Tall, Short, Average?

monster • Nov 27, 2010 11:58 pm
Are you tall, short, or average and how do you feel about it? I'm average, but I'd really like to be a little taller -not super-tall, but maybe 5'7" (female average is 5'3" US 5'4" UK, I'm 5'4")
Clodfobble • Nov 28, 2010 12:17 am
I'm tall, apparently, at 5'9". But I don't usually notice it, I feel like I'm average.

Also, it's all in my legs, I have a relatively short torso. On more than one occasion, I have stood up from a sitting position, and someone in the room has commented with surprise that they hadn't realized how tall I was.
footfootfoot • Nov 28, 2010 12:27 am
True, you post much shorter.
I'm 6 feet and I never really think about it. It just seems like a normal height to me. I never really notice that people are short or shorter, or if I do I don't really think much of it.

Every now and then I meet someone who is really tall and that is an odd experience, to look up at someone when I am talking to them. It feels strange and I wonder if that is how most people who are shorter than me feel.

Dunno.
monster • Nov 28, 2010 12:40 am
beest is tall -6'2". I find it weird now to speak to men around my height, I expect them to be taller. But not teenagers. Thor plays hockey out of Compuware Arena, home of the semi-pro Plymouth Whalers. So we regularly meet them. Those kids are HUGE. I think the team average is around 6'3" but they're still in high school. And they insist on wearing skates so i feel even smaller. but they have zits and have to be nice to my kids and I don't......
xoxoxoBruce • Nov 28, 2010 1:17 am
Must be the nutrition, look at the high school football players these days, 6' and 240 lbs is a pipsqueak.
Pico and ME • Nov 28, 2010 1:29 am
Being short kept me from being average, which I liked.
Sundae • Nov 28, 2010 6:33 am
I was super-short all through school, compared to my classmates.
When I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up I alternatively answered "Taller" or "Fatter" (given that I was a skinny little thing).

I'm a hair over 5' 7", so I'm not TALL tall but I still love it.
Back when I had a social life I'd often wear stacked heels to make me even taller. But it was good to take them off and feel less conspicuous.
I'm happy with my height - maybe one or two inches more would be better, but I mustn't be greedy. I just love being able to reach things when little ladies can't, and being able to open windows and such.

The only slightly odd thing is that people are often surprised by my height - when I can reach something they can't they look at me with a slightly puzzled air and say, "I never noticed how tall you were..." Perhaps growing up short affected my mannerisms?
glatt • Nov 28, 2010 7:27 am
I'm fairly tall. 6'2". It's good to be tall in most everyday situations. But it's horrible in a few limited situations.


When we first bought our house, there were about half a dozen locations where I would hit my head. I learned where they are and am careful now. Average sized people think flying in coach sucks. They have no idea. Riding the metro, I have to duck under the hand hold bars so I don't bonk my head. Cars are smaller for me. I need to push my driver's seat all the way back, and it makes it hard for the kid sitting behind me. Any kind of amusement park ride that has the bar that comes down over your shoulders and holds you in will press against my shoulders and make by spine bend a little. Then doing the ride all bent over sideways puts painful forces on my spine. So I won't do those rides.
Sundae • Nov 28, 2010 7:36 am
glatt;696706 wrote:
Any kind of amusement park ride that has the bar that comes down over your shoulders and holds you in will press against my shoulders and make by spine bend a little. Then doing the ride all bent over sideways puts painful forces on my spine. So I won't do those rides.

Try doing the reverse - as a lightweight eleven year old I only just passed the height restrictions on my first trip to an amusement park. I blessed the over the head restraint because I was lifted out of my seat by the ride - and there was a fair amount of clearance between me and the seat. When I went on the Pirate Ship (lap restraint only) I was convinced I would fall out because my two sticklike legs were so far away from the bar!

Still, at that age the genuine fear of horrific injury just adds to the appeal :)

I like that I've experienced both ends of the spectrum.
DanaC • Nov 28, 2010 7:48 am
I'm a little shy of 5'8''.

I used to feel quite tall. I still do some of the time, and I like that feeling. As a kid I didn't like it so much. I felt big and clumsy. And a little boyish. Was quite jealous of my uber petite and very feminine bezzy mate at high school :P All the lads loved her.

