Geena Davis: ‘After Thelma & Louise, people said things would improve for women in film. They didn’t’

Having built a career playing strong women, the Hollywood star is taking on sexism in the film industry, with a gender equality project that will launch at this year’s London film festival

By Elizabeth Day

Geena Davis is tall, very tall. In her bare feet, she reaches 6ft. Today, she is wearing 5in wedge heels and towers over everyone in the near vicinity.

This is worth remarking upon not because Davis’s appearance is the most interesting thing about her – it isn’t, not by a long mark – but because it shows her willingness to occupy a space, to lay claim to it. There is an assertiveness to her physical presence. Most tall women feel the need to slouch or wear flats or somehow make themselves seem that little bit less intimidating. Davis clearly has no truck with this. As she walks across to meet me, shoulders back, smile in place, arm outstretched to shake my hand, her entire stance is one of easy confidence.

Davis has long made it her mission to ensure women occupy more space in a notoriously sexist business. The film industry has never been an equal opportunities employer. But we are meeting at a time when the plates seem to be shifting. Several actresses have recently spoken out about unequal treatment and an increasing number of films are being made with complicated, interesting female protagonists at the helm. Are we at a watershed moment?

“The women in the industry, I think, are remarkable,” Davis says cautiously. “A lot of people are becoming very comfortable about saying it’s not fair.”

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Conventional beauty standards do not promote health, they rather create the false narrative that there is only one ideal body type, and we unquestioningly subscribe to this

Reesha Ahmed | 04 November, 2021, 01:00 pm | Last modified: 04 November, 2021, 01:10 pm

Although body-shaming has become a popular topic of discussion in our society, there is another aspect of body-related prejudice that we turn a blind eye to. This is none other than heightism – the discrimination against individuals based on their heights.

This phenomenon affects multiple aspects of life in contemporary society, including but not limited to job prospects, romantic relationships, media portrayal and athletics. Unrealistic and unattainable beauty standards objectify human beings, reducing them to their physical characteristics alone. When it comes to height ideals, men bear the brunt of stigmatisation.

"I do not understand why short men think they can talk to me", a 22-year-old woman expressed this sentiment to her friend in a conversation about their preferences in men. The "conventionally pretty woman meets a conventionally handsome man" trope that we are accustomed to seeing on screen has undeniably played a part in perpetuating this discrimination.

When was the last time TV showed you a romantic relationship between a tall woman and a shorter man? The dearth of diversity on screen reinforces these stereotypes, resulting in the attractiveness of men being judged as proportional to their height.

Countless social science surveys have delineated the role played by mass attitudes in the institutional privileging of tall people. The public uncritically attributes positive traits such as intelligence, likeability, dependability, and leadership to tallness.

According to Arianne Cohen, author of "The Tall Book", men who are taller get promoted more, paid more and are considered better leaders than their shorter counterparts, not because they are more deserving, but because, "They've sort of gotten a halo in the society at this point", she says.

A study conducted by Andrew Leigh, an economist at the Australian National University, found that men who are 6-feet tall had annual incomes nearly 1,000 dollars more than men only 2 inches shorter, simply because taller people are perceived to be more intelligent and powerful.

Unsurprisingly, these advantages are conferred partly because taller people tend to exude confidence and leadership.

Eamonn Crowe opens up about the bullying and name-calling he faced at a young and impressionable age in his feature for the University of Exeter's student newspaper. He remembers being referred to as "vertically challenged" by a teacher in a classroom full of students.

"When I was younger, I often included a plea to be taller in my night-time prayers and I remember researching surgeries that claimed to make you taller online", he recalls. Those of shorter stature are conditioned to believe their height is a disability.

Eamonn confesses that growing up, he was conscious of his height, "I saw it as hindering my ability to be cool, attractive or masculine." Even though he has managed to overcome this insecurity later in his life, the account of his hardships is a testament to the fact that the shame many men experience throughout their lives because of the toxic male stereotypes that have been forced upon them.

So it is of little wonder that they do not have soaring confidence. Tall people have their fair share of struggles (discomfort in airplanes or cars, stooping down to talk to people), but these difficulties do not have the "systematic nature of oppression."

