A line not crossed

[Helen_Highwater]

I know as I age I get smaller, at least in height, and this came up when chatting to a friend a few days ago. I thought of myself as being around the 5'10" mark but he said he though i was probably smaller as he's taller than me and not much over that height himself.

This now ties into the fact that I've been breaking it three pairs of shoes, all with 3 1/2" heels. I wrote in my diary that although they were getting to the point of being comfortable enough to wear for longer periods. For me to wear them out and about say daytime shopping I'd be pushing my boundaries. The feeling that I'd be so tall that I'd make myself more visible. Remembering the conversation I did the old thing you did as kids and measured myself against the door frame this time in heels. Heels back, stand up straight and make the pencil mark.

Out with the steel tape measure. 5'11 1/2". What? Do it again. Yep that's what it says.

Now this is a great psychological boost for me. I'm below that magic 6' line. Yes it's going to make me taller than most GG's out shopping but not Scandinavian model tall. I believe after a little trepidation confidence will grow and I'll get back to the "Out there and owning it" stage. Of course only time will tell and my next opportunity to get out and about is a way off yet.

It's also given me a boost in my desire to lose weight. being a bit lighter in the shoulders won't hurt my cause.

So have you had to face any boundaries? Things you thought would push your CD'ing too far but turned out to be "Doable". Things were you surprised yourself in what you could achieve.

[Robertacd]

My one and only boundary was makeup. Once I learned how to do a halfway decent job myself, that was all I needed,

Now there is nothing stopping me...

Other than my own anxiety that still makes me as a wallflower, but a pretty one in bloom!

[Teresa]

Helen,
What a difference 1/2 " makes , I'm only 5' 71/2 " but even then I'm still taller than many GGs , it must be so much harder for the over sixfooters , I take my hat off top them to still wear heels , I guess it's a case if you have it , flaunt it !

[Stephanie47]

You got me curious about myself. I use to check in at six foot two, but, that was years ago. I know as the body ages there is usually some degree of spinal collapse. Walking around my home in 3 1/2" heels is within my comfort zone. Headed outdoors and I know, whether I check in at six feet one inch or six foot even those 3 1/2" heels are going to still make me soar over those around me with the exception of my son. I have a relatively recent picture of myself among male and female friends. Unfortunately I soar over them. My male figure is somewhat boxy...chest, waist and hips are 42-38-40 so I do not have that over developed chest look. When I have gone out for an evening stroll I wear a wedge with about a 2 inch rise at the max. In the years gone bye I did check in with a 38-30-38 figure and six foot. I was a dirty blonde, so I guess I would have qualified as a Scandinavian blond. I did attract a number of young women, and, although not to my liking a few guys. All of whom got the evil eye from my wife.

Another part of the body which experiences some shrinkage according to my podiatrist is the feet. Not the length of bones, but, the meat on the feet. You may be headed to a narrower width.

I have come to accept the fact that I am not a spring chicken. My age and body are compatible. I know I cannot replicate some on the sweet young things on this forum. I just have to look around the real world to see if I fit in with women in my age group.

[Cheryl T]

At first I was always uncomfortable wearing heels in public since I am that magical number of 6'.
Then I joined a support group and was no longer the "tall gal". We went out lots and while people did look I became comfortable with it. If there is anything "different" about you people will look and stare. If you are too heavy, too tall, too black, too white, overdressed, underdressed or whatever. I thought back to one time I was somewhere and the entire women's college volleyball team walked by and I had to look up at almost every one of them. They acted like I wasn't there and that's the lesson to be learned. Be confident and be yourself and let others be concerned about whatever. Don't concern yourself with it.

[SherriePall]

I'm with Cheryl T. There are many times when I am out and about en drab that I find myself eyeball to eyeball or looking up at a woman shopper. And some of them are not skinny!
So take heart, if you're near the "magic" mark of 6-foot, don't worry bout it.

[Leslie Langford]

Helen, I'm confused.

You say that you've always thought of yourself as being around 5' 10", yet upon actually measuring yourself recently, you discovered that in reality, you were 5' 11 1/2". That's quite a discrepancy...and very much in the opposite direction of what you were hoping to ascertain. Good on you that you were not devastated by this discovery and chose instead to look at the "glass half full" alternative that you were still below that magical 6' psychological barrier.

