Height Problem

[Devora]

I'm having a dilemma with the height between two of my MCs, one is a man and the other is a woman. (btw this is more of a detail thing, it does pop up in the story a few times.)

The man is about 5'8", and the woman is between 5'10 - 6'0" (the woman MC is the one with the dilemma).

THe problem i have with the woman being this tall is that i don't know if it would be realistic with the skills she has (she specializes in stealth and is a contortionist). I'm worried if it would be unrealistic to have her be tall with these attributes.

Should she be shorter, or can i have her be taller than the guy?

 

[Shockley]

I would doubt that there's a correlation between height and stealth/contortion abilities.

As for the guy, what exactly is your concern there?

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

It depends on how you're presenting all of this. If you're looking for stark realism, a 6'10 shadow lurking contortionist is on the fanciful side. Typically, gymnast & acrobatic types are very small people. Because of this it might read as an oddity.

My question would be: Why do you want the woman to be 6'10"? Is there any specific reasoning for the height differences between the two? Are there any special considerations (magic, supernatural phenomenon, etc.) in your world that allow for these odd combinations of size and skill?

Any story element needs a reason for its existence. There has to be a need for everything you include in your story. Always ask yourself what purpose a story element serves.

 

[Ireth]

It depends on how you're presenting all of this. If you're looking for stark realism, a 6'10 shadow lurking contortionist is on the fanciful side. Typically, gymnast & acrobatic types are very small people. Because of this it might read as an oddity.

My question would be: Why do you want the woman to be 6'10"? Is there any specific reasoning for the height differences between the two? Are there any special considerations (magic, supernatural phenomenon, etc.) in your world that allow for these odd combinations of size and skill?

Any story element needs a reason for its existence. There has to be a need for everything you include in your story. Always ask yourself what purpose a story element serves.

I think you misread the OP. The woman is between five-foot-ten and six feet, not six-ten.

 

[Devora]

It depends on how you're presenting all of this. If you're looking for stark realism, a 6'10 shadow lurking contortionist is on the fanciful side. Typically, gymnast & acrobatic types are very small people. Because of this it might read as an oddity.

My question would be: Why do you want the woman to be 6'10"? Is there any specific reasoning for the height differences between the two? Are there any special considerations (magic, supernatural phenomenon, etc.) in your world that allow for these odd combinations of size and skill?

Any story element needs a reason for its existence. There has to be a need for everything you include in your story. Always ask yourself what purpose a story element serves.

I like the idea of contrasting height being reversed since usually it's the guy that is taller than the woman in most stories, but my concern is that it might be unrealistic to make her taller than the guy because it might make it unrealistic to do acrobatic feats at a tall height.

 

[Shockley]

Well, your inverting a trope that isn't exactly common in real life. Due to my own small stature, only a small fraction of my lady friends have been shorter than me.

More to the point, six foot isn't that tall. 6'10 would be ridiculous because that's well past the optimal height for most physical acts (gravity is out to get you at that point, bluntly said) - but you're talking about someone who for all intents and purposes is 5'11 (taking your average). I'd be alright with it.

 

[Devora]

I didn't say 6'10".

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

I think you misread the OP. The woman is between five-foot-ten and six feet, not six-ten.

Indeed I did....

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

I like the idea of contrasting height being reversed since usually it's the guy that is taller than the woman in most stories, but my concern is that it might be unrealistic to make her taller than the guy because it might make it unrealistic to do acrobatic feats at a tall height.

So is there a romantic story element, between the two, involving the height difference? If so, is it important enough to have to explain this element to the reader? For example, is it in her character to not WANT to be attracted to this man because he is shorter? Is there a cultural significance?

Although it may be interesting to reverse the heights, compared to what we normally see in our world, if you're going to draw attention to it, it needs to serve a story purpose.

 

[Feo Takahari]

Although it may be interesting to reverse the heights, compared to what we normally see in our world, if you're going to draw attention to it, it needs to serve a story purpose.

Not necessarily. I once wrote a story in which the viewpoint character, the reincarnation of a white dragon, was specified as dark-skinned, and her lover, the reincarnation of a black dragon, looked "Nordic". There wasn't any point to this--I just found the irony amusing.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

Just because you can do something for no other reason doesn't mean you should. If you're worried about readers wondering about a certain detail, as the OP expressed, then the detail should serve a story purpose.

Of course, you can put anything you wish in your stories. That's every author's prerogative. It is only my opinion that every concept the author chooses to illustrate,should serve a purpose or be cut.

 

[Devora]

I ask because it is an important detail. If her being tall would, in a realistic sense, inhibit her from using "acrobatic skills" (which she'll use a lot in the story) then i need to know whether or not i should scrap the idea.


Or do you think that it could still be possible to be tall, and still perform "acrobatics"

 

[Lock]

I like the idea of contrasting height being reversed since usually it's the guy that is taller than the woman in most stories, but my concern is that it might be unrealistic to make her taller than the guy because it might make it unrealistic to do acrobatic feats at a tall height.