The oppression of short people is characterised by the negative view of shortness bound up within the myth of tallness. But discriminatory attitudes change according to gender. That is not to say that women are not discriminated against for not conforming to ideals.

However, in the context of heightism, men suffer the height of prejudice. Within the myth of tallness, tall and short are codes for masculine and feminine respectively. Since women are expected to possess "feminine" traits, it makes sense to society when they are short. Already the downtrodden sex, they fit neatly into patriarchal expectations and eventually are marginalised and disenfranchised on the basis of height and gender.

But patriarchy is a standard that entraps everyone, men and women alike. So, let us have a look at masculinity in the eyes of the patriarchy. Masculinity is defined by a set of immutable characteristics. Being tall, domineering, and imposing, all connote manhood.

The big macho tough guy is the epitome of toxic masculinity, and any man who fails to adhere to these constraining and potentially dangerous societal standards will be ostracised, excluded, rejected, and held up as an object of ridicule.

Humans come in a variety of heights and with the exception of hormonal conditions, overall, there is no way for one to increase one's height. Each person is born with genes that determine how tall he or she becomes. Height becomes an unattainable beauty standard once adult size is reached.

Setting a "normal" acceptable range for something that is beyond human control, and subjecting those who do not measure up to these absurd standards to discrimination and predjudicial treatment are nothing short of outrageous.

Ideal beauty has consistently been unattainable, and has led many to suffer through anxiety, depression, body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem, eating disorders, and even death. Crushed by the weight of the feeling of not being worthy, valid, enough, some are pushed to the brink of suicide.

In 2000, Robert Dunbar, an evolutionary anthropologist at University of Oxford, UK, pointed out the correlation between the stature and social acceptability of men. His research showed that shorter men not only earned less but were also less likely to marry and have children.

"Because you never quite catch up if you start small, so all your life you find yourself at the bottom of the social pile. One could imagine that this might give rise to suicidal tendencies eventually," says Dunbar.

The global news publication Insider combined medical data to calculate the mean height for each of the 25 shortest countries in the world. Bangladesh ranks 9th on the list. The average Bangladeshi is 5 feet 1.92 inches tall, and the average Bangladeshi man is around 5'5.

One may conjecture that the bias against short men is nonexistent in a country where being "short" is the norm. But this is far from the truth. Heightism is just as pervasive and entrenched in our society as in any other.

In our culture, it is unacceptable for a woman to marry a shorter man, and if she goes against the crowd and dares to do so, she will never hear the end of it. Moreover, Bangladeshis, too, have a propensity for cruelty. Shorter people find themselves on the receiving end of teasing and name-calling at school, at work, and even at home.

The effects of short-shaming are multidimensional, culminating in irreversible damage to one's mental health. We must recognise that body-shaming in any form or shape is more than just cruel words. We must ask ourselves why aesthetics are more important to us than kindness.

This is when body positivity comes into play. Some argue that body positivity enables those who are complacent and lazy, and neglect taking care of themselves. This is a common misconception. This argument is rendered invalid by the fundamentals of body positivity.

Conventional beauty standards do not promote health, they rather create the false narrative that there is only one ideal body type, and we unquestioningly subscribe to this. This is damaging for people who do not fit these criteria. On the contrary, body positivity is founded on positive psychology, which focuses on respecting and appreciating one's body, whilst taking care of it.

Self-love and self-care are not mutually exclusive. People are sometimes shamed for physical features which cannot be altered, such as height. A body positive society has no room for bullying. Those who still call body positivity an excuse for being lazy are perhaps just looking for an excuse to be cruel.

For men with a low centre of gravity to have high self-esteem, we need to reevaluate what it truly means to be a man. Viewing something as superficial as a man's physical stature as a measure of his masculinity is one of the many problematic practices that we have to unlearn.

The word "manly" can denote courage, kindness and strength: the courage to stand up against injustice, kindness for all, especially those in need, and the strength of character to flourish even in the face of adversity.

It is imperative that the height hierarchy, beauty stereotypes and conventional expectations are dismantled so that people can take ownership of their authentic, multifaceted selves and understand that they are worthy, valid, enough just the way they are.

