From Sun Visors To Bathroom Mirrors: 45 Struggles Only Short People Understand

By Larissa C

According to reports, the average height for women in the United States is 5 foot 4 inches, which is approximately 164cm. While this doesn’t necessarily make them tall, it also doesn’t make them as short as some people around the world. Every culture has a different average height!

Lots of women (and men) stop growing way too soon and end up being shorter than most people they know. On top of dealing with all the difficulties of being short, they also have to deal with the numerous jokes from taller people. But gone are the days when people got offended at such jokes. Nowadays, short people are making fun of themselves as well! In this article, we’re going to show you 45 hilarious posts showing short people’s problems — you may even relate to some of them!

Swimming in the kids’ pool!

When we’re kids, we feel compelled to do all the things that only adults are allowed to do, like going out until late, living alone — and swimming in the adult’s pool. Unfortunately, these pools are pretty deep, and there’s a reason why kids can’t swim in them.

Image courtesy of keribreen/Twitter

But kids are not the only ones who have to stay in the smaller pool — short adults have to stay there too! This woman’s Tweet perfectly summed up what it feels like being a shortie in the adult swimming pool. They can’t go too far, or else they can drown!

They should put her in the front.

Taking group photos when you’re short is quite troublesome. You don’t have many options for where you’re going to stand. At least, not when you’re taking a picture with a very large group. As you’ll see below, short people have to stay in the front:

Image courtesy of shortgirlprblem/Twitter

If you want to appear in the photo, you have to stay in the front. Otherwise, you’ll end up just like this poor lady who got stuck all the way in the back and had to stand on her tip toes. Even still, we can only see the upper half of her face, despite all her struggle!

I can do this!

It’s not rare to see a short woman dating a tall man. It’s like they say: opposites attract. And when you’re a short woman dating a tall man, you have to get used to listening to all kinds of jokes about your height.

Image courtesy of CommonWhiteGirl/Twitter

This lady was clearly tired of dealing with her boyfriend’s jokes every time she asked him to grab something from the upper shelf in the cabinet. This time around, she decided to take matters into her own hands. Though, we can’t say that hopping on the counter with your boots on is very hygienic. 

Yeah, so what?

In the next picture, we’re going to show yet another woman who always has to deal with her boyfriend’s jokes. One time, they were going out of the grocery store, and he noticed how small she was compared to the cars.

Image courtesy of _nanda_nicole/Instagram

Well, everyone is much smaller than heavy-duty trucks. But what’s funny here is the fact that she’s shorter than even the truck’s mirror! Her boyfriend is so into making short people jokes that he noticed it right away and made his girl pose for a pic to prove his point!

That’s a great hack!

When you’re short, you don’t need to go shopping to have trouble reaching for the items located on upper shelves. You’ll have problems with that in the comfort of your home! This lady couldn’t reach the upper shelf so she came up with this hack:

Image courtesy of xprettyxpistol/Instagram

Instead of hopping on the counter or asking for the help of a taller person, you can be an independent short person. Well, as long as you have something that will help you grab the items from the higher shelves!

So what should we do?

Driving should be easy once you get the hang of it — but short people don’t get to have things their way, it seems. It’s not safe to sit too close to the steering wheel or else you can get really injured if you’re ever in an accident. But how is a short person supposed to drive like this:

Image courtesy of FactsWeird/Facebook

She was not safe sitting too close to the steering wheel, and she’s certainly not safe driving like this. For starters, she can barely reach the pedals. And how is she supposed to get a proper view of the road and her surroundings when she’s sitting like that?

Wait a minute…

Who said that your friends and relatives are the only ones who are going to make fun of your short stature? When you are a short person, the jokes come from all directions and you are not safe anywhere! Check this out:

Image courtesy of dreamlordmorpheus/Tumblr

This bookstore decided to prank its customers and came up with this funny idea of putting some books really high up in the store and printing that sign. However, short people are not the only ones who will have a hard time reaching for those books. Only NBA players are going to be able to get them!

Free gym!

Short people have to know how to make fun of themselves, or else they’re going to be mad at other people way too often. This woman is making fun of herself for being short, but she does have a point.

Image courtesy of Woah_Its_Kaylie/Twitter

Instead of asking her significant other or tall teenager to grab the ingredients on the top shelf for her, she’s doing it herself. She didn’t expect that she’d have to hop on the counter over and over again as she forgot to get one ingredient or another. Hey, at least it’s a good workout.

