too tall to transition?

[jessika.s]

I'm sure height has been talked about here. Being over 6 foot, it has always been my first hurdle when thinking about transitioning. Just curious how most of you feel about it. Was height a big factor for you when starting out and how has it been for you since?
I've heard the super model argument, lol just being realistic with my expectations. I dont plan on coming out as soon as i start hrt, mainly for work reasons. I hope to get my body much more feminine, have started already. Got some pounds to shed.
Height is a burden, the large hands are also a negative. Although, i care less and less about these things as the years pass on, i am still curious to hear from the tall ones here. How has it effected your transition, and any advice for someone starting the process?

[becky77]

I'm 6ft it held me back and hurt my confidence but ultimately I had to transition regardless.
Although it still feels like I am too tall that never seems to be reflected back at me.
In fact a few times women have wished they had my legs.
Grass is always greener scenario.

If you need to transition hold your head high shoulders back and own it.
Nothing looks worse than someone stooped and cowing down.
Confidence is key as people feed off that, I've got so used to projecting confidence it comes naturally now.

[ClaudineD]

5'11 and not an issue.....LOTS of tall girls out there!!!!.....flaunt it!!!

[Brooklyn]

The last time I looked at the transsexual flow-chart on my bedroom wall, there was no exit arrow away from transition for being tall. If you need to transition, then being a sasquatch like me will not hold you back. I still pass regardless. Sometimes a-typical height will get you down, just like a hundred other things about your body. You can't change your height, however, so work on other stuff.

I like to go watch WNBA games where I live - with so many tall women in the crowd, it's one place I totally blend-in.

[LeaP]

I personally know 3 that are 6'4", 6'3" and 6'3".

[Barbara Dugan]

I am 5'9'' kind of tall for the average Latina Woman,without heesl I am still the tallest person on my family, its just a minor issue some times but nothing that will prevent me from transition.

[pamela7]

6'1", not a problem in my world view

[Mirya]

I'm 5' 7", which is probably shorter than most trans women. But I'm still taller than most other cis women. And I'm definitely WAY taller than other Asian cis women. If I'm in an area where it's mostly Asians around me (such as in an Asian marketplace), I REALLY stick out. It makes me kind of sad, because I've always had great friendships with other Asian cis women, and I hate feeling so self-conscious around them. But it's not something that's going to deter me from transitioning. There are much tougher hurdles to worry about.

[Rianna Humble]

Was height a big factor for you when starting out and how has it been for you since?

Not for me. I was 5 foot 3 or 5 foot 4 before transition and I'm still the same now

[Eryn]

Being 6'2" and contemplating transition was daunting to me too. There are quite a few twentysomething ladies at my height, but few in my age group.

My results have been all positive. Nobody has said the least thing negative to me.

Be prepared, though, to be recognized by those you encounter. You won't so much be recognized as TG, but as That Really Tall Woman. You'll hear "I remember you!" from all sorts of folks you encountered months or even years ago. At first that scared me, but then I realized that they were all being friendly. Now I am somewhat flattered by the attention!

[KymberlyOct]

I totally get it Jessika, I am 6'2" and if I was four or five inches shorter I might have transitioned years ago. Then again maybe not - maybe it was just an excuse I don't know. But to me that has always been and still is a big deal. I am also broad shouldered and have big hands - most guys would love to have my frame. I hate it.

That said I am not going to let that stand in my way any longer. I can get slim and be the most presentable I can be. As Ashley (tgirlamc) told me - we will never be genetic women but we can be the best transwomen that we can be. I am going with that !!!!!!

PS Lea - I just read your signature line. I have a well above average IQ ( My mother had me tested as Sheldon says on Big Bang ) After reading your signature line I feel like an idiot LOL where's my thesaurus?

[Donnagirl]

I'm 6' and not even the tallest girl in the office

[Georgette_USA]

I am only 5-11. When I transitioned I was on the tall side. Not the shy and retiring type, On the outside, but people remember me all the time.
Now I meet so many women taller than me. My older brothers 2nd wife is 6-1, in heels she is taller than him.

[Jennifer-GWN]

Recently spent several nights in Beijing. One evening out I was attracting a lot of attention which became unnerving. Asked later what was up.... Your a white, blond, tall woman... Not many of the tourists here have never seen a white blond tall woman.

[PretzelGirl]

The thing that matters is that you are real. Don't worry about height, or weight, or the clothes, or the make-up. Be real and you will be the happiest person you can be. Worrying about any of the things that may not match up to other's expectations just keeps you from the greatest happiness you can have. Put all that behind you and control what is your's to control and let the rest go.

[Mirya]

I did a quick google search and found that the average height for an American male is 5' 10".

I wonder why so many trans women are so tall. It seems like so many are at least 6 feet tall.

