AIBU?
To think a lot of people assume everyone is tall?
SleepDreamThinkHuge · 11/09/2022 08:23
I have noticed that people seem to think everyone is tall. In their definition they see "tall" as 6 foot or over for men and over 5 foot 7 for women. But in reality, that is not the case. In the UK, someone who is 6 foot (man) is
Am I being unreasonable?
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Fizbosshoes · 11/09/2022 08:37
halfsiesonapotnoodle · 11/09/2022 08:27
I'm 4ft 11. Everyone is tall and they don't give the slightest thought to the fact that some of us really struggle to reach, to see, to use mirrors put up by wankers etc!
Haha me too.
Everyone is tall to me. DC friends from about 9 or 10 proudly used to tell me they're taller than me.
I know, I'm short, not not unobservant!
DD is 5ft 1. She has 1 friend who is 5ft 4' and 1 who is 5ft 6. The rest are all taller. I think average heights are getting taller unfairly!
MrsToothyBitch · 11/09/2022 08:40
I'm 5'3. Everyone is tall to me including people I know aren't all that tall. Logically the average height isn't actually all that tall but I feel short compared to most people, apart from my 4'8 former colleague.
DP is 6ft though. My local girl friends are all about my height, the tallest is 5'4. When he's occasionally invited to come out with us all as the lone male we call him Gulliver amongst the Lilliputians!
SleepDreamThinkHuge · 11/09/2022 08:41
I am saying that the reality is different than the perception some people may have. Just because you or I have people in our family that are over 6 foot does not mean that is the average. Not to mention other factors also play a part e.g. ethnicity, nationality etc. And height is more relative. So if you are a 5 foot woman someone who is 5 foot 6 (man) will be tall for you. But if you are a 5 foot 10 woman you might think that someone who is 6 foot (man) is not tall for you.
J0y · 11/09/2022 08:41
I'm 5'1" so I am very aware of comments from posters 5'7" labelling themselves average on mumsnet. It's far from unusual on here. Luckily in real life it doesn't seem to happen. There is some kind of unnecessary denial going on, or is it a false modesty?? "oh gosh me? tall? no no im just 5'7"."
It's so odd.
Montague22 · 11/09/2022 08:41
I’ve read the post as you think the world is designed for tall people.
If you mean that 75% aren’t tall you are probably right. But there’s a lot of average people. Then there’s the short people eg women under 5ft 4.
I think a lot of men falsely claim to be tall ‘about 6ft’
Some short women may also wear heels so mag look taller than they actually are.
MaryJoLisa · 11/09/2022 08:45
I'm 5'7 and consider myself very average. Other than my mum, I think most women I know are around my height, which does make me, in my world, average.
Unfortunately genetics chose to compose my height of long body and legs like a dachshund, so trousers are still impossible to find.
Coughee · 11/09/2022 08:46
I agree with dudsville. I don't think 'people thinking everyone is tall' is really a thing. I think - as is evidenced by most people who are shorter than average on this thread - most people understand that tall to them doesn't mean statistically tall. And I don't think I've ever heard 6ft men described as anything other than tall
miserablecat · 11/09/2022 08:47
itsgettingweird · 11/09/2022 08:36
Absolutely agree.
I was very surprised yesterday watching King Charles, QC Camilla and P. William stood side by side. I thought that K Charles was tall - I did t realise P. William was so tall.
Yet I still couldn't guess at exactly how tall any of them are.
Penguinsaregreat · 11/09/2022 08:28
Yo find it hard to judge if someone is tall/short unless I am stood next to them. It’s all proportional. So if I see someone on tv I can make assumptions but it could be everyone they are Attis next to are also tall/short if that makes sense.
I don’t really care though. It’s not like you can help it.
The new Prince and Princess of Wales (or Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as they were at the time) looked like giants next to the Queen at the platinum Jubilee, when they were on the balcony. Although I think the Queen had shrunken in stature.
Foldingchair · 11/09/2022 08:47
I'm 5'9. I'm tall. Most of the people I know are smaller than me. Lots and lots of men are smaller than me, or they are when I wear heels.
The world is definitely not designed for tall women. Hence clothes with short arms and bodies. Pram handles. Shopping trolleys.
OiFrogg · 11/09/2022 08:49
J0y · 11/09/2022 08:41
I'm 5'1" so I am very aware of comments from posters 5'7" labelling themselves average on mumsnet. It's far from unusual on here. Luckily in real life it doesn't seem to happen. There is some kind of unnecessary denial going on, or is it a false modesty?? "oh gosh me? tall? no no im just 5'7"."
It's so odd.
How old are you? I'm 5'6 and absolutely average for my generation (I'm in my 30s). Clothes aimed at people my age are almost always the correct length. Id say 5'7 is 'on the tall side' but I certainly wouldn't say it is tall amongst my peers. However my 70 year old mother in law is that height and she does appear tall for her generation. And that's the crux - people are getting taller. A 6' 21 year old male is completely unremarkable. If he were 80 he'd be seen as tall. The percentiles used to measure children are from the 80s and midwives/HVs are used to seeing children off the scale for height. My daughter has always been exactly on the 50th line but for a child born in the late 2010s this makes her slightly below average. My niece was above the 98th for height and is far from unusually tall.
StopFeckingFaffing · 11/09/2022 08:49
@Sunnyqueen is spot on
I don't think you can use the average height in the UK to compare though can you. That average height is going to include 18 year olds. etc who especially for men haven't stopped growing yet and all the little old ladies and old men who have shrunk since they've become elderly. So the 'average' height will be short in comparison.
The official UK stats do not reflect people's heights in their 'prime'. There is no way that the 5'4" is 'average' for a UK adult female before any old age shrinkage has occurred. That would mean that if you are a 5'4" female there are just as many women smaller than you as there are taller than you which is clearly bollocks! (unless you are comparing yourself to the residents in an elderly care home)
BusySittingDown · 11/09/2022 08:52
I'm 5'2 and usually feel average. I think I just have short friends! 
I went to the DDs' school and felt tiny as the year 11s stampeded out of school. They were all huge.
DD1 is 5'9 and she's very tall to me. Her friends are all much taller than me too.
Clunkclicksuckmydick · 11/09/2022 08:58
I'm sure there are regional differences too. It certainly seems there are more shorter people in NE where live. I'm 5ft 2 and don't feel tiny here.
When I go down south everyone seems much much taller.
And especially if mixing with wealthier classes! I don't know if there's any truth in that?
SpiritedSneeze · 11/09/2022 09:02
I am average woman height (5'4) but in many situations I feel short because practically, I don't bracket peoples heights into men and women. Its not like we get sepearate lower shelves or anything - if the world is built for men it is going to be a bit too tall.
If I am in a crowd at a festival, I am shorter that almost all of the men and about half of the women (more if they wear heels) so even though I know I am average for a woman- I still feel short because I can't see the stage and the huge majority of people are taller than me.
Same works in my family, I am 5'4 but my mum and sisters are 5'9-5'11 and my dad and brothers are 6'2-6'5 so at home I am very short. They frequently joke about me being tiny and in family pictures I do look ridiculously small.
So in my world I am short a lot of the time even though I know for a woman I am average.
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