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“People Won’t Respect You As Much”: 30 Short People Share Things Tall Folks Don’t Understand
The average height varies between countries, but in the US, it's 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm) for men and 5 feet 3.5 inches (161 cm) for women.
If you're above or below these measurements, you might notice a few traits specific to your size. Interested in the latter group, one Reddit user made a post on the platform, asking people who consider themselves short to share the problems that they think taller folks will never truly understand.
From attending concerts to carrying backpacks, here are some of the things that they've mentioned.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
The overhead visor isn’t going to do anything against the sun.
PeepPeep the duck 9 months ago
I use a hair clip to clip a piece of cardboard on the visor where the sun is, but only on interstate long drives
#2
We don't need to ever clean those top shelves you say are dirty. I don't see them. Thus, they do not exist.
zububonsai 9 months ago (edited)
On the other side, I wish I'd never seen the underside of the kitchen drawers that hung above the oven in my airBnB flat in London (in a posh borough). First errand I ran was for Latex gloves and cleaning supplies.... 🫣😬😱🤢😖 ,*smol person problem*
#3
It makes me feel unsafe if you talk about how easily you can pick me up and take me. Or how easily someone could overpower me. why would you tell me that when I'm already afraid of it happening.
Tracy Wallick 9 months ago (edited)
I think a lot of women can relate to this, it's just even worse when you're petite. If it's any consolation, it also means you'd be easier to rescue in the event of an emergency like a fire.
#4
Most short people can’t sit with their back against the back of a chair or sofa AND have their feet touch the floor. Without a pillow behind them it gets uncomfortable quickly. A lot of guys make fun of all the decorative pillows, but they also serve a function.
pineapple87 9 months ago
This! Guys always complain about my throw pillows and I'm like "if it's in your way, give it to me! I will take all that I can get"
#5
When you’re in a crowd of people, you can’t see a damn thing!
dogballet:
I'm 5ft tall and I have almost never enjoyed a live music event in my life.
zububonsai 9 months ago (edited)
Though, there's been TWO exceptions that made me feel not "too short for life": in January 2020 at a "The HU" Concert in Berlin, a second before they shot to fame. They are a Mongolian band, so half of the audience were Mongolians (4'5''-5'2''?), even the Ambassador of Mongolia to Germany was there (,on a balcony). I'm 5'1'' and could stand in the middle! of! the! crowd! and still see the band over the peoples' heads.Awesome. (In 2023 there was a much more "standard German white bun" crowd aka 3-6'' taller than me 😢).
#6
If you walk normally I have to basically power walk. Even if you tell them, either they don't seem to understand, can't adapt on short notice or don't care.
#7
That people won't respect you as much as a tall person in a professional setting.
Prosperous_Petiole:
4'8 here. Customers at my work often think I'm the trainee. I'm the manager.
Kira Okah 9 months ago
4'11. I've never been treated as "the trainee" at work in retail/fast food when the manager, nope. Coworkers and customers alike instead treated me like an impetulant toddler.
María Hermida 9 months ago
This is even worse if you are a man, I think. People in general have these stereotypes about men and women so ingrained that we don't realise they are just stereotypes. Men are supposed to be tall and strong-looking, and have a deep voice. A male friend of mine had a high-pitched voice and a lot of adult people make fun of him. He is very intelligent but he avoids talking as much as possible. Even unimportant details in your physical appearance can have an enormous impact in your life.
Donkey boi 9 months ago
A former boss of mine was an incredibly short woman (4ft2). She had the respect of the entire office, excluding senior management. Don't know what their problem was with her, but we loved her. When she told us she was leaving, about 40 people handed in their notice. The company ended up closing the office and relocating up North.
Rebecca McManus 9 months ago
5' here, I'm the manager and have to wear 3" heels to convince people
kelliewhyte_85 9 months ago (edited)
I was 22 at the shops and I was sick sitting on a bench hunched over waiting for my fiance to finish shopping, and a man my age came up to me and asked where my parents were.
ShyWahine 9 months ago
But we do get mistaken for being at least 5-10 years younger that we really are, a lot of the times...
Sand Ers 9 months ago
That's not entirely a bad thing. People have pegged me 5 to 10 years younger than I am all my life.
Load More Replies...
