Posted by medlib on January 19, 2002, at 13:50:30
In reply to height and weight, posted by janejj on January 16, 2002, at 15:13:53
> Something that has been bugging me for a while is my weight. I'm 5'7 and have always felt that I tower over other people and I feel terribly self concious about it.
-------------------------------------------------Hi Jane--
Do you live on the east coast? It's the only place in the US that I can envision 5'7" ever being considered tall (except, perhaps, the Asian or Hispanic communities on the west coast).
Although the term "tall" is defined by statistical averaging, *perceived* height is influenced primarily by context and, to a lesser degree, by age, ethnicity and height-to-weight ratio. "Tall" is weakly associated with youth, northern European ethnic background and greater height/weight ratio. Thus, very thin people are estimated to be taller than their actual height; heavier-than-average people are seen as shorter than they are.
Also, as absurd as it sounds now, I remember studies from long ago that asserted that people tended to view taller people as more intelligent; and they were more willing to accept leadership and authority from a taller person than from a shorter peer. Maybe, these attitudes partially explain why "thin" is "in". (Hopefully, such prejudices have weakened over time as racial stereotypes have.)
I'll conclude (finally!) with 2 largely irrelevant facts and an opinion.
--Most modeling agencies require applicants to be at least 5'9", and we're a model-obsessed society.
--A clothing truism: the more expensive the garments, the more generous the sizing.
--I've found that most insecurities are based on erroneous assumptions. However, knowing this does not make them go away--emotion always overrules logic.As always, more than you wanted to know from an intellectual junk collector---medlib
P.S. My daughter is 5'9"+ and my son, over 6'. Neither are considered particularly tall in Texas.
poster:medlib
thread:16844
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20020112/msgs/16976.html