He’s a genius!

Asking someone out on a date or to prom is really hard. No matter how old we are, we always get nervous when trying our chances with the person we like. But the guy in this next picture is showing that confidence is the key to a successful prom date:

Image courtesy of SHORTGIRLS/Twitter

He might have come up with the best idea to ask a short person on a date. All you need is this giant measuring ruler. If they’re not tall enough, they can’t say no to you. It’s as simple as that!

He should have bent his knees!

When a tall person and a short person are in a relationship, they have to come up with different ways to take pictures together. That’s because the two of them won’t always fit the frame unless the photographer knows what they’re doing.

Image courtesy of_FOREVERNayy/Twitter

This photographer clearly didn’t know that they should have added some distance from the couple in order to capture both the short lady and her tall man. But the guy could’ve helped, too. All he had to do was bend his knees and we’d get to see his face!

Where’s the accessibility?

Nowadays, businesses can’t focus only on profits. They also have to keep other things in mind, like coming up with different ways to be an accessible business. But it seems like this particular establishment missed that memo and did this:

Image courtesy of EngInTheWild/Twitter

When they had that bathroom mirror installed, they obviously didn’t think of the short people. This lady can’t even see her reflection properly, so how is she supposed to use the mirror at all? So much for being accessible to all customers!

She could literally fall!

It seems like short people have the hardest time at home, especially when they have to do the chores. Imagine not being able to reach the top shelf on your own cabinet! That’s borderline humiliating — but not quite as embarrassing as this:

Image courtesy of SimplyBrook_/Twitter

This woman is so short that she can’t even do her laundry without facing an obstacle. After the laundry machine was done, she had to get her clothes and put them in the dryer, but she couldn’t reach the bottom of the washer. Maybe this is a sign that she could get a front-load washing machine!

Is that so bad?

Shorter people tend to have smaller feet, which means that some short ladies have to go shopping for shoes in the children’s section. While that limits their shopping options, it doesn’t really mean that this is a bad thing. There’s always the bright side to every situation.

Image courtesy of Shamettow/Twitter

For starters, children’s clothing items are usually cheaper. You’ll have fewer options in some stores, but it’s certainly nice to save money while everyone else is spending a lot on their clothes. As for shoes, you can still find light-up shoes in your size. They’re perfect for a fun night out!

Two for one!

Fashion trends change all the time, and it seems like wearing baggy clothes is the real deal these days. All the It Girls are wearing baggy shirts or baggy shorts, or even both — you’ve seen Billie Eilish doing it, haven’t you?

Image courtesy of manipulated_day/Instagram

This short lady decided to try out the baggy trend herself, but it clearly didn’t turn out as she had expected. Instead of making the extra-large coat fashion, it just looks like she’s wearing a coat-turned-dress. But, hey, at least she’s amused!

Can’t even have fun!

Self-inserts are pretty fun, no matter how old you are. The problem is that self-inserts for adults can be pretty tall and not every adult is able to reach them. This poor girl just wanted to have fun at her school:

Image courtesy of dingdonghobgoblin/Tumblr

The only obstacle between the girl and her fun was the fact that whoever picked the elf’s heigh was clearly a tall person and didn’t even think about their shorter colleagues. To make it worse, it looks like there’s not even a kid-sized cut-out for her to stoop into.

What are friends for?

Finding genuine friendship is not that easy, but once you do find a real friend, they are probably sticking by your side for life. This girl was lucky enough to find a best friend that will always help her out:

Image courtesy of MeggMcGee/Twitter

The poor girl was too short to reach the skirt she wanted to try on. Luckily for her, her best friend lifted her up and helped her reach for the clothes she wanted. And judging by their stance, these girls are probably cheerleaders, and they’re putting their skills to good use!

The ideal shopping cart.

We love the new trend of kid-sized shopping carts. It’s so cute to see young ones going around with their parents, acting like they’re the ones picking out the dinner menu. Well, it turns out that those carts aren’t just for kids.

Image courtesy of tinytina3/Instagram

They’re for short people, too! Not only can she comfortably hold onto the cart, but the flag, which is used to help parents find their kids, is still over her head. We love this woman’s attitude towards short people’s problems.

Mirror problems, part two.