D. Pitbull 9 months ago
Oh.. it's true. In a group talking about something that I literally got my degree in... and... every single one of them either didn't go to post-sec at all or majored in a completely unrelated field... absolutely none of them take what I say as 'valid' - nothing. I said something about liking marmosets, because they're tiny monkeys - and someone said "So, like, not a real monkey"... and they simply would not believe that a marmoset was a type of primate at all. Nope. I could not POSSIBLY know such a thing (that could even be easily looked up online)
MushroomHead22 9 months ago
how does being short correlate to being trained? they think you're a kid iguess?
TheGoodBoi 9 months ago
This so much. A lot of corporate people I've met/know are big huge specimens. 90% are idiots and don't know what they're doing but have the title
detective miller's hat 9 months ago
I'm 5'. A number of friends and co-workers have told me that I "seem taller" than I really am.
#8
If I gain 5lbs I may need a different size pants. 5lbs is so much to a person with no place to put it.
missdawn1970:
OMG, yes! I'm 5 feet tall, and gaining even 2 pounds makes my pants and skirts dig into my waist.
#9
In crowds it can become difficult to breathe. Taller people can reach the fresh air, but I’m trapped under where everyone else is breathing out.
#10
My space matters too. I also like to be comfortable. I don't appreciate being squeezed into the smallest space all the time "because it's easier". I don't want the s****y seat, bed, etc. every time we travel.
Being told constantly that you just need to roll with whatever because your comfort matters least HONESTLY had an effect on me.
Tempest 9 months ago
I’m average height but really skinny and I get this same treatment. I’m always expected to squeeze into the tightest spaces. Once some friends and I hired a car to go on a hike at a location that was about a 6 hour ride from our place (one way) and the car had one less seat that the number in our group so naturally I was made to sit on a pile of bags in the space between two seats for the whole duration of the trip up and down. I had back pain for days afterwards.
#11
How difficult it is to get clothes out the bottom of a top loading washer. I have repurposed some kitchen tongs to be used as laundry tongs.
#12
Y’all tall b**ches need to stop hovering over toilets and making them wet and gross. Short women cannot hover pee, and we should not have to. If no one hovered this would not be an issue.
#13
Being used as an armrest is annoying, and not peak humor that some tall people think it is.
"Disembodied voice" 9 months ago
Depends on the person, it's silly couples humor for me and my partner
#14
People really do show preferential treatment to tall men and discriminate against short men.
#15
That annoying, tip of the fingers making the thing turn around instead of being able to grab it off an upper shelf.
Little king trash mouth 9 months ago
Ugh or you just push it further back! I wanted cookies the other day at my in-laws. They were on the tippy top shelf. Now, No one cares if I eat cookies but I didn't really need to announce to the whole house that I needed help gaining access to said cookies. Frustrating!
#16
I have rocked out calves because I go up on tiptoes twenty times a day.
detective miller's hat 9 months ago
I never thought about that.... As chubby as I get (and I'm pretty darn chubby at this stage of my life :/ ), my leg muscles are always rock solid.
#17
How awesome it is to be able to pull the covers up to your chin without having your feet sticking out from under the duvet even when you’re lying stretched out on the bed.
#18
**I'm still a m***********g adult.**
I am a 43-year-old adult who has been working in my career for **20 f*****g years.**
I am a grown-up. Just because I'm the height of the average 12-year-old and also have a baby face and also just happen to be traditionally attractive does not mean that I am not a *serious f*****g adult.* This has been my biggest pet peeve since I was in my 20s, where at my first job out of college everyone assumed I was not a college intern, but someone who somehow was in high school yet coming to an office job from 8 to 5 every day?!
Just because we're short doesn't mean we're actually children. For the love of God, I am begging all of you to please remember this whenever you deal with a professional adult who just doesn't happen to be as tall as most adults.
Kare Deter 9 months ago
When I went to rent my first apartment the landlord refused to rent to a "13 year old". I LITERALLY had to bring my father back to the guy to convince the guy I was 20. like wtf. He was sure my license was fake.
#19
Every time I go to see a movie or play, I hope that a kid is sitting in front of me, otherwise I can't see the stage/screen.
#20
No chairs are made for me. At 5’3, my feet always dangle and worsen my sciatica. It feels dumb to feel like a toddler in every chair.
Little king trash mouth 9 months ago
I would kill to be 5'3"! Ok so I'm only 5'2" but about 100x a day I wish I was just one inch taller to reach the thing juuuuuuust out of my reach.
#21
We see up into your nostrils all the time.
Javelina Poppers 9 months ago (edited)
At least have the decency to let us know if we're about to have a hanger.
#22
Even if the object isn’t that heavy, if my arms can’t wrap comfortable around to hold it, I can’t carry it.
