Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 10 replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 19 years, 4 months ago by
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- Why is it OK for girls to be short, but guys get a tough time?
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Name : David, Gender : M, City : Auckland, State : NA Country : New Zealand,I think it may go back to some basic instinct that humans possess, that men should be protectors, big and burly. In general, height is associated with age, power and manliness. On the other hand, being short is generally associated with youth, innocence and femininity. I'm 5'8". I've always been seen as older. My mother is 5'1", and people try to say they honestly think I'm the mother.User Detail :
Name : Sandie28297, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 23, City : Memphis, State : TN Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Why is it OK for guys to be tall, but only women who are slender supermodels are acceptable as tall?User Detail :
Name : Jessica, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 23, City : Huntsville, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Because for a long, long time, society considered a man's primary worth to be what he could accomplish physically (chopping wood, hauling hay, etc.), and short men were seen as physically inferior. Tall men were also seen as better protectors of the family due to their size. Thank goodness that's not always true. Unfortunately, even today the attitude of 'tall = masculine' prevails.Notice I didn't say 'masculine = tall' - tall women are also seen as 'manlier' than their petite counterparts, but in our case it's not necessarily a good thing. As a woman who is 5'11", I have often dated shorter guys (5'2"- 5'7") who told me that if we ever ended up in a situation where our personal safety was threatened, he would be depending on me to protect him. So obviously this whole concept translates to both genders.
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Name : Tracy24854, Gender : F, Age : 30, City : Edmond, State : OK Country : United States,Women are 'supposed' to be shorter than men - in most Western cultures, at least. This assumption dates back to the time when the 'authorities' assumed that because women are, in general, shorter than men, they must also be weaker, have smaller brains, be less intelligent and so forth. People still have a prejudice against men who are short because they threaten those assumptions of what masculinity is supposed to be. Short men are almost perceived as 'feminine,' or at least weaker specimens of manhood, even though that is not the case. Short women, however, fit neatly into what gender stereotypes expect women to be: petite, demure, cute and so forth. Short men are called 'wimps' or 'shrimps' for having this same trait. See what I mean?It used to go for tall women, too - tall women were seen as amazons, as pseudo-men. Nowadays, though, most tall women don't have to deal with that stigma (the fear of looking masculine because of their height) as long as they're appropriately feminine - probably because all the supermodels are super-tall, and they're supposed to be the standard of beauty.
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Name : Stephanie, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Lesbian, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 23, City : Norman, State : OK Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,How come it's OK for men but not women to be fat? People look at my fiance and see 'successful businessman' but they look at me and see 'fatwoman'.User Detail :
Name : Flora21805, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual monogamous, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Noachide, Age : 23, City : Exeter, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : Grad student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,You seem to be implying that it's more accepted to be overweight and short than overweight and tall. That's absurd. It's easier for the tall to appear slender than the short because the fat can be spread out more (and thus be less noticeable) on a tall person than a short person. In any case, an overweight person can do something about being overweight. A short person cannot help being short (nor should they have to since there are no bad health effects connected with being short as there are with being overweight).User Detail :
Name : Rick29903, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, City : Springfield, State : OH Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,This is a cultural thing stemming from A. the protector/provider must be big and strong and B. it is much harder to look down on someone who is taller than you. Many religions/cultures consider women as second class citizens, who must be protected/kept in their place. If the person is stronger/taller, it is harder to do that. As a side note,I am 5'4' and have rarely dated a woman shorter than I am, as there aren't many. My girlfriend is 6' tall. If there were trouble, I would expect her to get out of the way so I could deal with the trouble without having to worry that she would get hurt.User Detail :
Name : David, City : Tacoma, State : WA Country : United States,David: My boyfriend is short; an inch taller than me (5'2). I love him to bits and I don't even think about his height! He's confident, outgoing, and takes pride in his looks. Girls: If you've got a short guy and you know he's sensitive about it-focus on some of the attributes he has that you know he's bound to feel good about!User Detail :
Name : Kit26407, City : Girl town, State : NA Country : Canada,Women can only be so short. You get under about 5'4' and they start getting teased just as much. Heaven help women who don't make it to 5 feet, they'll never hear the end of it. (If you can't tell I'm 5'3' tall and constantly hear about how short I am)User Detail :
Name : Meiran, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 24, City : Roanoke, State : VA Country : United States, Occupation : Writer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I personally love short men, because in my experience they are used to being overlooked/ridiculed, and therefore have developed better personalities than the tall, more 'manly' men. This also means that they are usually more eager to please as lovers. I try to help out the shorter guys by sharing this discovery with every female I come into conversation with. I do what I can. ( :User Detail :
Name : Rina, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 22, City : Royal Palm Beach, State : FL Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class,
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