For most things in life, there’s a set of rules to be followed. In construction, for instance, there are a bunch of regulations that determine the width, height, and other aspects of things. But do these rules think of short people?

Image courtesy of withlove_365/Instagram

Looks like the answer is no. The counter looks like no one under 5 feet can comfortably get close enough to the mirror to use it for anything other than brushing their hair. The only solution for her was to climb on the sink and apply her makeup. Let’s only hope that the counter won’t break under the weight!

That’s what life is all about.

When you’re a short person, you go through things that tall people just can’t relate to. After all, a tall person will rarely need to ask for assistance when trying to reach something on the top shelf. And they’ll rarely experience these moments, either:

Image courtesy of amandarosa629/Twitter

Tall people certainly don’t understand what it feels like to find a cute outfit but find out that it is too long for your short body. Nor will they enjoy the feeling of swinging your feet because you can’t reach the floor when you’re sitting on a chair!

You have to get front row tickets.

You certainly know that, when you go to a concert or any other type of event at a large venue, you’ll have to pay more for the tickets if you want to stay closer to the stage. For short people, this is especially problematic.

Image courtesy of castilianpink/Tumblr

If you don’t get to sit in front the row, you probably won’t see the concert at all! Apparently, every single person at this venue with this woman is taller than her. Though it seems like there’s some space for her to move to the front if she wants to.

Well, that’s a bummer.

One of the best “modern” features in cars is the sun visor. If you’ve never driven, then you don’t know how dangerous it is to drive with the sun in your eyes. However, it seems like short people can’t have that either, among all the things they can’t have. This woman will show you why:

Image courtesy of SHORTGIRLS/Twitter

If you’re a short person and your seat can’t be adjusted vertically, you probably go through this all the time. Even though she’s using the sun visor, it’s not doing much for her. Maybe they should have a way to adjust them lower for all the shorties out there.

Sometimes you need a helping hand.

Short people face lots of obstacles in their daily lives, but there’s something else that all short people have in common. They’re all stubborn! If you know a short person, you know that they’d rather be stuck doing things the hard way rather than asking for help.

Image courtesy of spitting-alpacas/Tumblr

This is a clear case of “short person stubbornness”! Instead of accepting help from her roommates, this woman would rather hop on the laundry machine like that every time she has to do her laundry. And she’ll even tell people that she’s fine!

Is the woman too short or the bed too tall?

While some short people do things the hard way, there are others who use their brains and come up with ways to make their life easier. This woman, for instance, bought a step stool so that she could get in bed without jumping every night.

Image courtesy of tropicalgirl13/Instagram

The stool was a great idea and it’s certainly going to make this short woman’s life better. But we can’t help wondering if that bed isn’t too tall even for tall people. Maybe the woman’s height is not the problem here!

She almost didn’t make it!

When we are kids, going to the amusement park is a lot of fun. However, it is also one of the biggest disappointments ever. Why is that? Because sometimes we’re not tall enough to be allowed to go on some rides.

Image courtesy of Short Girl Problems/Twitter

But who said that this only happens to kids? Some short adults are not always able to go on some rides because they don’t meet the height requirement. This woman, for instance, was so used to being turned away from the rides that she had to double-check.

Not every man is tall!

Usually, women are shorter than men. But that doesn’t mean that all women are short, nor does it mean that every man is tall. Some women are as tall as men, and some men are as short as the average woman.

Image courtesy of transat18/Tumblr

This guy, for instance, is so short that he can only see the top of his head in the mirror. Whoever designed this bathroom didn’t think at all of the short men, and this dude is now feeling like a kid! Luckily for guys, they don’t have to touch up their makeup!

At least take your shoes off!

As we’re seeing in this article, it’s pretty common for short people to hop on the kitchen counter in order to reach the top shelf. If you’re taller than the average person, you probably won’t understand why such extreme measures are necessary!

Image courtesy of hazilsky/Tumblr

Even though this woman is standing on the counter, she’s still not reaching the ceiling — which means that this woman is pretty short indeed. But we do have to mention that she should probably take her shoes off before hopping on the counter!

Where is she?!

If there’s a person who goes shopping for clothes and is not disappointed once, please introduce us to them — because we’d love to know the secret to happy shopping! When we go to the store, we’re always disappointed to find that a certain outfit won’t fit us.