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Here you find secondary sections like the "Tallest Known Living Women" section, the "Famous Tall Ladies" section and other items that may or may not be of interest to you. I know that we have a lot of male visitors I am not catering to specifically but that doesn't mean this website can't be an enjoyable experience for them as well. I guess you will agree.

In this section you will find original content... in contrast to the "Links" section which mainly consists of links to other website and publications.

A chance meeting in Beijing set Chen Yue’s life on a course that would see her become the first Chinese woman to play college basketball in the US

The 6ft 7in woman from China and the NBA executive who gave her a life stood in the lobby of a Salt Lake City hotel last Thursday night. For a moment neither knew what to do. So many things Chen Yue had to say to Richard Smith yet no words came out. What do you tell the man who handed you a dream and never realized what he had done?Chen Yue tried. She wanted Smith to know he’s the reason she’s here. She wanted to say that when he chose her from a group of 80 boys for a basketball team in Beijing seven years ago it was the instant she thought she could be special, that she believed. And that this belief ignited a hope that brought her to the University of California where she is the first woman from her country to play college basketball in the US.

But Chen Yue’s English wasn’t strong enough for her to say these things. She couldn’t express the thoughts that swirled around her head in a mash of Mandarin and English. Instead she walked up to Smith, the director of basketball operations for the Utah Jazz and swallowed him in a hug.

And all she said was this:

"I'm so glad to see you again."

An NBA producer would eventually tell Smith the story of he and Chen is like the movie The Blind Side. Only in this instance Smith was not a parent taking in a football player but a basketball scout picking a team of children in Beijing and moved to choose a then-6ft 1in girl because she worked hard and he wanted to give her confidence.

“She hustled, I thought she should be rewarded for that,” Smith later said.

He never imagined the compulsive act of selecting a girl over a boy would inspire her to push until she found a way to do something no Chinese woman had done before. He never thought a random selection at a youth basketball camp would someday bring Chen Yue close to tears when she said: “Richard Smith starts my dream.”

He was just a guy from an NBA team halfway around the world trying to do what was right. Then he wound up changing a life.

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Joerg says: "They are not big, they are tall. Why is it so difficult to distinguish?"

Ladies are all bigger than Michael Jordan

16th September 2017 by Julian Cheatle

My Giant Life returns to TLC for Season 3 this weekend — following the day-to-day happenings of six extraordinarily tall women. But just how tall are the stars of the show, which is now in its third season? The answer is…they’re BIG!

The average height of a woman in the United States is around 5 feet 4 inches — while the women on My Giant Life range from 6 feet 6 inches to an incredible 6 feet 9 inches. Two of the stars, Katja and Lindsay are both 6ft 9in, making them nearly one-and-a-half feet taller than the average woman. They are also taller than Basketball players Michael Jordan (6ft 5in), Kobe Bryant (6ft 6in) and LeBron James (6ft 8in).

The new season of My Giant Life has lots in store, with baby fever, pregnancy drama and breakups.

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Please note: This is not a new article. I just found it.

Poonam Chaturvedi, who at 6’11″ is the tallest female basketball player in India, has been diagnosed with a mild form of brain tumour. Poonam spends hours dealing with the spells of excruciating headaches as a result of the tumour, for which she is undergoing treatment.

The headaches and the seriousness of her illness have not stopped her from training and playing though. She competed in the women’s basketball national championship last week, where her team Chhattisgarh triumphed over Indian Railways to hand Railways their first defeat in 12 years. The title victory remains one of the few high points of the last three months in the life of the 18-year-old Poonam, who played a key role in Chattisgarh’s triumph.

“Papa says I’ll be fine,” she says, showing the faith that she has in her parents and doctors.

“My father says it is curable and I am looking forward to returning to the sport fit and healthy,” she adds.

During the national championship finals match against Railways, as soon as she took the court her headache surfaced, although it eased out after some time.

After another player was sent out for committing five fouls, she was eager to return to the court to help her team. As her team caused one of the biggest upsets ever, during the last few minutes of the game, Poonam stood guarding the rebounds.