Sometimes I don;t feel so tall. Like when I am with my eldest niece :P She is just starting to edge me I think on height. I've noticed around town and in uni, that the youngsters coming up are slightly taller than my own generation. The average height seems to have gone up an inch or so.


[eta] By the time I started to really enjoy being tall, I was in my late teens. By which time my older (and taller at 6ft) brother had met his girlfriend, now wife, Jen, who is 5'9''. Dad was a little under 6ft I think and Mum was 5'5'' and is now probably 5'4'' because of her neck vertebrae sinking into each other.

So...being tall was really an outside thing. At home I never felt particularly tall :P
xoxoxoBruce • Nov 28, 2010 8:29 am
This is pretty much the range.
morethanpretty • Nov 28, 2010 9:06 am
I'm 5'2" and I'm actually one of the taller women in my family, both my mom and sis are shorter than me. The men are all short also, my brother is probably 5"6' or 5"7' and he's taller than my dad. Being short is just fine with me, cept when I go shopping for pants.
Sundae • Nov 28, 2010 9:07 am
morethanpretty;696727 wrote:
Being short is just fine with me, cept when I go shopping for pants.

Don't worry, I'll lift you up to get them off the rack...
wolf • Nov 28, 2010 1:36 pm
I am much too short for my weight.
Trilby • Nov 28, 2010 1:54 pm
I'm 5'7

Older boy is 6'4 and younger boy is 6'6
Cloud • Nov 28, 2010 4:05 pm
average and shrinking. don't "love it" but don't hate it either.
TheMercenary • Nov 28, 2010 6:47 pm
Not sure why over 6 feet is described as "Super" tall, but I am over 6 feet. 6'3" to be exact. 230#.
glatt • Nov 28, 2010 7:49 pm
I read it as over 6 inches above the average. I don't know what the average for guys is. Maybe 5'8"? So add 6 inches to that and get 6'2" and then it's greater than that. So 6'3" and above. If you're 6'3", that would include you. How many times do you run into people taller than you? If it's pretty rare, then "super" tall is probably correct.
monster • Nov 28, 2010 10:19 pm
yup, that's what I meant, Glatt, and in fact what I wrote.....

I would hate to suggest that Merc has an overly-competitive need to be above average, though, so i'll go with "misread"

I thought the average for guys was 5'10"ish, but I could be wrong/British.
xoxoxoBruce • Nov 28, 2010 10:42 pm
How would one complete the poll when average is not defined?
monster • Nov 28, 2010 10:50 pm
prior knowledge? research? Who doesn't know what the average height for their gender/nationality is?
xoxoxoBruce • Nov 28, 2010 10:52 pm
You don't.
monster • Nov 28, 2010 11:02 pm
I do too..... :p:
Juniper • Nov 28, 2010 11:06 pm
I'm not overweight, I'm undertall. :D

I'm 5' 1.5". My 14 yo daughter has beaten me by a half inch, and I think she's done. 12 yo son is just shy of 5' but he is definitely not done. :)

Hubby is 6'3" and we look really funny slow dancing. People actually point and laugh.
monster • Nov 28, 2010 11:17 pm
Juniper;696920 wrote:
we look really funny slow dancing. People actually point and laugh.


they'e not laughing at you, but at their partners/themselves for being too fucking cowardly to get out there on the dance floor. they're jealous.
Tulip • Nov 28, 2010 11:24 pm
Ugh, who's super short and loves it?!? Can't reach a damn thing. I should go shopping with Sundae so she can get things off the top shelf for me. :p: I used to get embarrassed but now, I would just grab someone and ask them to get something on the top shelf for me. The last woman who helped me remarked, "It sucks for you short people, huh" :lol:
Tulip • Nov 28, 2010 11:26 pm
morethanpretty;696727 wrote:
I'm 5'2". Being short is just fine with me, cept when I go shopping for pants.
Size petite should fit you perfectly, no hemming necessary.
morethanpretty • Nov 28, 2010 11:44 pm
They tend to be just a tad too short, or "low rise" style which on me is "half ass out all the time" style.
Juniper • Nov 29, 2010 2:20 am
Ditto what MTP said. It's especially bad when you're fat along with it. I suppose they think that size 12 short people are taller than size 6 short people. Hm. I hate jeans shopping. I like jeans that actually fit and don't hang off my butt, but that's what they do when the waist fits. Butt fits, waist's too small. I see that stretchy jeans are back this year, so I may have to try 'em out.
Gravdigr • Nov 29, 2010 2:40 am
TheMercenary;696867 wrote:
6'3" to be exact. 230#.


