Tall Women: Rude Comments About Being Tall Giving You Stress?

Tall women usually have problems finding tall women's clothing. Cool clothes for tall women may be a rare find, but the bigger problem faced by many a tall woman is the inability to embrace their height, such as "Camilla," as posted on the premier web site for tall women, tallwomen.org. Apparently she is a teenager, but many tall women share her misery. Camilla is 5-10, but keeps trying to convince herself she is not a tall woman and is only 5-9.

She's a sloucher and hates standing on a bus because her head almost touches the ceiling and makes her feel "insecure." I'm 5-8 and when I ride the light rail to the symphony, wearing 3-inch heels, I'm craning my neck and standing like a soldier in an attempt to touch the ceiling. Camilla says people don't notice her pretty face, but her height catches their eye. But 5-10 is only two inches taller than me, and I am by no means a very tall woman.

Camilla has tried to put on weight to appear less tall, and hates being referred to as lanky. She says that a "slight comment" about her height will ruin her day.

It's okay to want to change a body part.

Again, it's one thing when a woman wishes that something about her body were different. For example, I wish my skin were naturally as dark as it got when I was a child in the sun all day long. But lack of a natural tan does not ruin my day nor cause me anxiety or unhappiness. I wish I were a very tall woman, but I'm certainly not miserable with my current height. I wish my legs didn't grow hair so I'd never have to shave again either. It's okay for a woman to wish things were different about her body.

But poor Camilla sounds like she's suffering to high heaven. I wish I could have just five minutes with this teenager. When a teen girl slogs through every day in a heap of depression and unhappiness over being tall, this clearly indicates that something is lacking in the home.