A question of height

I’m quite big. Tall. Six feet* tall, in fact, and broad in proportion. You could safely use the word ‘strapping’ to describe me. I outgrew children’s shoes at the age of 11, when even the size sevens were too small for me, and for many years I had to get my clothes and shoes from niche or specialist outlets. Even now, when there are more and more tall women around, I find M&S ‘long’ trousers a bit on the short side, and don’t get me started on blouses. It would be lovely to think that, at some point, M&S will realise that women with long legs tend to have long arms as well. 

Anyway, I’m tall. Taller, in fact, by nearly two inches, than the average British man, and almost eight inches taller than the average British woman (according to the 2021 Health Survey for England). I’m right at the end of the normal distribution curve: 

However, despite my height, I’m still a woman.

Every woman knows that men are stronger than us and, in the main, taller. Height is one of the many factors we use to identify someone’s sex- I’m very used to women in the ladies’ clocking my height, looking startled, then giving me a second glance and visibly relaxing. However, when it comes to assessing risk, it doesn’t actually matter how tall a man is; a short bloke can be just as much a danger to women as a six footer.

Tallness in men is not the characteristic that means they shouldn’t be in women’s spaces. It’s been quite difficult to see recent comments and stories about trans-identifying men make much of their height, as if, had the (reportedly) 6’2” Theodore Upton been shorter, it would have been more acceptable for him to join Sandie Peggie in the ladies’ changing room.

Height is often used as an intensifier, something to emphasise the wrongness of men in women’s spaces, but only when the man in question is tall. ‘Katie’ Dolatowski is frequently discussed with reference to his height, reportedly 6’5”, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen mention of the height of, for example, ‘Isla’ Bryson. Presumably that’s because he isn’t tall, but I don’t think anyone would argue that his shorter stature means he’s less of a threat to women. 

Emphasising height, rather than any other characteristic, and ignoring the fact that women also come in ‘tall’, is unhelpful to those of us who already get those funny looks in the ladies’.

Gender ideologists and queer theorists are very keen to reduce women to their component parts or characteristics in order to blur or destroy sex classes. We need to keep the focus on the fact it’s not the height of a man that makes him pose a risk to the dignity, privacy, or safety, of women, it’s his maleness.

*Not six feet four, as reported by Libby Brooks in the Guardian.