That said, there are plenty of tall GG's in that height range who simply "own" it and wear their sky-high heels regardless...presumably not only because are they proud of their height but also because it already attracts sufficient attention in and of itself, so what's a few inches more?

Consider also that 5' 11" is actually deemed as being short amongst the cadre of international Supermodels - most of whom are 6' or over - so that puts us into both a rarified and aspirational category. The same holds true for most of the models one sees in print ads for women's clothing or else on online shopping sites. In fact, many of the websites for retailers of women's clothing that I frequent here in Canada make a point of mentioning the height of the model(s) of the various dresses that they are showcasing, and that is usually 5' 10". The fact of the matter is, most women's clothing does look better when worn by the more vertically advantaged among us, so if that applies to GG's, why not us as well by implication?

The other point is that one does not need to live in either the Netherlands, Germany, or one the Scandinavian countries to find oneself surrounded by tall GG's who likely all possess a similar smattering of Teutonic DNA. Look around you anywhere you go these days...they're just growing them bigger all around nowadays...height, weight, shoe size, dress size...you name it, and that's likely due to the better nutrition most of us in the Western world have had access to over the last 3 generations.

Frankly, this is a glorious time to be a crossdresser, and if it weren't for our typically ugly male mugs ;), voices, and awkward body movements, "blending in" has never been easier.

[Julie Martin]

Helen, I get the psychological boundary of the magic 6' mark..that is my height. I'm not currently dressing or going out, I'm on a bit of a self-imposed hiatus. But I have plenty over the years. After panicking about being too noticeable, I looked up some stats: in the US, about 1% of caucasian women are over 6'. Only about 5% are over 5'-9". The AVERAGE US female is about 5'-4". So let's face it..we stand out for sure! But I agree with those who say don't worry about it. If you see a 6' tall woman in heels in a fancy restaurant, you definitely notice her, but you don't question her gender(those of us on this forum may look closely if we suspect she's not a GG..lol). For sure, the taller you are above the female norms, the more important all the other details are; hair, makeup, voice (if you have a fem voice), shape, and clothes..since height gets you noticed, and being noticed will get you scrutinized by some people..though in my experience not many. I went bowling once in a very crowded place with a GG friend, who convinced me that nothing bad would happen..we sat right next to other bowlers, my friend and I were chatting, got a drink at the bar, etc..no one batted an eyelash, no second glances (my friend was watching for it ..an experiment)..

To be clear, there is no way that I pass if people are paying attention..but they generally don't. So I think I'm finally over the height fear..they'll either read me or they won't, and if they do I don't care. Once I got over that hurdle, I can finally relax when out. But..same as most very tall GG's..I rarely wear heels :-)!

- - - Updated - - -

[QUOTE=Leslie Langford;4425255]Helen, I'm confused.

You say that you've always thought of yourself as being around 5' 10", yet upon actually measuring yourself recently, you discovered that in reality, you were 5' 11 1/2".

Leslie, I am guessing Helen measured herself while wearing her 3 1/2" heels?

[kimdl93]

I like the concept of Scandinavian Model tall.

[Leslie Langford]

Helen, I'm confused.

You say that you've always thought of yourself as being around 5' 10", yet upon actually measuring yourself recently, you discovered that in reality, you were 5' 11 1/2". That's quite a discrepancy...and very much in the opposite direction of what you were hoping to ascertain. Good on you that you were not devastated by this discovery and chose instead to look at the "glass half full" alternative that you were still below that magical 6' psychological barrier.

That said, there are plenty of tall GG's in that height range who simply "own" it and wear their sky-high heels regardless...presumably not only because are they proud of their height but also because it already attracts sufficient attention in and of itself, so what's a few inches more?

Consider also that 5' 11" is actually deemed as being short amongst the cadre of international Supermodels - most of whom are 6' or over - so that puts us into both a rarified and aspirational category. The same holds true for most of the models one sees in print ads for women's clothing or else on online shopping sites. In fact, many of the websites for retailers of women's clothing that I frequent here in Canada make a point of mentioning the height of the model(s) of the various dresses that they are showcasing, and that is usually 5' 10". The fact of the matter is, most women's clothing does look better when worn by the more vertically advantaged among us, so if that applies to GG's, why not us as well by implication?

