ shouldn't wear heels (twitter.com)
- ^ Being petite (twitter.com)
- ^ volleyball (twitter.com)
- ^ Amazon (twitter.com)
- ^ grab that for me (twitter.com)
- ^ You could be a model (twitter.com)
- ^ finding nice clothes (twitter.com)
- ^ stop growing (twitter.com)
- ^ if you were shorter (twitter.com)
- ^ @HuffPostWomen (twitter.com)
- ^ Send us a tip (www.huffingtonpost.com)
- ^ Send us a photo or video (www.huffingtonpost.com)
- ^ Suggest a correction (www.huffingtonpost.com)
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