A 6 foot 2 inch Women

Julia Child, an acclaimed chef, and artist, but she's 6 foot 2. What stood out to me the most throughout Mrs. Hamovit's talk was her emphasis on her height. As a tall woman, I resonate with Julia. This made me reflect on how I view myself in society, as most other girls literally look up to me. Throughout my childhood, my height was my favorite attribute. However, as time went on I viewed my height more as an obstacle, always trying to slouch to fit in. I'm not going to go on about my experience with my height, rather analyze why women are supposed to be shorter than men in society.
Today height is closely correlated with power. Men are perceived as big, tall, strong and women are known to be small, weak and quiet. These attributes have always described these two specific genders and because of this women "should" be smaller and or shorter than men. Mrs. Hamovit's emphasis on her height shows how rare tall women are. But at the same time would Mrs. Hamovit continuously comment on a man's height if he was taller than his wife? Height and the way we talk about it is a perfect example of how we categorize genders. I believe society has made tall women feel less than because men are supposed to be taller than them. Tall men are seen as masculine and powerful. But why is height so connected with power? Is it because men are usually taller and are known for being dominant? There isn't a clear answer. However, I believe we should make it the norm to accept tall women rather than constantly addressing how odd their height is. The way people make stereotypes are categorizing attributes, such as height, and viewing them as different. As a society, I hope we can stop highlighting people's differences, but rather embracing them. Like I have learned to embrace my own height.
Height was obviously not the subject of this talk, but I found it fascinating the language Mrs. Hamovit used to describe Julia Child. Besides her uncommon height, she is one of the few women who have made huge strides in cooking. Yet the cooking industry still has a long way to go when it comes to gender equality. Cooking is such an important part of everyone's lifestyles. Food and cooking are two ways people come together. It's an unfortunate reality that there is discrimination within the comradery of food.