Growing up short (or “a little person” as many like to badly joke) is no picnic. You get bullied for your size, which isn’t exactly your fault, and that doesn’t stop once you’re an adult. I’m sure it sucks to be super tall sometimes, but being short seems to take the cake when it comes to an annoying lifestyle. Here are the 10 struggles of being a short girl. If that’s you, you can probably (sadly) relate.
- People comment on your height. Guess what? All those comments are super rude. You should never comment on someone’s physical appearance (unless you’re complimenting someone’s new hair color or cool Urban Outfitters dress — that’s okay). Short girls are always being told we’re short in a variety of colorful ways. Yes, thank you, we’ve noticed.
- You have to ask for help. This is just a fact of the short girl’s life. If you’re in a store and you want to buy the chips or toilet paper on the highest shelf, good luck if you can’t track down a salesperson to help you out. It’s embarrassing, sure, but it’s the only way to get your errands done.
- You get sick of being called “cute”. This is my biggest pet peeve. Everyone from relatives to random friends-of-friends call me cute on a regular basis and it annoys me to no end. I don’t want to be cute. I can’t help my size and I just want to be treated like a normal human being, not a 5-year-old blonde girl in pigtails (which is my definition of cute).
- Guys think it’s either weird or awesome. I’ve had guys make fun of me for my height (no second dates!) or say that it’s “awesome.” Not sure why it’s awesome — maybe that’s one of those insults wrapped up in a compliment.
- You have high standards. You’re used to people treating you badly or differently based on your height (again, why???) so you’ve learned to take care of yourself and stand up for what you believe in. You don’t accept any crap from guys or anyone else. That’s the one perk of being short. It’s great knowing that whatever happens, you’ve got your own back but at the same time, it can be pretty exhausting.
- Being called short can ruin your entire evening. It’s hard to let things go and enjoy yourself when you arrive at a party and someone comments on your height. You’ll smile despite yourself and spend the rest of the night wondering why people think it’s cool to do this, and you’ll be resigned to the fact that it’s 100 percent going to happen again. When will people learn?
- You resist being taken care of. Whether you’re single or in a relationship, when you get an epic cold or your oven breaks, it’s difficult to let someone to take care of you. It feeds into that whole “damsel in distress” thing that you’re trying to avoid since people automatically think you’re weaker because you’re small. Of course that’s unfair and not true, but the myth persists.
- Certain fashion trends are out. High-waisted ’70s style jeans, rompers, the majority of maxi-dresses – there are some things that you just can’t wear when you’re short. You also have to be super careful about cutesy Zooey Deschanel-type clothing, because that’ll only reinforce the cute comments that you’re trying desperately to avoid. Sigh. It’s a hard life.
- People think you’re forever in high school. At this point you almost think it’s fun to tell someone your real age when they ask the dreaded question, “What grade are you in?” Groan.
- Weight gain is super obvious. Okay, so we’re all wise and evolved by now and we know that dieting is never a good idea. But living a healthy lifestyle means not gaining tons of weight, and unfortunately for us shorter girls, five pounds looks like a lot more. Luckily it’s trendy to be health-conscious these days.