The problem seems to be that the function this character has in your story deviates from her form, requiring her to change or for you to loosen the realistic integrity of the story to abide her in her current form. Does her height play an important role in the story or are you simply interested in experimenting with an inverted trope? If you don't want to change her you could always change the laws of nature in your world to suit her, though that is extraordinarily more difficult to do than it would be to simply reduce her height.

When a female character is taller than her male romantic interest and her height is an attribute with which she defines herself, I find that the box of polarizing gender role questions the author opens (whether on purpose or not) with that character increases the difficulty for me as a reader to submerge into their romantic interactions as those scenes often oppose her character and come off as awkward, tall women often symbolizing independence and being extremely proactive, attributes that go against the grain of most palatable romances. Think Sarene and Raoden from Sanderson's Elantris as an example of a romance that involves a tall masculine woman in a way that isn't overly dissatisfying to most readers. But also note that Sarene's height dramatically shaped who she is and that she would be settling if she married any man less potent than Raoden (who does turn out to be, as revealed at the end of the story, barely taller than her). I don't know if this information wholly applies to you, but if it does, good luck!

 

[Feo Takahari]

When a female character is taller than her male romantic interest and her height is an attribute with which she defines herself, I find that the box of polarizing gender role questions the author opens (whether on purpose or not) with that character increases the difficulty for me as a reader to submerge into their romantic interactions as those scenes often oppose her character and come off as awkward, tall women often symbolizing independence and being extremely proactive, attributes that go against the grain of most palatable romances. Think Sarene and Raoden from Sanderson's Elantris as an example of a romance that involves a tall masculine woman in a way that isn't overly dissatisfying to most readers. But also note that Sarene's height dramatically shaped who she is and that she would be settling if she married any man less potent than Raoden (who does turn out to be, as revealed at the end of the story, barely taller than her).

Tall women don't symbolize independence. Tall women symbolize women who are tall. It's silly, and kind of offensive, to insist that someone stand for more than herself (or himself, or xirself, or whatever self that person happens to be.)

Back on-topic, brief research indicates that tall folks can still be contortionists.

P.S., in response to Smith: Fantasy is the genre most devoted to including details that serve no purpose whatsoever in the story. We don't need to know much about Bilbo Baggin's hobbit-hole, but a few choice details make it feel more real, and they don't need to be the things we first think of when we think of a hole in the ground.

 

[Kit]

I ask because it is an important detail. If her being tall would, in a realistic sense, inhibit her from using "acrobatic skills" (which she'll use a lot in the story) then i need to know whether or not i should scrap the idea.


Or do you think that it could still be possible to be tall, and still perform "acrobatics"

As a martial artist and dancer who has done gymnastics and Circus School.... It is fine. To be a contortionist, you have to be flexible. To be acrobatic, you have to be flexible, strong, and balanced. None of these are dependant on height or lack thereof. There is a selection of physical maneuvers that are easier if you are compact with shorter limbs. There are just as many that are easier with longer limbs.

The only (possibly) significant problem she may have is that "specializing in stealth"- with greater body mass, that will preclude some of the tighter, smaller hiding spots. But she will likely be fairly slim, as well. And a contortionist. She can work around it.

 

[CupofJoe]

I have a relative who trains to dance. She is 6'0 and still growing. So while she is too tall for classical ballet she is just about the most flexible, coordinated and graceful person I have ever met.
The only time I think size/height would come in to play is speed of rotation - the more compact you are, in theory, the faster you can spin...

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

I have a relative who trains to dance. She is 6'0 and still growing. So while she is too tall for classical ballet she is just about the most flexible, coordinated and graceful person I have ever met.
The only time I think size/height would come in to play is speed of rotation - the more compact you are, in theory, the faster you can spin...

For a dancer perhaps... for a contortionist? The extremes of ability for any contortionist would eventually fall to size of frame.

 

[Kit]

For a dancer perhaps... for a contortionist? The extremes of ability for any contortionist would eventually fall to size of frame.

That depends on the type of contortion.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

That depends on the type of contortion.

There's different types?

Interesting. I wouldn't have thought this was the case.

 

[Lock]

Tall women don't symbolize independence. Tall women symbolize women who are tall. It's silly, and kind of offensive, to insist that someone stand for more than herself (or himself, or xirself, or whatever self that person happens to be.)

Hey Feo, I never insisted that someone stand for more than themselves, I claimed that tall women often symbolize independence, a rather unrefined claim, I must admit, but not the same thing. If I had said something like tall women in Fantasy are often independent I would be matching what I meant better with my word choice and would probably come away with less resistance. As it is, it seems my word choice was too disgrammatical for your taste, to the extent that it seemed I was generalizing and dehumanizing tall characters. The word symbolizes was not intended to modify the noun women but the adjective tall; a grammatical error on my part. Thanks for pointing that out!

PS: when you use the word offensive do you have a "to whom" in mind?


And on contortion: There seems to be different bends a contortionist can make; some, like jamming themselves into small boxes, better suit short people, while others, like doing the splits, is largely unrelated to height. I've never heard of different types of contortionists but the contortions they are capable of are dependent on their body type and flexibility.