8 Brutal Truths About Dating A Short Girl (As Written By One)
High heels are our best friends — even if we complain about them.
Stanislav Photographer / Shutterstock I’m a short woman.
That’s a truth that I came to terms with when l turned 13 and realized my reign as one of the tallest girls in elementary school had ended; I just stopped growing and was now destined to be one of the short girls for life.
In high school, everyone else loomed over five feet, but not me. My mother used to tell me not to lose hope, that I had until I was 21 years old to gain a few inches, so I hoped and measured myself every year.
I'm proud to say that from a meager 5’0" high school freshman I grew into a 5’2" twenty-something who, ironically, happens to be dating a 6’0" giant.
Although he thinks the height difference is adorable, there are probably a few things he would have wanted to know before dating a shortie.
Short people might not be able to reach the highest shelves, but what we lack in size we may up for in spit-fire attitude! We're fun and lovable, and even if we need to be in the front of every photo and crowd so that we can see, we're still fiercely independent... until there's something that even climbing on the counter to reach in the cabinet can't fix!
So what are some pros and cons of dating a short person versus a tall girl?
Well, here are eight things that you might want to be aware of before (and during and after) your time spent dating short girls!
1. Bending over will become an art form.
Even if we go up on our tip-toes and stretch our arms as far as they can go just to hug you, you still have to bend. You want to kiss us? You either have to sit down or bend down.
Meeting the family and realizing that the short height gene runs rampant? We apologize in advance for your future visits to the chiropractor.
2. Your clothes won't just be loose on us; they’ll be gargantuan.
Some guys like it when their girlfriends wear their clothes but on short girls, your plain old t-shirt is basically a dress. Pair it with a sparkly belt and high heels and we’re ready for a night out in town.
3. We're perfectly aware of our height, so stop bringing it up!
You may think it’s cute and adorable to say, "Aww, babe, you’re so cute and tiny." But hearing it over and over and over again? It just makes some of us more aware of how child-like we look, which brings up insecurities.
You don’t want that. And it’s just not nice. We don’t constantly ask about the weather up there, do we?
4. We’ll complain about high heels but wear them anyway.
The next time your short girl complains about wearing high heels on date night, just nod and and be sympathetic. High heels can be ruinous to feet! We know this already but we'll still wear them just for the euphoria of being three inches taller than normal.
Besides, you’ll get a bit of relief, too — you won't have to bend down so far to kiss us!
5. We need help grabbing the stuff from the higher shelves.
Sometimes, we won’t ask for help. (You know, pride and all.) But when even a stepladder still can't get us there, screw pride — you are our salvation to fetching that desired box of Lucky Charms from the highest shelf at Target.
6. Please ask before picking us up. We are not toys.
Yes, we know you think we’re cute and you want to twirl us around like in a Disney movie, but we’re not a stuffed animal. When people pick us up with no warning, we might flip out and flail like a fish, which may result in elbows smashing into your pretty face.
So... don’t do this. We like your pretty face and don’t want to be the cause of its destruction. If you really, really want to pick us up, ask first, please!
7. Don't guess our age.
One of the problems vertically-challenged girlfriends face is strangers assuming we're younger than we really are. Since we're short, we might also have a "youthful face" that's plagued us since high school.
Pair that with our height and strangers will think our significant others are dating a 15-year old when, in reality, we could even be older than them!
8. We’re tougher than we look.
Yes, we're cute and adorable and we appreciate you trying to protect us from the big, bad world. But don’t underestimate us; we can fight our own battles.
And hey, if we have to survive in this tall, tall world, we gotta have tough skin!
Caithlin Pena is an editor at YourTango whose interests revolve around books, music, and collecting Pop Vinyl Figurines.