Could there be some sort of biological link between having a transgender brain and being really tall?

[MissDanielle]

There are a lot of tall women that play or played basketball.

I'm 5'7". I absolutely hated my height until I realized I was a woman.

[Heidi Stevens]

Hey Jess, here's a photo from last year's Erie Gala where they asked all the 6' or more ladies to come up on stage.
(I'm 6' and in the salmon colored dress)
263868

[KymberlyOct]

Damn Heidi !!!! That is a lot of tall women, even taking the heels into account. Makes me feel better :battingeyelashes:

Sorry, side note but didn't want to start a thread on something like this. Got into a support group at the transgender clinic today through my therapist. Just had to share. WOO HOO !!!!:hugs:

[tgirlamc]

Hi All!!!

First... Kym... WOO HOOOOO!! Another step down the path... When I was starting transition I always tried to do at least one thing each day to advance things further... I think you're picking up some good speed here!!!

Next, Mirya!!! ...I know a couple unusually tall lanky transwoman and one told me she believed her body type was typical of a genetic male who's mother had been given the drug DES to prevent pregnancy complications... It was given , I believe up into the 1960s and there seems to be a correlation also to GD from the exposure according to some... Here is a copy/ paste from Wikipedia page on DES....

Research on DES sons has explored the long-standing question of whether prenatal exposure to DES in males may include sexual and gender-related behavioral effects and also intersex conditions. Dr. Scott Kerlin, a major DES researcher and founder of the DES Sons International Research Network in 1999, has documented for the past 16 years a high prevalence of individuals with confirmed prenatal DES exposure who self-identify as male-to-female transsexual, transgender, or have intersex conditions, and many individuals who report a history of experiencing difficulties with gender dysphoria.[46][47][48][49]

I've heard other theories about stress to the mothers body while pregnant when gender development is occurring... My aunt told me that my mother didn't have DES but they did have her on something that was supposed correct our mis matched blood RH factors...

Lastly, in keeping with the theme of the thread... Never too tall!!! I was taught to be fearless about going out in public and passing etc by a CD friend who was about 7 foot in heels!!!...

Take Care,

Ashley ��

[jessika.s]

Thank you all for the positive feedback. It's so great to read all the responses. I knew there would be alot of tall gals here. At 6'5", i may be the tallest 😁

[Lorileah]

The woman who is the vocalist for the Big Band I have performed with is taller than I am (6') and when I had heels on I matched her in flats.

[OCCarly]

My kid sister (who is now 47) is six feet tall. Her eleven year old daughter (my niece) is already five feet four inches!!!
My sister would tell you, as she tells her daughter -- "You are a tall girl. Own it and enjoy it!"

[Michelle789]

I agree with others that height is not an issue. There are women who are taller than 6 foot tall, and many of them are attractive. Your height does not take away from your ability to be read as a woman, and does not take away from your attractiveness.

My father and brother both told me that my height (I'm 6 foot exactly) would certainly get me read as trans, and I have heard that from a few people in the TG community who believe that too. I honestly don't think height is an issue. There are just some ignorant and fearful people out there. Like others have said, there are cis-gendered women who are taller than 6 foot, and no one ever mistakes them for being TG.

There is one physical feature that I believe, and I have learned in my two years of transition, that is truly the most important to passing. Your face. Honestly, it doesn't make a difference how tall you are, how big your hands are, what shoe size you wear, or how great your legs are. None of that matters. Great legs are an aesthetic thing to have on a woman, which many of us tall TG's have this feature, and so do many tall GG's. But the face is what determines if you get read as male or female or trans. I would start on HRT and electrolysis (or laser if your facial hair is dark and your skin is light).

I would also contemplate FFS. You may not need it. Lots of TG's don't get FFS and still pass, but sometimes FFS can be necessity to pass, or at least to take away the male in the mirror image. FFS is also very expensive and risky and painful, but may be something that might help.

Below the neck, I would get your body hair removed, as that is the one feature below the neck that will get you clocked. Otherwise, height and below the neck make little to no difference in passing.

Confidence and voice are the other two keys.

So basically, your face, confidence, voice, and removal of body and facial hair, are necessary to pass. Height, hands, shoe size, legs make little to no difference.

I have seen TG women who are tall, broad, have gigantic hands, wear size 14 shoes, etc... pass because their face is feminine enough and they have the confidence. I have seen women who are short, have small hands, small feet, not pass because of male facial features or lack of confidence.