The other point is that one does not need to live in either the Netherlands, Germany, or one the Scandinavian countries to find oneself surrounded by tall GG's who likely all possess a similar smattering of Teutonic DNA. Look around you anywhere you go these days...they're just growing them bigger all around nowadays...height, weight, shoe size, dress size...you name it, and that's likely due to the better nutrition most of us in the Western world have had access to over the last 3 generations.

Frankly, this is a glorious time to be a crossdresser, and if it weren't for our typically ugly male mugs ;), voices, and awkward body movements, "blending in" has never been easier.

My bad...missed the "this time in heels part" in Helen's second paragraph as Julie Martin pointed out. Nevermind, then...just ignore my preamble in my original post...:doh: :bonk:

Sooo...if Helen was wearing 3 1/2" heels and she measured in at 5' 11 1/2" fully shod, that works out to 5' 8" in stocking feet if my math is correct. Well within the "tall-ish" female range, then, and all the more reason for her not to fret about her height when out and about en femme. :)

[Krisi]

I recently read one of those "click bait" pages on Facebook supposedly about "Hollywood Amazons" (tall actresses). Imagine my surprise when these "Hollywood Amazons" turned out to be 5'9" and 5"'10"! So in their eyes, I am an "Amazon" woman.

Actually, people are getting taller with each generation (at least in the USA) so while there may now be many 5'10" women walking around, there are still very few women that tall in the "senior" age group.

[docrobbysherry]

Helen, I guess it's all a matter of perspective? As a 5' 10" guy I was never the tallest or shortest. I've dated women under 5" and over 6". In bed, I couldn't tell the difference!:heehee:

By the way, at age 76 I still consider any shoe/boot with under 4" heels to be flats. And, without spike heels, they all feel like comfy gym shoes to me! :)

[alwayshave]

Helen, I know at one point I was 6'2 and now I am hovering closer to 6'1. We all get shorter as we get older due to compression.

[Helen_Highwater]

Leslie,

Your maths is correct which got me thinking that on the same door frame is an old pencil mark of me in stocking feet which I've just gone back and remeasured. It turns out that was closer to 5'9". So it's possibly the case I've shrunk further, which for my CD'ing self isn't something to fret about. And of course it's possibly the case I was never as tall as I thought I was. Who knows? Then of course the fact that we're taller first thing after getting out of bed than when we got in it, all gets too complicated.

On my last outings I did wear 1 1/2" heels while out and about clothes shopping and while for a time it did make me feel a little more self conscious, but feeling good about my presentation outweighed that. That said the discomfort of walking in even modest heels for 10-12 hours eventually overtook both!

[Angela Marie]

I'm down to 5ft 6 from 5ft 7. Such is life. But i'm still healthy and that is what counts

[Helen_Highwater]

I just had one of those "OMG" moments while re-reading the replies. So I'm shrinking height wise but my weight isn't which means I really do need to start working harder to get my weight down this year. Body mass index and all that.

[junetv]

So have you had to face any boundaries? Things you thought would push your CD'ing too far but turned out to be "Doable". Things were you surprised yourself in what you could achieve.

To answer your original question - being dressed in the presence of males. I was always comfortable in the presence of women. I would go to female shops and try on clothes, but was hesitant if they had a male salesperson on staff. These days I go to the grocery store dressed, interact with everyone as needed. Most recently I went to work dressed and was well received by my female and male co-workers.

By the way, I am 5'7" in stocking feet. I usually wear heels 3"-4". Now I'm curious to see how tall I truly am as I've gotten older and how tall I am in heels :heehee:

[Sometimes Steffi]

Until I broke my foot about a year ago, I'd been doing yoga for about 12 years. I actually grew 1/2 inch from 5'9" to 5' 9-1/2"" .

[Vickie_CDTV]

I once had a girlfriend who was over 6' tall. She would never, and I mean never, wear heels, not even low heels. I never understood why being tall is considered a bad thing for a woman. If you are trans I get not wanting to draw attention, but outside of that... I don't get it. I loved her height. Are GGs afraid men won't approach them because they are tall?

I was always the shortest (and fattest) kid in my class growing up. I always envied you taller folks.

[Helen_Highwater]

One thing I've also noticed, my holdups are sitting higher up my legs!

Back to the post. I also wondered if concern about height was more prevalent in us more mature folks. The younger generation are more use to taller females as successive generations get taller.