“Sar dard kar raha tha, magar main daudti rahi. Achha laga, final jeetna (My head was aching but I kept running. It felt good to win the final match),” she says.

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Inside the Underworld of Giant Fetishism

How I accidentally became a goddess

By TallWomanPowerMaliaArryayah

I'm a 6'6 woman who is active on social media. That's me up there on the far right, obviously. You see, I am what many people would call a giantess.

As Wikipedia puts it, a giantess is "a female giant: a mythical being, such as the Amazons of Greek mythology, resembling a woman of superhuman stature." But I'm not mythical; I'm a real person — a real person who accidentally became a fetish model on social media.

In the summer of 2018, photos of me went viral in an online forum (I have yet to find the source). Overnight, I received thousands of friend requests from people all over the world. I checked my inbox and discovered that all these people loved me for my height. It was odd. While it was nice to be recognized, the attention was only about how much I towered over short people. Why was everyone freaking out and leaving heart emojis under a random photo of me next to my short friend?

Shortly after I decided to accept some of these Facebook friend requests from admirers, I received a message from an anonymous person. Apparently, there is a whole world of people who fetishize very tall women. This man had no real name and no photo. He told me that he had a tall-lady fetish himself and said that if I wanted to grow — no pun intended — on Instagram, then I should start a new page using specific hashtags: #amazonianwoman, #tallamazon, and #heightcomparison.

I was very hesitant to take advice from a random giantess-loving dude online, but I was intrigued. And beyond simple curiosity, there was more: after years of being bullied, I'd been looking for a way to view my body positively. There had been days when I had felt so insecure about my height that I wouldn't even leave the house. Maybe I could use my height to empower others with a body-positive angle of how I overcame low self-worth and self-confidence. Since I was going through a "what the hell" kind of phase, I decided that I had nothing to lose. Besides, I'd been looking to grow my audience to showcase my writing and poetry. Despite my misgivings, I asked him if becoming a part of this community would help grow my presence.

He assured me that it would and named other women, none of whom I had heard of, who have used their height to create huge platforms on social media. He then welcomed me into the world of Amazons by calling me a "goddess." Like, thanks? What he didn't tell me was that once I began to post photos using those hashtags, I would be inundated with hundreds of DMs from hidden profiles asking me for, um, "trampling sessions." After some Googling, I discovered that a trampling session is an activity that involves being walked on or stomped on to produce humiliation or pain. OK…

I always thought that tall girls were referred to as "Amazons" as a joke or even as a compliment of sorts, on the basis of the mythical creatures. But now, on social media in 2019, an Amazon is just a term used to identify any tall female. That's it. Most tall girls and tall women have no idea that they are feeding into this fetish when they use even simple hashtags like #tall until they're flooded with DMs from short men asking for height-comparison photos—and then some.

People were absolutely obsessed with my size — not just my height, but every part of my body.

I wanted to find the positivity in this strange world. I wanted to be like the Ashley Graham of the plus-size movement, but for extremely tall women. So off into the world of Instagram I went with my new profile, @tallwomanpowermaliaarrayah.

I drew a lot of followers—hundreds, then thousands. I was hoping to attract followers who could identify with feeling like an outcast, people who were looking for encouragement to keep chasing their goals and to not give up even when they'd been bullied, but that's not exactly what I got.

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In the beginning it was a rather small project. Back in the days our search-engines were Altavista and Hotbot and when I decided to research "tall women" I didn't find much. Granted, there were a few companies around that already catered to the needs of tall ladies (online) but not remotely as many as there are today. That's why I set up "Joerg's Website for Tall Women". At the time (1997) it was hosted by Tripod. A free service that allowed anyone who felt like it to upload their own website.

It was a good idea, for starters... but after a while the intrusive banner ads I had no control over made me want to find a more professional solution. So, in 2000, I decided to buy the tallwomen.org domain (other domain names were added later). The web hoster still is the German company Strato. Since I reside in Germany I decided to go with a German web hosting company. All in all I believe Strato was a good choice.

The general idea behind the website has always been "to make a difference". To find online resources that would make a tall woman's life easier. Over the years I have talked to hundreds, if not thousands, of tall ladies who reassured me that it was the right approach.