Image courtesy of seetras-before-mistas/Tumblr

This woman, for instance, saw this lovely jumpsuit and thought she’d look great in it. Once she got to the store, she was surprised to find that the piece of clothing was designed for women with long legs. So much for the jumpsuit fad.

It’s a miracle indeed.

Earlier in this article, we mentioned how newer cars give drivers and passengers the option of adjusting their seats vertically. This is a great option for short people because they can adjust their seats and drive safely. And even if your car doesn’t let you do this, you can buy one of those cushions that will raise your height.

Image courtesy of raisingwizards/Tumblr

The one thing you shouldn’t do is drive when you can barely see what’s in front of you. The person who took this picture was right to be afraid of driving — we would be too if we were that short! Hopefully, their friends will give them a car seat cushion for their birthday!

It’s not useful for you…

When short people can’t do something or something doesn’t work for them, the first thing that they will do is to claim that said thing is not useful. Well, it turns out that they’re not useful to them because they’re just too short!

Image courtesy of Americann_prep/Twitter

Sun visors are pretty helpful — if you’re tall enough for it to work, that is. If you’re a short person, it won’t be of much help. We know it’s not the visor’s fault, but it’s still frustrating. Sunglasses can help a little, but they don’t block out the sun well enough on a sunny day.

Who designed these?

Designers and architects go to college so they can learn how to create things that are aesthetically pleasing and efficient. But it’s also important that they design things for people of all sizes. However, it looks like this designer forgot to keep that in mind:

Image courtesy of porcelainrogue/Instagram

Whenever this young woman wants to open her apartment’s windows, she has to hop on the window sill. It doesn’t make a lot of sense that whoever designed this apartment would do this instead of using regular windows. But maybe it’s not too late for this woman to find a new apartment!

“I wish I had longer arms!”

One problem that every short person deals with is the fact that they can’t reach the hood of their cars. Even if you have a compact car, you probably have quite a hard time trying to wash it or remove the snow on your own.

Image courtesy of Mrs_Loforte/Twitter

This woman definitely did. She tried to get the ice off her car but she wasn’t that successful, as you can see. That’s because her arms couldn’t reach the middle of the windshield. We bet that she never wished to be taller more desperately in her life!

That’s just bad luck

When this girl moved into her new apartment, she never thought that her height would become a major problem. Growing up short, there are a lot of things that you get used to. But struggling to get the mail is certainly not one of them:

Image courtesy of arturum-expectare/Tumblr

How frustrating is it to not be able to reach inside the mailbox? The worst part is that she lives alone and can’t ask for help to collect the mail, and there’s no way to switch mailboxes with the neighbors. If she invents a step stool to go, it’d probably be a successful product!

He should consider getting a different car!

Most of the short people we showed in this article were women. But we already mentioned that some men are pretty short as well. These men go through the same struggles as short women, and they have it even worse sometimes.

Image courtesy of dylbro21/Instagram

Short men struggle not only with physical stuff but also with the fact that some ladies don’t want to date men shorter than 6 feet tall. Perhaps, that’s why short men love driving these big trucks — it makes up for something they lack, even if they have difficulty washing their car!

How am I supposed to know if I look good?

When we shop for clothes and accessories, it only makes sense that we try things on before deciding if we will buy them. And while we can tell if a shirt or a dress will look good on us even without a mirror, there’s no way to buy glasses like that.

Image courtesy of b_dawg60/Twitter

How would you tell if the sunglasses look good on you unless there’s a mirror where you can check it for yourself? While there was a mirror there, this woman couldn’t see her face because she was too short for it!

She can’t enjoy the good things in life!

There are some things in life that bring a lot of joy, even if they’re simple. But when you’re short, it seems like the universe is conspiring to make fun of you in every single way possible! You can’t even do this:

Image courtesy of skinnyfitjenn/Twitter

Resting our feet on the coffee table is such a comfy thing, even if we grow up hearing that we shouldn’t do that. There’s just something about using the table as an accessory to rest our feet. But when you’re short, you don’t always get to experience those little pleasures in life.

Be careful!

Yet another thing that should be easy but is actually harder for short people is working out. For starters, if you go on a jog with a tall friend, you guys will never be on the same pace because of the difference in the length of your legs. 

