Short vs. Tall: Which Girl Has it Better?

Illustration courtesy of Ahmara Smith.

Being 5’3” I’ve been called short several times in my life. My go-to response is, “I am Chinese! What did you expect?” My mother is only 4’ 11”, so I got off quite lucky. At least I don’t fit the casting calls to play munchkins or elves in the upcoming Hallmark movies. I’ve accepted my fate as a short person. No matter what my parents say, I am in fact no longer growing at the age of 21. However, I can’t help but feel like taller girls have it so much better. This is especially true when I see my mother climbing the shelves at Kroger. She always likes to look down at me and yell, “This will be your future!” 

My roommate who is 5’ 7” disagrees strongly with me. She believes that short girls truly have it better. Therefore, we decided to see what your opinions are on the matter after hearing our compelling arguments. Trust me, they are in fact compelling.

Short Girl POV

Illustration courtesy of Ahmara Smith.

1. Tall girls can reach everything. 

They have never needed to stand on their tip toes to reach the milk in the fridge. Nor have they used their ballerina skills to reach the extras rolls of toilet paper in the closet. In fact, they probably get to use their ballerina skills for actual dancing. Being short, everything that is above my head does not exist until I desperately need it. You never have to bat your eyelashes and ask a random stranger to help you grab something off a shelf either.

2. If you’re tall, you have the option of being a model. 

Yeah, I know that only like .01% of girls fit the model “look” and “body”, but you could at least go to the casting call.

3. If you’re tall, no one assumes you are weak. 

Tiny girls always get asked if they need help carrying things. Everybody assumes Amazon woman like Wonder Woman have got it covered. Or perhaps men prefer to think of girls as damsels in distress.

4. If you’re tall, you can see above people’s heads. 

In a crowd, you always know the fastest way to go. You will never get lost either. You are able to see over everybody and can easily find your friends.

5. If you’re tall, you were probably taken seriously as a child as still are. 

Being tall means that people generally believe that you are older than you are. While being short means that people generally find you to be younger than you are. (Trust me I know). I’m sure you’ll also be carded less at bars as well.

6. If you’re tall, height is never an issue when hugging. 

While you can put your head near the other person’s shoulder, your short friend is awkwardly trying to find a place for theirs. How do I not stab them with my chin? Do I awkwardly turn my head to the side? How is this even comforting anymore?

7. If you’re short, everyone notices you. 

For better or worse, you’ll be remembered.

Tall Girl POV

Hello, I’m the roommate mentioned earlier and I’m here to say there are SO many advantages to being short. A lot of people think that being a ‘tall drink of water’ like me has unlimited perks, and we definitely do have some advantages; we appear strong and sporty and people frequently look up to us — sorry, couldn’t resist! However, a lot more goes into being a model than height and towering over the world can be daunting and awkward in a reality where the average female height is 5’5″. So if you’re a fun-sized lady, try looking at height from our perspective and you’ll find the grass is often greener on the shorter side.

Illustration courtesy of Ahmara Smith.

1. Short girls are always in the front row of pictures. 

During group pictures, short girls always get to be in front of the camera whereas you might catch a glimpse of a half a tall girl’s face or maybe her earlobe in the way back.

2. Short girls can slip through crowds.

Where are the short girls at a concert? Slipping through people’s elbows to get to the mosh pit or crowd-surfing to the front of the stage. Where are the tall girls? On the lawn, looming over people to try and see the screen that shows what’s happening on stage.

3. Others mistake tall girls for human cranes.

Whenever you are out anywhere, someone will inevitably ask you to grab something off a high shelf. Now this is ok when your grandma needs you get a bowl down from the pantry, but when a stranger at Hot Topic asks you to reach for that sweater on the highest rack? B*tch, I don’t work here!

4. Short girls can wear heels whenever they want.

That moment when your friends are all in 5-inch heels and they ask you if you can wear flats out this time.

5. Approaching a short guy is impossible.

A deal breaker for most guys is that they refuse to date a woman more vertically blessed than them because they feel emasculated or some bullsh*t. This largely limits the dating pool where tall women are concerned, even if you think short guys are cute.

6. Hugging short people is super awkward.

Everyone wants to hug the adorable, fun-sized friend. But when you hug a tall girl, her chin is probably going to be resting on your head as she stoops to hug you like your grandmother.

7. Riding in small cars is painful.

My two closest friends at college drive a mini-coup and a beetle. So carpooling gets cramped real fast and I’m always missing the leg space in my Volvo XC90.

8. Shopping for a skirt/dress is unbearable.

Our long legs look good but rest assured it’s near impossible to find a decent skirt or dress that fully covers our butt. Also, unless a tall girl wants to look like she ate a piece of the growing cake in Alice in Wonderland, hipster rompers or overalls are not an option.

Who do you think has it better: tall or short ladies? Let us know in the comment section below.

• height
• humor
• model