[RachelX]

I am six foot four. I was still in elementary school when I unequivocally decided that I would begin living as a woman right after college. With great enthusiasm and optimism I looked forward to my sixteenth birthday when I could get a driver's license and travel to areas safely beyond where I lived to go out in public as a girl, in preparation for the life I was going to live. Unfortunately by the time I started high school I was already well over six feet tall. Optimism and excitement turned to depression and dread. I gave up all hope, resigned to a life that I did not want to live. Fast forward many years and I could no longer take it. Charles the Bold said "It is not necessary to hope in order to undertake, nor to succeed in order to persevere"; so with (almost) no hope I began my transition. My height was already an inconvenience, it was now something significantly more than that. Match this up with a broadcast announcers voice and facial features of a man and the result is less than preferred. I attract a lot of attention and cannot pass even at a distance. And it's even worse up close. Even with all that going against me transitioning is the best thing I ever did for myself. Sure, I would love to be another Andrea Pejic, but that is not going to happen. FFS would help my inner and outer situation immensely but I'm not waiting around for it. My point is that my circumstances could be described as much less preferred than most others and transition was still the right thing to do. And specifically re height: I found it to be the thing of possibly the least significance. There is no such thing as being too tall (or too anything else) to transition.

[Beth-Lock]

There are some tall transsexual women here. I understand that clothing and other appearance matters have to be much more carefully managed, that's all.

[Megan G]

Height is just a number, just like age.... If you truly need to transition you will do it regardless of height, age, and everything else.... These are only barriers in our minds that are self imposed..

I'm tall, I transitioned, I survived, and not once has my height been a factor in acceptance in any shape way or form.

[Kathryn Martin]

Yup... 6'4" here

[missmars]

How about 6'4''?

[DebbieL]

If you feel you need to transition, transition. The details will work itself out.
I thought I was too tall, too fat, my voice was too low.
So I didn't push to transition even though I wanted it more than anything else.
Each time I lost hope of ever transitioning, I became very self destructive.
When I found out I sang bass, I turned to booze and drugs.
When I was forced to quit or never have contact with my kids again,
I gained weight until I had a heart attack and a stroke.
I almost missed my daughter's wedding.

When I did transition in 1988, I was happier and healthier than I had ever been.
By the start of 1990 I'd lost over 100 lbs.

When I had to abort transition I doubled my weight to 330 lbs.
When I started to transition again in 2010, I lost weight, I exercised more.
My heart health was better than ever. And I actually looked and felt younger.

[Kaitlyn Michele]

I am six foot four. I was still in elementary school when I unequivocally decided that I would begin living as a woman right after college. With great enthusiasm and optimism I looked forward to my sixteenth birthday when I could get a driver's license and travel to areas safely beyond where I lived to go out in public as a girl, in preparation for the life I was going to live. Unfortunately by the time I started high school I was already well over six feet tall. Optimism and excitement turned to depression and dread. I gave up all hope, resigned to a life that I did not want to live. Fast forward many years and I could no longer take it. Charles the Bold said "It is not necessary to hope in order to undertake, nor to succeed in order to persevere"; so with (almost) no hope I began my transition. My height was already an inconvenience, it was now something significantly more than that. Match this up with a broadcast announcers voice and facial features of a man and the result is less than preferred. I attract a lot of attention and cannot pass even at a distance. And it's even worse up close. Even with all that going against me transitioning is the best thing I ever did for myself. Sure, I would love to be another Andrea Pejic, but that is not going to happen. FFS would help my inner and outer situation immensely but I'm not waiting around for it. My point is that my circumstances could be described as much less preferred than most others and transition was still the right thing to do. And specifically re height: I found it to be the thing of possibly the least significance. There is no such thing as being too tall (or too anything else) to transition.

This really moved me... So impressed with your mindset and honesty... the reality of this question is that in the end, its not gonna matter... not to be too fatalistic, but if you are high intensity ts and if you "fight" it, its just not going to work out that great no matter how tall or short

[I Am Paula]

Wear heels. People will think 'Wow look how tall she is', and just as fast say 'Oh, it's the heels.'
My GF and I go everywhere together, we're both 6'. So far nobody has commented.

[abigailf]

I actively play volleyball and I am on a national volleyball team. I am 5'6" and the shortest person on the team. I don't know if any of the others are transsexual, it is not a topic we discuss. However, I sometimes wonder given where I came from.

Recently I attended a local college game with my daughters. After the game I went down to talk to the coaches. The team was walking off the court at the time. They were all giants. About 14 college kids all of which could have stepped on me and crushed me like bug. Do I think you are too tall to transition? My opinion doesn't matter, but attend a women's volleyball or basketball game and sit near the teams benches, then make that decision for yourself.

[Anne2345]

Height is just a number, just like age . . . . These are only barriers in our minds that are self imposed.

:yt:

At 6'4 and dimwittedly thick skulled, it took me a ridiculously long time to recognize, acknowledge, and accept this very simple truth. But when I finally did, I was able to release myself, in earnest, from a prison of my own making and walk away a free woman . . . .