Image courtesy of mashedcakexx/Twitter

And if you stick to working out at the gym, you’ll find that some equipment was definitely not built with short people in mind. This woman literally has to stand on the bench in order to do this exercise, even though that’s not how you’re supposed to do it!

Time to change apartments!

Choosing an apartment is not an easy task. You need to pick the place that fits your vibe and your preferences, and you need to make your decision very carefully. That’s because you’re choosing the place where you’re going to be living in for the foreseeable future.

Image courtesy of allianamariee/Twitter

Let’s say that you managed to find an apartment that is perfect for you. The only problem is that you’re short and the bathroom mirror is too tall for you. Would you still choose this apartment in this case? It seems like this girl did that and now she’s not so happy about her decision!

At least you’re taking it lightly!  

Life is all about having fun and knowing when to take things lightly. This is especially true when you’re short. Imagine if you were to get mad or upset at every single joke thrown your way? You’d certainly have lots of wrinkles on your forehead before the age of 30!

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This guy is definitely not going to let his short height get in his way — even when he can’t reach the top shelf at the grocery store to get his favorite product. Though we have to say that, depending on what the product was, we’d be kinda upset!

This is just too funny.

There is one thing that most people don’t talk about, even if it affects short people’s lives a great deal. That thing is getting money out of the ATM. For short people, this is such a complicated task, and if you can’t guess why, here’s a hint:

Image courtesy of Short Girl Problems/Twitter

Stopping by a drive-thru ATM is a nightmare for short people. No matter how close to the machine they park, their arm is still not long enough for them to reach the buttons on the machine! Everyone has different ways of dealing with this — and this woman came up with one of the funniest ways ever!

You got to take extreme measures!

When you are a short person and there is no tall person in sight, you need to do things on your own. You’ve seen how those short ladies didn’t think twice before hopping on the kitchen counter to grab things from the top shelf!

Image courtesy of _samantha_jane/Twitter

This woman couldn’t reach the top shelf at the grocery store, but there was no one around to help her. Her brilliant idea was to hop on the lower shelves and climb up to the desired shelf. This independent woman solved the problem on her own, though we don’t recommend you try this dangerous stunt at home.

Do I have to shop in the children’s section?

The average height for a woman is not a lot, and it’s surprising that there are so many women who can’t even reach the average. These women are really, really short, and their height doesn’t help them at all — especially when they’re shopping for clothes.

Image courtesy of atl_elle/Instagram

This lady is so short that every single pair of denim pants in this store are way too big for her. That’s because her legs are just too short. She has two options: buy a pair of pants and have them altered or give up altogether and shop for clothes in the children’s aisle!

First, I’ll take a picture.

Being in a relationship is all about companionship and taking care of each other. But every couple needs to have fun, and sometimes they have fun at each other’s expense. This is especially true when one half of the couple is a tall person, and the other half is a short person.

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This girl’s boyfriend placed the microwave above the fridge because there was no other available spot in his kitchen. The only problem is that when his girlfriend comes over, she can’t reach inside the microwave. Before helping her, he had to stop and take a picture of the funny moment.

Something’s not quite right…

Mermaids don’t exist in real life, but we all know what they’re supposed to look like. These mythical creatures look like humans above the waist, but their bottom half is similar to a fish’s tail. But there’s something unusual with this mermaid:

Image courtesy of nadiakesh/Instagram

This woman bought a special blanket that was supposed to make her look like a mermaid, giving her a fish tail from the waist down. The only problem is that she is so short that the blanket actually covers her entire body instead!

Channeling my inner ballerina!

When you’re a short person and you have to reach for something that is on the top shelf, you can get help or you can get creative. If you try to do it on your own, you have to channel your inner ballerina and stand on your tip toes in order to reach for it.

Image courtesy of Booty_Cartel/Twitter

But, as you can see, the tip toes won’t always work. This woman is just way too short to properly check the product she’s eyeing, even if she’s standing like that. Though she can easily grab the item and take it out of the shelf to get a proper look.

When you don’t win the DNA lottery!

Being a short person can be quite frustrating — but it’s even worse when you are a short person born into a family of tall people. This is a rare thing but it does happen to a lot of families. 

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This girl is so short that she can’t even see her own reflection in her mother’s bedroom mirror. Both her parents are tall, but she didn’t inherit their height. And we can tell that she’s a minority in her own household when all the mirrors in the house were placed at that height!