BodyAwe

Do your wear Flats or Heels?
by Coach Stephanie Wood, PCC

Lisa, my client, wanted to discuss her teenage daughter in our last session, “In my generation, 5’9″ was considered tall for a woman, so I entered junior high already slumping through the halls, looking down at the shorter six grade boys—Now my daughter, Zoe, measures 5’11” as she enters High School and I can’t remember the last time I saw her stand up straight! Plus, there is not one pair of heels in her closet—only the thinnest of flats!”

Since I’m 5’3″, at a young age I hoped for a few more inches so I would become a New York City Ballet dancer on the world stage. It never occurred to me that my girlfriends might resent the inches they have as much as I resented the inches I didn’t have.

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Take the Body Confidence Check-in Quiz
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High Heels to my rescue

When I discovered the empowerment of high heels to my 5’3” height, a new world opened up for me. I felt a new sense of perception and carried my body with more confidence. Honestly, I think we all want what we do not have therefore sacrificing body confidence. Ridiculous! Yes?

Some interesting facts about height and our body confidence

After our coaching session ended, I did a little research on the subject of body confidence and tall women and was shocked to discover: for every inch over the national average of 5’9″ considered “tall” for a woman, their body confidence fell proportionally. Perhaps that’s the reason shoe manufacturers sell more flats to tall rather than shorter women.

In a recent article by Lorra Garrick, “Self-body Shaming: When Very Tall Women Wear Flats”, she asserts that choice indicates the wearer lacks the self-confidence that accompanies the same height on a man. “What a shame. Why would any woman want to look UP to the men in a room?”

Lorra’s short cut for “Susceptible to Negative Opinions of Other People?” applies to all of us whenever our body confidence suffers an assault as a reaction to a perceived slight, a disappointment, or simply looking into the mirror and frown rather than smile at the image looking back at you.

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“You belong on a Pedestal”
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Zoe’s mother’s efforts to build her daughter’s confidence by encouraging her to stand up straight was good for her posture but did little to tap into her body confidence.

Coaching visualization with Zoe for Lisa

“I encourage you to have a conversation with Zoe so that she can envision herself on a pedestal like all the beautiful women over the years, whether the pedestal is as thin as a piece of paper or four inches of spiked loveliness.”

The message for all of us is:

When looking in the mirror or walking into a room, isn’t it glorious to feel the strength within your body as you decide what height you feel most comfortable in [real height does not even matter anymore]. –this is body confidence–

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Enjoy taking a very brief Body Confidence 5 Questions check-in

Take the Body Confidence Check-in Quiz
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To your freedom,
Coach Stephanie