6' 3" & 230lbs. Puny fucker.:D
Gravdigr • Nov 29, 2010 2:43 am
I'm 5' 8". Almost all my friends are six feet or so. The guys anyway. So I would say I'm below average.

I'm my ideal weight, if I was eleven feet tall.
Gravdigr • Nov 29, 2010 2:45 am
footfootfoot;696656 wrote:
...I wonder if that is how most people who are shorter than me feel.


Yes. Yes it is.
Spexxvet • Nov 29, 2010 9:05 am
Never quite reached 5'10". My brothers and most of my close friends are taller, so I want to be taller when I grow up.
TheMercenary • Nov 29, 2010 9:19 am
monster;696903 wrote:
yup, that's what I meant, Glatt, and in fact what I wrote.....

I would hate to suggest that Merc has an overly-competitive need to be above average, though, so i'll go with "misread"

I thought the average for guys was 5'10"ish, but I could be wrong/British.

Which is why I asked, not wanting to appear "overly-competitive" and seeing myself more of just "tall". I think of super-tall as being 6'4" and above. :)
TheMercenary • Nov 29, 2010 9:29 am
Well there you have it.

http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/growthcharts2/f/avg_ht_male.htm
TheMercenary • Nov 29, 2010 9:35 am
I guess I am just so competitive.... I have come up with a new plan on how to deal with it and all this sin in my life.

[youtube]nncrwOgh6ow[/youtube]
Sundae • Nov 29, 2010 9:55 am
I don't think he has absolved himself of the sin of vanity - he thinks too much about his appearance.

I did LOL though.
GunMaster357 • Nov 29, 2010 10:00 am
glatt;696706 wrote:
When we first bought our house, there were about half a dozen locations where I would hit my head. I learned where they are and am careful now. Average sized people think flying in coach sucks. They have no idea. Riding the metro, I have to duck under the hand hold bars so I don't bonk my head. Cars are smaller for me. I need to push my driver's seat all the way back, and it makes it hard for the kid sitting behind me. Any kind of amusement park ride that has the bar that comes down over your shoulders and holds you in will press against my shoulders and make by spine bend a little. Then doing the ride all bent over sideways puts painful forces on my spine. So I won't do those rides.


Same size for me and same problems. I'll let you imagine the trip I had once in a friend's car : over 250 miles. The "big" surprise, car was an Austin Mini.

In France, as of 2009, average size is a bit under 5'9". I remember that when I was 20 it was a bit over 5'7". Among my family, with the exception of my brother (6'1"), no one tops 5'7".
TheMercenary • Nov 29, 2010 10:13 am
Sundae Girl;696978 wrote:
I did LOL though.
I did too. I thought it was pretty funny. :)
monster • Nov 29, 2010 1:47 pm
Sundae Girl;696978 wrote:


I did LOL though.


TheMercenary;696982 wrote:
I did too. I thought it was pretty funny. :)


me too :D
monster • Nov 29, 2010 1:51 pm
TheMercenary;696973 wrote:
Well there you have it.

http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/growthcharts2/f/avg_ht_male.htm


I remember the growth charts in the UK being based on the predominant ethnicity of the child. Now, I knw no-one likes classifying race, but seriously, it's not a one-size fits all thing, is it? Is it? Am I racist?
Stormieweather • Nov 29, 2010 2:18 pm
I am 5'5", pretty much average, and love it.

My son (22) is 6'5" (size 14 shoes). My daughter (15), on the other hand, is in the 1% growth percentile and will be lucky to hit 5'. My partner is teddy bear rotund, and 6'2". We are the quite the "odd" family, lol.
Spexxvet • Nov 29, 2010 2:32 pm
monster;697033 wrote:
I remember the growth charts in the UK being based on the predominant ethnicity of the child. Now, I knw no-one likes classifying race, but seriously, it's not a one-size fits all thing, is it? Is it? Am I racist?


