Tall Women Updates.

Again, I have completely abandoned this blog. I have had the desire to write a book or make a blog for tall women for sooooo long, and I've just been so busy with 7 years of post-high school education plus working, that I always start something I can't seem to keep up with or finish.

On the tall book note, there is a book out by a tall woman (6'3" I think?) called The Tall Book: A Celebration of Life From on High by Arianne Cohen (available on Amazon for $13.60+tax). I recently ordered it and while it's had great reviews from fellow tall women, and I'm excited to read it, I'll admit I feel slightly disappointed because I've always wanted to write such a book and it appears Arianne has beat me to it.

On a somewhat similar note, I saw the movie Julie & Julia last week which I LOVED. Julia Child was 6'2" and there are many height references in the movie which made it a little extra amusing for me. They had to go through great lengths (pun sort of intended) to make Meryl Streep appear tall in the movie. She frequently wore very high heels, stood on boxes, and they cast only short people in street scenes to make her seem taller than she is. Meryl Streep did an outstanding job, but I can't help but wish there were actually really tall female actors (aside from Uma Thurman who I really don't think could have pulled it off) to play such roles.

Lastly, I've been kicking around the idea of starting a NEW tall blog. I have a niece who is bound to be very tall like myself (she's currently not quite 3 years old) and several young girls in my life who look like they're going to be pretty tall as well. I've been kicking around the idea lately of writing a blog and/or book "for" my niece, but also for the benefit of other young girls who are destined to be tall (and maybe even not so young girls), about embracing their height as a beautiful thing, and embracing their femininity despite such a non-characterstic quality of being tall as a woman.

Then I thought of this blog, and I'm not sure if I should just transform a new one or start this one. I'll keep thinking about it....

Long Lost Me.

I apologize for my incredibly long absence. I was out of the country for 4 months, had a lot of crazy things happen, and I am now in my final semester of law school.

While I currently have a job offer, it looks like my start date may be pushed back quite a bit, so I'm considering putting into action a little plan I've had on the back burner for years. I've always wanted to make clothes for myself, and if I'm good enough at it, start selling to my fellow tall ladies out there. My current plan is to start with dresses. As a southern California tall girl, I would like to be able to wear sun dresses, etc. but they are almost always too short on me.

I think a law degree with a dress business on the side is a brilliant idea ;)

World's Tallest Woman Dies at 53.

INDIANAPOLIS - A woman who grew to be 7 feet, 7 inches tall and was recognized as the world's tallest female died early Wednesday, a friend said. She was 53.

Sandy Allen, who used her height to inspire schoolchildren to accept those who are different, died at a nursing home in her hometown of Shelbyville, Ind., family friend Rita Rose said.

The cause of death was not yet known. Allen had been hospitalized in recent months as she suffered from a recurring blood infection, along with diabetes, breathing troubles and kidney failure, Rose said.

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In London, Guinness World Records spokesman Damian Field confirmed Wednesday that Allen was still listed as the tallest woman. Some Web sites cite a 7-foot-9 woman from China.

Coincidentally, Allen lived in the same nursing home, Heritage House Convalescent Center, as 115-year-old Edna Parker, whom Guinness has recognized as the world's oldest person since August 2007.

'Tool to educate people'
Allen said a tumor caused her pituitary gland to produce too much growth hormone. She underwent an operation in 1977 to stop further growth.

But she was proud of her height, Rose said. "She embraced it," she said. "She used it as a tool to educate people."

Allen appeared on television shows and spoke to church and school groups to bring youngsters her message that it was all right to be different.

Allen weighed 6-1/2 pounds when she was born in June 1955. By the age of 10 she had grown to be 6-foot-3, and by age 16 she was 7-1.

She wrote to Guinness World Records in 1974, saying she would like to get to know someone her own height.

"It is needless to say my social life is practically nil and perhaps the publicity from your book may brighten my life," she wrote.

Museum appearances
The recognition as the world's tallest woman helped Allen accept her height and become less shy, Rose said.

"It kind of brought her out of her shell," Rose said. "She got to the point where she could joke about it."

In the 1980s, she appeared for several years at the Guinness Museum of World Records in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

"I'll never forget the old Japanese man who couldn't speak English, so he decided to feel for himself if I was real," she recalled with a chuckle when she moved back to Indiana in 1987.

At Guinness there were days when I felt like I was doing a freak show," she said. "When that feeling came too often, I knew I had to come back home."

Difficulty with mobility had forced Allen to curtail her public speaking in recent years, Rose said. She had suffered from diabetes and other ailments and used a wheelchair to get around.

Rose is working to set up a scholarship fund in Allen's name, with proceeds going to Shelbyville High School.

"She loved talking to kids because they would ask more honest questions," Rose said. "Adults would kind of stand back and stare and not know how to approach her."

