Societal norms can cause a lot of people grief. Stereotypes about how we dress, what kind of car we drive, who our partners are, etc. Eventually, these stereotypes lead to stigmas or negative ideas about a person. A tall woman from Florida, Marie, is 7 feet tall and has faced bullying and difficulty dating due to her height.

No one lives a life without difficulties; however, women are expected to maintain a bit of femininity while still overcoming life’s obstacles. If unsuccessful, it can lead to isolation and others keeping their distance. Something that Marie Temara has recently spoken about. The tall woman from Palm Beach, Florida is opening up about the challenges she’s faced as a woman of 7 feet.

She disclosed that people have often stated that because of her height, she couldn’t be feminine. However, the 23-year-old vowed to show them otherwise.

Photo Credit: Marie Temara | Facebook
A Tall Woman Shares Her Experiences
It’s not uncommon for men to feel awkward, maybe even emasculated, when dating a tall woman—particularly a woman who is taller than him. As a result, Marie has limited prospects because, according to her, there are only about 2% of men in her area who are taller than her. “I will admit it is extremely difficult to find a guy taller than me. Dating at my height is almost impossible because it is so limited,” Temara shared.

Another issue that she has faced on her quest for love, is that some people may exaggerate their online profile. For instance, “One guy I went on a date with said he was 6’5 on his online dating profile, but when I met up with him he was at most 5’11,” she said.

Struggles with Self-Esteem
Sadly, the impact of being a tall woman had a drastic and negative impact on her self esteem. After being told things like, “no one likes tall girls,” “[you] look like a man in heels,” and “[you’re] too heavy to be a girl,” she began to do things to help make her appear shorter. “I would never wear heels and would slouch in public,” she explained.

Photo Credit: Marie Temara | Facebook
Recently, though, Marie seems to be feeling more positive about possibly dating someone shorter. Although some men still struggle with the height difference, she is open to dating a guy at any height in the hopes of undoing “the dating stigma that men have to be the taller ones in the relationship.”

A Tall Woman Born Large
Having weighed 12 pounds at birth, Marie has long faced stigmas around being a tall woman. Since “third grade” she she was always the tallest in her class, which made her stand out in a negative light. “Kids would pick on me and call me a man or a house because I was taller and heavier than most of the male teachers.” She said, adding, “I had no friends and other children would taunt me so badly, that I would eat lunch alone in the bathroom stall.”

Although challenges like being bullied and struggling to find love have had an impact on her self-esteem, her height has also made it difficult for the tall woman to find clothing. Unfortunately, while the clothing industry has a range of sizes, some women often cannot find clothes that fit or flatter their body type. Therefore, Marie, as a tall woman, would seemingly never appear feminine in public.

Changing Her Fate

However, she has come along way from the little girl eating alone in the bathroom. She’s become a confident, fit, and tall woman. She’s learned to embrace her curves and has started ordering custom clothing to highlight her femininity. Although it’s become a costly solution, it has given her the opportunity to personalize her style. Always selecting pieces that help her exude confidence.

Empowering Others

Marie is now a “plus-sized” model, encouraging others to embrace their bodies with open, loving arms. “Nowadays, I embrace my curves as a plus-size model, am proud to be tall and try to inspire others that being tall and different is beautiful.” Marie explained. “I am now ultra-feminine because I don’t ever want to be called a man again and am trying to change the stigma that being tall isn’t a masculine trait.”

Not the Only Tall Woman

Marie Temara isn’t the only tall woman who’s had challenges to overcome. An anonymous woman by the name of “Cara” also opened up about her experiences as a tall woman of 6’1 in 2014. She too changed things about herself to appear shorter and more feminine. “I slouch a lot. Like, I have terrible posture and back problems from it, and honestly it only probably makes me look worse. But there are times when you just want to look less intimidating/”manly,” and that feels like the most efficient way to do it.” She explained.

Her height has seemingly impacted her own beauty standards. “I think beautiful is partially how you carry yourself, but I am just like everyone else: I see girls that I wish I looked like and I think, “Oh wow, she’s beautiful,” and I’m jealous of her. Like, I see a girl sometimes who is 5’5″ or so – a normal height – and she’s just with some guy who is shorter than me but still much taller than her and I think that they look…right? They look right together.” Cara divulged. “Because to me, she is beautiful because she fits into something, and she looks happy and natural.”

While there’s no denying Marie is a tall woman, she’s actually shorter than most of her family. Surprisingly, her father is the short one in the family, coming in at 6’3, while her mom is 7’5! Meanwhile, her younger brothers are giants, at 7’9 and 7’10. Interestingly, some of her social media followers have noted inconsistencies with her and her family’s height in different videos. Either way, she has transformed the negative attention she’s received into something positive that empowers others to love themselves unconditionally.