Just because someone is a pigmy or watusi doesn't necessarily mean... ;)
Clodfobble • Nov 29, 2010 5:26 pm
monster wrote:
I remember the growth charts in the UK being based on the predominant ethnicity of the child. Now, I knw no-one likes classifying race, but seriously, it's not a one-size fits all thing, is it? Is it? Am I racist?


It's my understanding that the consumption of large amounts of dairy in youth is a major contributor to one's eventual height. Each generation of immigrant kids (tends to) get taller as they adopt the cultural diet of their new home. Asian-Americans as a whole are taller than their homeland counterparts, even when they've continued to marry within their own race.
Pico and ME • Nov 29, 2010 5:49 pm
Tulip;696924 wrote:
Ugh, who's super short and loves it?!? Can't reach a damn thing. I should go shopping with Sundae so she can get things off the top shelf for me. :p: I used to get embarrassed but now, I would just grab someone and ask them to get something on the top shelf for me. The last woman who helped me remarked, "It sucks for you short people, huh" :lol:


That was me..:blush:.

I have really liked being short, it always got me attention, which I played up to the hilt. Also, I have always maintained my weight, so I have never been heavier than 115, therefore even though I'm not pretty or beautiful, I have always been cute. Which has been good enough for me. And I have never considered being height-challenged as a handicap. I can always manage to reach something somehow...even if I have to climb for it.
monster • Nov 29, 2010 5:50 pm
Interesting. And yet my kids consume milk like they breathe and are short-arses!
footfootfoot • Nov 29, 2010 9:02 pm
Then imagine how tiny they'd be without all the milk; infinitesimal.
monster • Nov 29, 2010 9:02 pm
could wear doll clothes, though. Mind you, real kid clothes are cheaper.
BigV • Nov 29, 2010 9:47 pm
Note cellar username. I qualify as super tall.

6'4", 250#.

I love it. Yes, I have scars on my head. Yes, playing around on the bed last week earned me a bent ceiling fan blade. Yes, I can put the palms of my hands on the ceiling. Yes, I can bump my head on the lintels in my house if I rise up on my toes a bit. Yes, my feet hang over then end of my california king mattress. Normal inseam, approx 32", but I overcompensate in the torso, with matching forelimbs, complete with pavement scarred knuckles. My wingspan slightly exceeds my height. Back in the day, I was an excellent swimmer and had considerable advantages in water polo. I can always be found in the back row of all group pictures.

Like footfootfoot(footfootfoot), it is an uncommon surprise of looking up at other people in conversation. This also makes me wonder if shorter people have a similar experience (Wow. That guy is tall.) when speaking to me.
monster • Nov 29, 2010 9:57 pm
I hate it when beest "hides" things on top of the fridge. It's a safe place in plain sight to him (he's 6'2", I'm 5'4")
kerosene • Nov 29, 2010 11:58 pm
My husband does that, too, monster, but he is only 6'1" and I am 5'5".
footfootfoot • Nov 30, 2010 10:30 am
Above our fridge height?
monster • Nov 30, 2010 12:59 pm
ha
ha
ha

I think I'm in pain now.
Urbane Guerrilla • Nov 30, 2010 3:30 pm
At 6'1" I'm taller than a great many, such that a man more than two inches taller than me is something noteworthy. I don't call six-one "super-tall" though. Sure, a woman of that altitude is quite the tall gal -- imposing in heeled boots -- but these have also been common American fare since the late 1970s. The wife's 5'4".
J.D.DIAMOND • Nov 30, 2010 5:03 pm
monster;696642 wrote:
Are you tall, short, or average and how do you feel about it? I'm average, but I'd really like to be a little taller -not super-tall, but maybe 5'7" (female average is 5'3" US 5'4" UK, I'm 5'4")


Image


Hey monster,maybe you could stretch yourself out to 6 feet on one of these...no? lofl!! J/k Lets see if you have a sense of humor lol!
BigV • Nov 30, 2010 6:01 pm
"Ve haf vays off making you taller!"
monster • Nov 30, 2010 8:57 pm
Nice rack, shame about...
J.D.DIAMOND • Nov 30, 2010 11:17 pm
monster;697393 wrote:
Nice rack, shame about...


I thought you'd get a kick out of it ha! It doesn't matter how tall you are,and I'm sure you've put a few blokes in thier place that were taller than you in your time am I right? Nice to see you have a sense of humor! :thumb2: