(listen to the very first question she asks)
(If you're unable to view the video click here)
As a proud 6'2", curvy, statuesque, strong,
and future mother of tall children, I am disgusted by what TurboTax decided to
say in its commercial. It's bad enough
that everyone feels the need to ask me whether I played basketball, and when I
say I didn't, I clearly HAD to play volleyball. Sometimes get tired of answering the same
questions over and over. So when asked
if I played those sports, sometimes, I just respond with "don't all tall
people?". To top it all off it
turns out that the majority of people believe that tall people are deaf too,
which is why we can't hear them when they walk by us and say "damn she's
tall" or "holy crap she's tall". Would you walk up to a short person you don't
know and say "how short are you" or "holy crap you're
short"? Probably not since it would
be considered rude. So why is it ok to
make fun of, or state the obvious to tall people?
Imagine being a 13 year old young girl, standing
5'11" (like I did) and seeing this commercial. I'm sure someone has already teased her, and
she might wish that she were 5'5" like all of her friends. She might be tired of standing out in every
photo, and she might not want to stand up straight in the hopes that it will
make her appear shorter. So after all of
this, she now needs to hear that being tall is gross. Shame of TurboTax for approving it, the
advertising firm responsible for creating the commercial, the actress for
participating in it, and the director for not catching it. Shame on all parties involved! I think TurboTax owes the tall citizens of the
world an apology. I'm not much for
asking people to like and share things on Facebook, but I am going to ask that
everyone shares this, and demand an apology. I feel like this may be considered a form
of sizeism.
I understand that sizeism is generally a
term used in the discrimination against overweight people, but according to
some definitions it can include any type of discrimination against any size
(i.e. tall, short, heavy, skinny).
Having said all this, let me make something very
clear. I am proud to be tall. I love being tall. I embrace
being tall. I only wear heels 4" and up, I walk with confidence, I carry
myself with pride, I hold my shoulders back, and I wear all the clothes the
"experts" say tall women shouldn't (because they make us seem even
taller). Maybe it's the fact that the world can't handle all of our
awesomeness that people don't know what to do with us. After all, we strive to be above average in
every aspect of life, so why not want to be above average in height? So here is my message to that young girl out
there that hasn't quite gotten comfortable in her beautiful (and oh so awesome)
tall skin quite yet: Stand tall, put your shoulders back, put on your heels,
walk with confidence, and always remember:
The world isn't going to get
taller,
and you're not going to get any
shorter,
so you might as well love it. -Dominique
"The Tall Girl Diaries"
I seriously hope that people read this and remember
that we are people, and not spectacles.
XO,
