Tall?

I am a fairly tall woman. I measure just shy of 5'-11" standing barefooted. I am the tallest one in the family by probably 3-5 inches.

Recently, a friend who has seen our various pictures, took notice of the height differential, and asked (with some surprise), "You are taller than your Master, aren't you?"

I am. By several inches. We never pay any attention at all.

I know that it is the "norm" for women to prefer that the men they relate to personally be taller. I know that many men feel that it is important to have women partners who are shorter. That set of expectations seem very deeply entrenched in our society; perhaps even in our anthropological inheritance. From the very early moments in the history of the human species, there is evidence that the male was significantly larger and taller than the female. It seems that all of us, homo habilis, homo erectus, and homo sapiens, evolved in ways that equate tall stature with power, strength, the ability to protect, and a sense of dominance.

For us, however, there is no issue with inches. He is completely, confidently dominant, and it has nothing at all to do with being tall or short. His presence is sufficient to convey His power and His strength. Those intangible but undeniable attributes cannot be measured in feet and inches.

Most of us, within power-based relationships, understand that dominance is not about size. It is not about looks, it is not about the physical attributes. In the same way, submission does not depend on being physically overwhelmed, it does not arise from a sense of being forced, it is not driven by some feeling of inevitable imbalance in stature or bulk. Within the lifestyle, most of us are, intellectually, aware that the power flows between us because we choose and create that reality by virtue of our conscious intent and choice.

Still, there is that assumption that is caught off guard by the reality of our "alternative size orientations." I am taller. I am His.

swan