🇬🇧 Gwendoline Christie and the choices of tall women

In the previous text I talked about men in high heels. In this one I talk about tall women and the impact of common sense on their choices. Actress Gwendoline Christie, Larissa Weems from the series Wednesday, is 1.91 m tall and has already said that when she decided to be a film actress people around her said it would be difficult due to her height. I also saw she said that in the series Wednesday is the first time that she thinks she is beautiful on screen, because in other roles her image tended to be masculinised, usually without makeup, that feature that so many women love.

Many of us live in a society that is still very sexist and even women have sexist thoughts. And the beliefs we hold affect our choices. Including our style and career choices. Do not read this text thinking about the oppressor and the oppressed. It is a mistake. Think of individual responsibility. In what you do that reinforces your belief of being "oppressed", for example. I mentioned Gwendoline Christie because, from the little information I had about her, she didn't surrender to what the people around her said and believed in her ability to build the career she chose, the life she chose.

There is a lot of talk about “beauty standards”, and it is curious to note that even though all runway models are tall, ordinary women who are tall often feel uncomfortable with their height. Which reinforces what I said in another text I published here on the website about representation.

It is common for tall women not even to wear heels, which seems not to be a problem for Gwendoline Christie. In a text I wrote in 2008 on the subject, many women, some even shorter than me, who am 1.75 m, said that they don't wear heels because they would look much taller than their friends and boyfriends. I've been wearing heels since I was a kid and one of my best friends in high school was a ballerina. And, of course, shorter than me. And we keep in touch today, even almost thirty years after finishing high school.

About love relationships, where does the need for a taller man come from? Gwendoline's partner is 6cm shorter than her (according to information I found on the internet). Why would it be embarrassing for a woman to date a shorter man? Why would it be embarrassing for a man to date a taller woman? Height we cannot change. It's one of those things that you either accept yours or you accept it. Heels can make someone look taller, but they also convey other messages. Among them, that of assuming your personal power. And this is also possible for tall women. As I commented in the previous text, if even tall men wear heels, there is no reason for tall women to limit themselves to shoes without heels.

Certainly, the way people educate their daughters interferes with these impressions, as well as what is publicised by the local media. In Brazil, it is common to repress girls who act like boys, who sit with their legs apart, or cross their legs in order to occupy more space, as it is common for men to do. I know the weight of the family's opinion in a child's head, but I assume that those who read my content are adults. It's already easier to question, even very ingrained beliefs in the mind.

About career, in adolescence I often heard that I should be a volleyball player. I was very bad at team sports, including football, which I played until I was about 12 years old at a time when women's football did not exist in Brazil. Once they invited me to play volleyball on the school team because I was tall. I knew almost nothing. No one at school or on the team offered to teach me. One day I went to my cousin's house and we played until I learned, at least, how to serve the ball. Nobody told me we had a game that day and when I got to school I found out that the team lost by W.O. I only won because I solved the “problem” of not knowing how to play volleyball. And I preferred to follow professional paths where my creativity is more relevant than my physique. Today I see professional athletes in a different way.

How much do you let other people's opinions of your height influence your decisions? Are you submissive to the opinions of family members and close people or do you seek to build a life that exalts your qualities? 

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Nycka, the Nomad