Disney Doesn't Love Me.

Wow, it has been awhile since I've posted... but I have been super busy wrapping up a summer job, moving all my stuff into storage, and preparing to move to London for a few months.

My tall story today comes courtesy of Disneyland. I went there last Monday for a work event, and we had lunch planned at the "exclusive" Club 33. Somehow, I forgot no flip flops were allowed at the club, and showed up to Disney in black flip flops. The woman at the door would not let me in and said I would have to buy real shoes if I wanted inside for lunch.

This is one of the very few things I haaaaaate about being tall: I can't get shoes or pants in 99% of stores, so if I need either one at a moment's notice, I'm pretty much out of luck. Regular stores just don't carry womens sizes 13/14 for shoes or pants with inseams of 37".

After scouring Disneyland (and almost crying because I was sleep deprived and extremely hungry and frustrated), a friend coaxed me to buy some SIZE 10 pink crocks. The shoes were $40, looked totally tacky, and didn't fit (obviously) but Club 33 let me in!

How on earth are pink crocks more acceptable than black flip flops? UGG!

Luckily, the place I bought the crocks from let me return them when I went back after lunch, so I got my $40 back, thank goodness.

Shoes... shoes... shoes... its so frustrating to have such an extremely limited selection, and so few stores which carry ANYTHING in my size to start with.

Height Fascination Hindering Good Will.

Yesterday I went to volunteer as an advocate at DPSS which is basically a place where low-income and indigent residents go to get government assistance. Sadly, a lot of claims get denied on technicalities so some of the legal aid clinics sponsor these volunteer days where volunteers go in and help clients understand the forms and advocate for their legal rights.

Anyway, I come from a very poor background so I am by no means judgmental toward or uncomfortable around people who are extremely poor. However, the room filled with primarily homeless men who were staring at me the whole time and occassionally cat-calling me made me rather uncomfortable.

It was one of the few times where I really wish I was not an extremely tall, blonde. I went there with the intention to help people, and instead I felt more uncomfortable in my skin than I have in a long time and couldn't wait to get out of there.

Low Vents...

Today I'm in a suit and heels because I have to actually go to court (usually I'm in business casual with flats), and when I parked on my usual floor in our underground parking garage, and climbed out, I couldn't stand up straight because I had parked in a space right under a huge vent, and I was too tall with my shoes on.

The parking attendant nearly died laughing as I tried to walk over to him scrunched down to hand him my keys.

Different Height Stereotypes.

I wonder if it is "worse" to a be a really tall female, or a really short male?

In terms of finding dates, if you want to stick to the "girl is shorter than the guy" stereotypes, I think it is much harder as a girl because there a lot more short girls out there than there are really tall guys. However, a lot of short girls do have that ridiculous requirement that they will only date guys over 6ft, even though they are only 5'1 to 5'4. So the short guys tend to get the shaft :/

In terms of how you're viewed by society, the more I think about it, the more I realize as hard as it is to be a 6'4" female and deal with the kinds of reactions I get sometimes ("I've never seen a woman so tall. .... You are HUGE!..." etc. Plus, on occassion the fact that almost all tall guys are usually with short women makes me think something is wrong with being so tall), I think it's actually harder to be a short guy. Because as a tall girl, if you stay in shape and dress well people will think of you as elegant/long-legged/sexy, etc. And it's not necessarily the most ideal to be short as a woman. Short women often wish they were taller, had longer legs, etc.

However, being tall does seem to be a pretty ideal factor for males, much moreso than females. So, as a male, if you are really short, it seems like that would have more identity-issues to work through than being a super-tall female. This is probably demeaning but I often feel bad for my short male friends, especially when I have to be around them and make them feel even shorter.

Ultimately, this entire post is pretty ridiculous. People come in all shapes and sizes and 99% of it can't be helped. I don't know when and why we created these ideas that the men are supposed to be tall, and the women are supposed to be short(er) and that either tall women or short men are weird and/or unfavored. Tall women and short men are rare(r), and therefore unique. As I often say to my fellow short and tall friends when in mixed company, being tall or being short is cool... being "average" is boring ;)

And lets just be honest.... short men often have way better personalities than tall men. Tall men automatically get like 50+ bonus points in most women's minds because being tall is so desirable, so it seems they don't have to work to hard at developing a decent personality. I've met so many DULL, DULL, DULL! tall men, and so many really entertaining, fun, and interesting short men. I like to analogize the situation to the really hot/cheerleader type girls. Sometimes, you meet a girl with the whole package (hot and a good personality--I have several girl friends who fit in this category) but you also run into really attractive girls that couldn't carry on a conversation to save their lives because usually they don't have to.

Anyway, through all of this shallow conversation... my point is that I'm realizing that height plays way more of a role in relationships and interactions than it should.