I must say though, becoming the "Godfather of Tall Ladies" made it a lot easier to find suitable chat-up lines on more than one occassion. But I like to think that was both acceptable and understandable at the time. Most of the ladies who got to know me personally will hopefully agree. I would hate to lose my halo...

Well, everything went according to plan for a long period of time but back in 2012 I noticed that Tallwomen.org's Google ranking started to go down the drain. I'm still not 100 percent sure why this was the case but I have a pretty good idea. From what I could gather Google considered websites with a lot of links as "spammy". I'm not sure I would agree but who I am to argue with THE search engine? As a matter of fact Bing gave Tallwomen.org much better listings.

At the time (2012) I started to gain access to a 23 inch 16:9 computer monitor at work. I can't tell you how crappy the website looked at that kind of resolution. I must admit: I didn't think ahead too much when I chose the (original) layout and therefore couldn't change it without major modifications. Hence the idea of finally using a Content Management System (CMS) became more pressing.

So it was about time for a complete makeover. I've been working hard for the past few weeks and I am now hopeful that I can relaunch the site by May 1st of 2014. Some of the old content is still missing but I don't think we need all of it. I will keep the old website as an archive. Check it out: https://www.tallwomen.org/oldsite/

Nowadays I'm engaged to a beautiful 6'1" lady whose name is Ari (short for Ariane). She is the best thing that has ever happened to me and because of that I love her dearly. I'm not sure I would have been able to talk to her if it hadn't been for the website... so there's another reason to celebrate the origins of what we have got here now.

Finally I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your patronage. You have made this website what it is by giving me words of encouragement. By criticising me. By telling me what you would like to see. I can't hide the fact that I'm neither a woman nor tall but I would like to think I / we have made a difference. The internet would be a much duller place without Tallwomen.org in it. I hope you will agree.

Lindsay Kay Hayward is 6'8 1/4" and now officially the World's Tallest Actress.

Visit her website.

Lindsay Kay Hayward had one specific person in mind during her ambulance ride to the hospital after a health scare... fellow giant Shaquille O'Neal!

We got the "My Giant Life" star and 6'9" pro wrestler Friday in Vegas after she was hospitalized last week -- for what she thought was a blood clot in her lung -- and she's got a funny way of remembering her time on the stretcher.

Good to see Shaq helped Lindsay stay positive in what could have been a serious problem. Big folks gotta stick together... in sickness and in health.

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Malgorzata "Margo" Dydek-Twigg

April 28th 1974 - May 27th 2011

Margo was 7'2" (218cm). We will never forget you, Margo!

It is with deep sadness that I have to report the death of Malgorzata "Margo" Dydek-Twigg. Margo died in Brisbane on Friday, May 27th 2011 after suffering a heart attack a week ago and being placed in a medically induced coma. With Margo died her three month old baby. This fact makes an already sad story even more heartbreaking.

The Brisbane-based Wizards posted a statement on their website Friday. "Always in our hearts - Margo," it said. "With great sadness we acknowledge the passing of... Margo Dydek. Margo suffered a heart attack just over a week ago and passed away Friday 27th May, peacefully and surrounded by her family. You were a much-loved member of our community and we will miss you greatly. Our hearts go out to your family, David and your beautiful boys xx."

She is survived by her husband, David, and two sons, David, 3, and Alex, seven months.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2011/05/27/wnba-player-dydek-dies-heart-attack/

Since I have never spoken to Margo herself and don't have anything to put here at the moment I simply leave you with a beautifully written article that was published today: http://sports.espn.go.com/wnba/columns/story?columnist=voepel_mechelle&id=6597834

Addition: I would love this to be a  Memorial for Margo so if you knew her and have any positive or interesting  stories to share This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

'I love shoes but can't find any that fit': Meet 6ft 5in teen Emma, whose size FOURTEEN feet are too big for Peter Crouch's boots

Emma Cahill, 19, has one of biggest pairs of feet of any woman in EuropeOxford Brookes student from Worcester finds it 'impossible' to find shoesOwns one pair of heels from US, which she repaints three times each year

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Meet Ekaterina Lisina, the World's Tallest Model Who Hails from Russia

September 23, 2019 | by Akshamsha

Ekaterina Lisina, the former Olympic bronze medalist, has hung her basketball shoes and is moving her crosshairs to hold the title of the tallest model in the world.