#23
The joy of going to Japan and finally having counters and cupboards in your size.
Laura Mortensen 9 months ago
When I taught English in South Korea, it made me feel tall. (I'm 5'2")
#24
I'm not eating small portions to starve myself, I'm eating small portions because if I consume more than 1300 calories a day I'll gain weight.
#25
Carrying pretty much anything in bags or under arms is heavier because our arms are shorter. The bags or whatever we're carrying would probably drag on the floor if we left our arms hanging at full length. So we gotta bend them up, and sustain that muscle contracted all the way home.
Tall people can just grab a bag, and let their arms relax.
#27
Always having to find the step stool that they've moved.
Kimmer 9 months ago
This!! ... My family know I have to use stools all over, and sometimes I have to go searching. But they have to move them out of the way to get to what they need AND can reach. I have them in several rooms of the house and in front of the washing machine. So, to be fair I am outnumbered 6 to one and don't mind having to look for my stool, cause if I can't find one I just call out to hubby to help me (he knows I will kiss him if he does, double the benefit for me). There are many times I know exactly where a stool is and call hubby to help anyway.... HAHA!
#28
As a shorter guy (5'5"M), you can literally be invisible in a group. At parties or gatherings, I've often had experiences where taller people will introduce themselves to each other and simply not notice me. I've learned to be more assertive, but it's annoying AF when it happens all the time.
Sven Horlemann 9 months ago
I get that. Still... sounds like a superpower to me. I often whish people would NOT take note of me (6'5 here).
#29
The world is not designed for short people. As mentioned in other comments, items on higher shelves aren't easy to reach and dangling feet when sitting on a toilet or in a chair sucks. Consider my own 4'10" pet peeve... the average countertop height should reach the average person around mid-hip or thereabouts. This allows for hands to be in an ideal ergonomic position to do whatever. But for us short people, the countertop height trends upward to somewhere torso level making doing things at counter height just... miserable. I hate cooking, doing dishes, etc. simply because after a little while, my neck, shoulders, and back ache from extending my arms up and out rather than out and down like everyone else. I imagine taller than average folks have similar issues with needing to stoop down to reach the counter.
PeepPeep the duck 9 months ago
Once I learnt about air bags in cars, it just plays in my mind a lot. They scare me
#30
People treat you like your lesser of a person. Like hell I’m 38, I’ve been through a lot of s**t. just because I’m 4’11” doesn’t mean I’m not worthy of respect. Damnit.
What do you think ?
Kare Deter 9 months ago
A lot of comments on automobiles, but I didn't see this one : even with an adjustable seatbelt height I get STRANGLED. I am terrified that if I'm ever in an accident I'll be decapitated by the bloody thing.
Ronstantin 9 months ago
There was a lot in there that I wasn't aware of. I hope this thread will lead to more understanding and consideration. It did for me.
sadmrguna 9 months ago
Can I just add that (as a woman) most clothing is not the correct proportions, and the waist of anything ever so slightly fitted does not "align" with my waist? It always meets my lower stomach where my body gets wider again. This means I either have to put up with bunched up fabric round my waist or pull up my shoulders all the time. Or just always wear loose, baggy clothes. Super annoying!
Philip Rutter 9 months ago
I'm a 6'1" guy; married to a 5"0" woman; 20 years. Pretty much every complaint here is valid. We mostly cope day to day without commenting- this is just FACT, we can deal with it. "Hey, I can't reach this..." is just normal. And yes, the bed is too damn short for my legs; costs me sleep every night. Once or twice a year we'll tease each other about height- when we know the other is in the right mood. Wife is a black belt in Taekwando - has used it- and in most cases aholes can SEE it in her body language before she has to use it, and back off. Highly recommend some martial art - it shines through all day.
BookFanatic 9 months ago
I'm 5' 9" and my bestie is 4' 10". Her favorite threat is "Careful, I'll bite your ankles!" We've been friend for 20+ years. 😊
Michael Largey 9 months ago
When asked her height, on of my shorter students used to reply "I'm five foot three - in four inch heels."
Stormblessed 9 months ago
At amusement parks I have to prove I'm over 10/11/12. Yeah I'm young and short but my face doesn't look like I'm 8 and my body sure as hell doesn't! Also the things about short people jokes; with my friends I'm fine and even I make the jokes about my height. Yeah it's weird if someone you don't know does it, but with friends it's not a big deal.
zububonsai 9 months ago
At a recent flight families with children were seated first, so I followed my 10 years old daughter into the airplane. She was handed a children's game. Me too. Which I found funny and flattering: I am 5'1'', okay, but... at 45, and graying, having bóobs... 😆
Steve Hall 9 months ago
The last one to know when it rains but the first to know when it floods.
