Tall? In what exactly?

All my life it would appear that I have had a penchant for tall guys. Tall and fair, tall and dark, tall and slim, tall and broad, tall, tall, tall, tall, tall. I loved tall and it seems tall loves me. It was a mutual thing. For me, tall was the definition of a complete man- curse those romance novels to hell and back! Older aunties of mine actually had to point out recently, how it seemed you could bet anything at all that my date at any material point in time would be tall. That got me thinking. They were right, you know. Of course, no amount of pleading that I had done nothing out of the ordinary nor gone out of my way to make ‘tall’ a norm was favourably received. I just felt naturally that a guy should be tall, that was all... Come to think of it, I think even the world over ‘Tall’ is a pretty vital requirement for a man. Hmmnnn......

Interestingly, tall guys the world over seem to generally preen if they find themselves to be tall. Wow! Now that I think of it, firemen are fighting fires, NGO’s are fighting for humanity, scientists are coming up with new cures for diseases like every other day and a guy thinks by being tall, he is doing the world a favour! Lol!

 Sometimes, when a guy would recount his favourable characteristics or things he considers assets, you would hear, ‘’I’m tall (usually drawled in a mock attempt at sounding casual- ‘I’m ta-aalll’) six feet ten inches ta-aalll....’’ Fie!

I have seen tall guys about as useful as a head warmer and a muffler worn together in extreme heat. And I have seen short guys with more fire in their bellies than a thousand tall men piled high.

If you ask me, apart from the brainwashing romance novels have done on women in making them think their men were not complete without height, I think really that the penchant women have for tall guys might also be a weak attempt by the women to make up for something seriously lacking in themselves. When a woman is insecure in herself, she could hope a tall guy would cover that for her; make up for whatever deficiencies she perceives herself as having in the eyes of others. If she’s insecure generally, ditto. If she’s socially immature or inadequate, ditto. If she’s mentally inept.... yeah, you got that one too- ditto! - A tall guy makes you feel good. But how good exactly is the tall guy for you?

Does he put food on your table or does he even care? Does he look out for you or does he push you toward your dreams? Are tall guys automatically responsible, clearheaded, mature and protective? Do they naturally fall into the category of guys that are coolheaded, productive, industrious and dependable? Where are the 'real men’ virtues of Integrity, Honour and Dignity? Thrown to the winds on the farce of some tall guy that automatically knows how to spell his name because he is tall? Tall guys are not necessarily smart, you know. Yes, I know my queries apply to all men irrespective of any criteria but while on this issue of ‘the craze for tall men’ please allow me harp.

From what I’ve seen, heard and know tall men are so full of themselves their height is all they generally tend to have on offer. Short guys, because of this lie that tall guys are somehow better, fortunately or unfortunately, tend to think that they have a lot more to prove. They go out of their way to make worthy statements.

Who started this lie, I beg you - that a guy has to be tall, or for that matter has to be fine to know what it is to be a man? No wonder men these days take credit for a height they did nothing to get and leave every other thing they could actually do as men to women who marry ‘heights’ (or ‘fine-ness’) but apparently no substance. It takes no effort at all to be tall no doubt. Even being fine might require some tiny weenie effort to maintain it but being tall requires absolutely no effort, requires no special skill and is definitely not picky about character.

But it sure takes a lot of work, effort and commitment to be a man. And what man needs height to do things that are a man’s? Many men, yet to have undergone coming of age rites beyond the obvious *winks* - (which hardly separates a male man from a male warthog) would rather shirk their true and distinctive identities than step up to the plate. Might I add especially if they are tall?

Which would then beg the question, on a final note- Tall in what, exactly?