Officially named the tallest woman in Russia and the woman with the largest feet, Lisina stands at a staggering 6ft and 9 inches on her bare feet. The legged beauty retired from the professional sport to become a model.

Lisina believes that she is the tallest model in the industry. "The record is held at the moment by Amazon Eve and she is 6ft 8in, which is smaller than me," she said. 

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Meet Ella Williams, the world’s tallest woman in the late 1800s

BY MILDRED EUROPA TAYLOR, at 02:10 pm, May 31, 2018, HISTORY

Ella Williams, otherwise known by her stage name as Mme Abomah was in the late 1800s described as an extraordinary woman who stood over eight feet in height and could easily support the weight of a man on her outstretched arm.

Born in South Carolina in the USA in 1865 to slave parents, Ella Williams grew to become an international celebrity and travelled all over the world as the tallest woman in the world.

She missed being born a slave as the 13th Amendment to the US constitution was ratified about 10 months before her birth.

Her real name was Ella Grigsby but since Grigsby was the last name of her parents’ slaveholders, she took on the last name of her employers, Elihu and Harriet Williams, a family she worked with while in her teens.

Growing up, Williams was contacted by various circus and show promoters to sign a contract and tour as a giantess, due to her abnormal height, something she gained after being struck with malaria when she was around 14.

Williams refused these offers from show promoters. However, while working as a cook in her native South Carolina, she agreed to be hired by Frank C. Bostock for a tour of the British Isles in 1896.

History says Bostock at the time mixed a little fact with fiction in promoting his act.

He gave Williams the stage name Abomah, a name which came from Abomey, the capital of the Kingdom of Dahomey (now Benin).

He further promoted Abomah as being a member of one of the legendary Dahomey Amazons, the all-female fighting force that existed around the time.

“One of King Dahomey’s Amazons who has been brought over to England for show purposes is a giantess indeed. Her height is eight feet, and she is both broad and muscular,” he used to say, according to the American press.

Bostock took Abomah’s act to Europe because racism in the US was then very distinct.

Abomah’s manager knew that in Europe, his strong and beautiful African Giantess would definitely be given massive audience.

During her 30-year-career, Abomah did not only tour Britain but most of continental Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Cuba, and South America.

Abomah also had very expensive and extensive clothing, making the Amazon Giantess always appear elegant and royal.

When Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914, Abomah cancelled her tours and came back to the US in March 1915.

She worked for Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey and at Coney Island.

Abomah was still doing shows in the 1920’s before she left the scene.

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A Chinese schoolgirl who is nearly 7ft tall aged 11 has been compared to one of her country’s greatest ever sportsmen.

Zhang Ziyu towers over her classmates at 6ft 10ins tall and is already a prodigious basketball player.

Now Zhang, who idolises NBA star LeBron James, has been dubbed ‘the female Yao Ming’. Yao, now retired aged 38, was a Houston Rockets centre for eight years as well as a constant for the Chinese men’s national basketball team.

He is considered one of the country’s greatest sportsmen and was inducted into Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.

Now in her sixth year at Wenhua East Road Primary School in Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong Province, Zhang is reportedly likely to become a basketball player in the future too.

Both her parents are former professional basketball players, who began teaching their daughter about the game at the age of five.

Her mum, Yu Ying, now coaches Shandong's provincial women's basketball team.

Zhang's classmates at school are fond of their very tall friend.

'I like Zhang Ziyu because she's very tall!' one said.

Another added: 'She can lift some of our shorter classmates using one arm!'

A schoolboy who has known Zhang since the start of primary school said: 'She was 1.6 metres (5ft 3in) in our first years. We've been growing for six years but still aren't as tall as she was in grade one.'

Another added: 'She's younger than I am by a few months, but she has to bend down to talk to me.'

Besides calling Zhang the 'Female Yao Ming', some believe China may have finally found a successor to retired professional women's basketball player Zheng Haixia.