Just Another Girl 9 months ago
My 6’2” dad finally understood that my 5’3” couldn’t see the same things he could. When I pointed out what eye level was for me he was shocked.
Sand Ers 9 months ago
I had to point that one out to a 6'2" customer who couldn't understand why (5'6") I couldn't find things on the top shelves in his tool room.
Load More Replies...
mysterious(all pronouns) 9 months ago
Instruments are a struggle. I'm 5'1", have tiny little hands, and I can't play all the chords on a guitar because my hands don't stretch that far. Also, I play a 3/4 cello because it's easier to properly do the fingerings.
Kirsty Jackowski 9 months ago
The problem with toilets is a big one especially when you research the correct position. My feet dangle or just reach the ground, not ideal.
Winterforge 9 months ago
I'm 6'2". I've made a point of offering help to people in the grocery store who appear to be having problems with the higher shelves. I don't mind it, and I've been doing it all my life.
Maisey Myles 9 months ago
My advantage is my neck has no wrinkles because im always looking up
Kare Deter 9 months ago
A lot of comments on automobiles, but I didn't see this one : even with an adjustable seatbelt height I get STRANGLED. I am terrified that if I'm ever in an accident I'll be decapitated by the bloody thing.
Ronstantin 9 months ago
There was a lot in there that I wasn't aware of. I hope this thread will lead to more understanding and consideration. It did for me.
sadmrguna 9 months ago
Can I just add that (as a woman) most clothing is not the correct proportions, and the waist of anything ever so slightly fitted does not "align" with my waist? It always meets my lower stomach where my body gets wider again. This means I either have to put up with bunched up fabric round my waist or pull up my shoulders all the time. Or just always wear loose, baggy clothes. Super annoying!
Philip Rutter 9 months ago
I'm a 6'1" guy; married to a 5"0" woman; 20 years. Pretty much every complaint here is valid. We mostly cope day to day without commenting- this is just FACT, we can deal with it. "Hey, I can't reach this..." is just normal. And yes, the bed is too damn short for my legs; costs me sleep every night. Once or twice a year we'll tease each other about height- when we know the other is in the right mood. Wife is a black belt in Taekwando - has used it- and in most cases aholes can SEE it in her body language before she has to use it, and back off. Highly recommend some martial art - it shines through all day.
BookFanatic 9 months ago
I'm 5' 9" and my bestie is 4' 10". Her favorite threat is "Careful, I'll bite your ankles!" We've been friend for 20+ years. 😊
Michael Largey 9 months ago
When asked her height, on of my shorter students used to reply "I'm five foot three - in four inch heels."
Stormblessed 9 months ago
At amusement parks I have to prove I'm over 10/11/12. Yeah I'm young and short but my face doesn't look like I'm 8 and my body sure as hell doesn't! Also the things about short people jokes; with my friends I'm fine and even I make the jokes about my height. Yeah it's weird if someone you don't know does it, but with friends it's not a big deal.
zububonsai 9 months ago
At a recent flight families with children were seated first, so I followed my 10 years old daughter into the airplane. She was handed a children's game. Me too. Which I found funny and flattering: I am 5'1'', okay, but... at 45, and graying, having bóobs... 😆
Steve Hall 9 months ago
The last one to know when it rains but the first to know when it floods.
Just Another Girl 9 months ago
My 6’2” dad finally understood that my 5’3” couldn’t see the same things he could. When I pointed out what eye level was for me he was shocked.
Sand Ers 9 months ago
I had to point that one out to a 6'2" customer who couldn't understand why (5'6") I couldn't find things on the top shelves in his tool room.
Load More Replies... mysterious(all pronouns) 9 months ago
Instruments are a struggle. I'm 5'1", have tiny little hands, and I can't play all the chords on a guitar because my hands don't stretch that far. Also, I play a 3/4 cello because it's easier to properly do the fingerings.
Kirsty Jackowski 9 months ago
The problem with toilets is a big one especially when you research the correct position. My feet dangle or just reach the ground, not ideal.
Winterforge 9 months ago
I'm 6'2". I've made a point of offering help to people in the grocery store who appear to be having problems with the higher shelves. I don't mind it, and I've been doing it all my life.
Maisey Myles 9 months ago
My advantage is my neck has no wrinkles because im always looking up
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