Zheng, 51, is 2.03 metres (6 feet 7 inches) tall and represented her country from 1983 to 1996 through four Olympic Games.

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Minnesota family confirmed as tallest in the world

A family in Esko, Minnesota, USA, has achieved a record that not many can measure up to - quite literally!

Meet the Trapp family of five; Scott, Krissy, Savanna, Molly, and Adam.

On 6 December 2020, the Trapps were confirmed as the tallest family in the world with an average height of 203.29 cm (6 ft 8.03 in). 

The family's combined height is equal to the length of half a tennis court!

The youngest (but certainly not the smallest) member of the family is 22-year-old Adam Trapp, who towers over his siblings and parents at an astounding 221.71 cm (7 ft 3 in) tall. 

Savanna Trapp-Blanchfield, 27, is next, measuring in at 203.6 cm (6 ft 8 in). Last is their sister Molly Steede, 24, standing at 197.26 cm (6 ft 6 in) tall. 

Unsurprisingly, all three Trapp kids played sports throughout their lives and were recruited by colleges for either basketball or volleyball.

"Coaches always said to us 'you can't teach height. You’re either tall or you’re not,'" said Molly.

Although they have many tall extended family members, it’s clear that the Trapp kids followed in their parents' (very large) footsteps.

Krissy, their mom, comes in as the shortest among the Trapp family at 191.2 cm (6 ft 3 in), while the father, Scott, is a towering 202.7 cm (6 ft 8 in).

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Posted: Friday, June 12, 2015 4:00 am Mother, daughter team up to outfit tall women
By HANNAH COMBS, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.,  My Eastern Shore, Maryland

CENTREVILLE - Women come in all shapes and sizes, but statuesque is not often a size choice available off the rack in department stores. Growing up, Helen Pappas and her mother Diane Pappas, of Centreville, realized these frustrations far too often.

"How often would we venture to the mall for school clothes," said her mother, "and return only with an eyeshadow or bangle bracelets."

After graduating college, Helen Pappas, who stands 6'4", decided to do something that would make clothing for taller women more accessible.

Pappas' mother was quick to join her efforts, "as her mother, I suffered along with her," she said.

The two formed a partnership in 2012 that has grown from a basement shop to an internationally known boutique. The store's focus is on providing stylish and high-quality garments that are specially tailored to fit the frames of women 6'0" and over. Many of their garments are handmade in the USA.

The company's clients are mostly women between the ages of 16 and 35 and they currently offer the longest jeans sold in the United States at a 41 inch inseam. Their client list includes models, WNBA players and coaches. Satisfied clients are the heart of the Pappas' business.

"Thank you for the hard work and courage to market to a segment of the population that the 'big stores' seem to ignore pointedly," said Carrie Livingston of Florida, in a recent letter to Talltique. "You deserve the support of all 'big' girls in the U.S. and abroad, and the rewards of growing a much-needed business."

Helen Pappas is responsible for the design and personally fits all of the customers that comes into her store. Diane Pappas assists with fittings, alterations, public relations and most importantly is the her daughter's support system.

"We often see mothers and daughters come in together, said Pappas, "it can be a very emotional experience."

"It's important to let women know they have these options available to them," said Diane Pappas. "As women we struggle with body image anyway, without having to struggle to find clothing that fits properly." Talltique is an online boutique and can be found at www.talltique.com. Appointments can be made for fittings at their store in Bethesda or private in-home consultations up to two hours from Bethesda.

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BY EMILY ZAUZMER @emilyzauzmer 06/18/2015 AT 09:20 AM EDT

Even the simplest task can be a tall order when you tower over your peers.

In an exclusive preview of TLC's new five-part reality series My Giant Life, Lindsay, who stands 6'9", explains the social and physical discomfort of flying in an airplane for someone whose wingspan gives the airplane wings a run for their money.

"The airplane is very frustrating for me," Lindsay says. "I shouldn't have to feel self-conscious about walking onto an airplane, but I do because I know... that everybody on that plane is like, 'I hope I don't have to sit next to her.' "

Once she is seated, Lindsay still can't catch a break. She comments, "I get crammed on a plane, and, even if I'm in an aisle seat, my knees are, like, up to my chest." The clip shows that Lindsay is too tall to even use the table attached to the seat in front of her.

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My Giant Life takes a peek into the lives of four women who all measure 6'6" and higher as they attempt to stand tall in a much shorter world.

Actress and former wrestler Lindsay (6'9") nabbed the Guinness World Record for Tallest Actress in a Leading Role and now wants to find the father who abandoned her at age 11. Colleen (6'6"), a former professional volleyball player, juggles her move to San Diego and her desire to find a boyfriend. Fellow professional volleyball star Haleigh (6'7") finds herself caught between her boyfriend Brian's hope to start a family and her father's disapproval. And 17-year-old Nancy rounds out the cast as a high school student and basketball hot shot.

My Giant Life premieres July 14 at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.

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My Giant Life: Season Two Coming to TLC in June

by Cindy McLennan, May 11, 2016

The second season of the My Giant Life TV show on TLC premieres Tuesday, June 7, 2016 at 10:00pm ET/PT. My Giant Life features six women who are 6'6" or taller, and are "seemingly too tall for the average-sized world."

Returning in My Giant Life season two are: Colleen ‘Coco’ Smith, Haleigh Hampton-Carvalho, Lindsay Kay Hayward, and Nancy Mulkey.

Get more on the second season, and new cast members Katja and Lexie, from TLC.

BIGGER IS BETTER IN THE SECOND SEASON OF TLC’S “MY GIANT LIFE”

New Season Premieres Tuesday, June 7th at 10/9c

New York, NY – TLC’s MY GIANT LIFE follows the stories of six women who stand at six feet six inches and above, and are seemingly too tall for the average-sized world. The second season, premiering Tuesday, June 7th at 10/9c, chronicles the challenges these women face, ranging from performing seemingly everyday tasks to being noticed for their extraordinary height. From dating difficulties to simply going out in public without stares, the stories in each episode get to the heart of what it means to live life a foot taller than the average female.

Meet the women of MY GIANT LIFE:

COLLEEN a.k.a COCO – Austin, Texas

At six feet six inches tall, Colleen is not the average single gal playing the field. The 36-year-old, former pro-volleyball player has struck out recently in the dating game. After her disastrous dating life in season one, she has moved to Austin for a fresh start. But when she meets Will, she has to decide if she’s willing to let him get past the friend zone.

HALEIGH – Huntington Beach, California

Standing at six feet seven inches tall, 24-year-old Haleigh has a world of possibilities at her fingertips. Last season, to her father’s dismay, she married her much shorter, 32-year-old boyfriend, Bryan. Now, they’re facing serious marital obstacles, and Haleigh is forced to choose between her husband and her family.

LINDSAY – Los Angeles, California

Statuesque and striving to make a name for herself, Lindsay stands out from the crowd at six feet nine inches tall. She is actively pursuing a career in film and television and is willing to do whatever necessary to succeed… including plastic surgery. But will her destructive habits and a tumultuous past keep her from fulfilling her dreams?

NANCY – Cypress, Texas

At a staggering six feet nine inches tall, Nancy is struggling through her senior year of high school. She has always relied on her tall family for support, but now that she is 18-years-old, she is ready to step out on her own. She knows that life will get better as soon as she gets to college to play basketball, but for now, her main focus is graduating and navigating life as a rising basketball superstar.

KATJA – New York, New York

Katja, standing at six feet eight inches tall, and her much shorter wife, Julie, five foot two, want to start a family. They have a lot of questions to answer: Who will carry the baby? Do they want the baby to be taller or shorter? And how will they decide on a sperm donor? When the stress of the decisions brings out the problems in their marriage they start to wonder if they are ready for this next chapter.

LEXIE – Phoenix, Arizona

Confident Lexie, who is six feet six inches tall, is getting married to a man stationed 2,500 miles away. Meanwhile everywhere she goes, men flirt with her. Will the distance be too much for them?

For updates, ‘Like’ MY GIANT LIFE on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MyGiantLife

MY GIANT LIFE is produced by Workaholic Productions for TLC.

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