Tall women can be proud of themselves, says a tall journalist who has made it her mission to collect the stories of other tall women and to be a role model for her daughter in terms of self-confidence.

ABC News journalist Candice Prosser is in the 99th percentile of Australian woman height. She is 183 cm tall, or about 1.80 m, and wears a size 43 shoe: “Long limbs, long fingers, long feet – I’m just long,” she told Jim Mora on Sunday morning.

“I’m clearly in the minority when it comes to statistics for Australian women – it’s probably very similar in New Zealand.”

Prosser said she has had to come to terms with her towering stature, and in her recent article for ABC, she explained why standing out is empowering.

“In fact, I notice a lot more tall women today than I did when I was a kid, and it’s really nice to see other tall women being confident about it. Statistically speaking, we’re a very rare species.”

The article was born out of a realization that a more positive portrayal of tall women in the media was needed, says Prosser: “I don’t think we see that enough.”

“I’ve been thinking about height lately. I’m a mother and I have a little daughter who is almost five years old. She has beautiful long limbs and will definitely be as tall as my husband and I. And that got me thinking that I really want to model that confidence in her body for her when she grows up.”

There is a double standard in society regarding body size and gender as well as ideal body image, she says.

“I think sometimes we, especially as women, fall into the trap of apologizing for our existence. … And often we are conditioned to believe that it is not desirable for women to be tall in any way.

“Men often take it for granted that their height is a great advantage, and many tall men have a real, natural self-confidence as a result. And I like to look tall men in the eye and feel like I’m their equal in every way.”

Growing up tall can be a big challenge, she says, which is why it’s especially important for young people to see other tall women around them.

“I didn’t have anything like that growing up. I’m an only child and much taller than my parents. While they encouraged me a lot and always told me to stand up tall and be proud, it’s not quite the same as seeing peers you can identify with and not feeling like an outsider all the time.

“I remember growing up, I was always the tallest girl in school and that was a bit difficult for me.”

Hardly a day goes by without her height being mentioned in conversations, says Prosser: “I was 1.82 meters tall from the age of 14.”

“In general, girls have their growth spurts earlier than boys – it wasn’t until late in high school that some of the boys who would grow up caught up with me. That’s not an uncommon experience for girls… and when you’re a big girl, you just realize that you stand out so much.

Prosser says that not only did she always feel like she stood out in the truest sense of the word, but also that her size was constantly emphasized socially.

“All of these unsolicited comments about your body and your size can be really damaging – especially for young girls. I think if someone feels insecure around a tall person, they shouldn’t project that onto the other person – especially if that person is a young girl – because who wants to make a young girl feel bad?

“I think we need to check ourselves on these things because normally we would never comment on a person’s body, but height seems to be one of those things that people think it’s OK to mention.”

Big girls who have positive, tall role models in their childhood can withstand attention better and see a solid foundation for developing a positive self-image.

She found the experience of one of the women Prosser spoke to particularly valuable.

“She grew up in a big family and said she was surrounded by all these big women who were successful, beautiful and powerful, and that’s why she didn’t feel like an outsider. I talked about modeling that confidence – it was all around her.”

“She said all of this made her see the attention she got as a young girl – and tall people get attention, we stand out – as a very positive thing, and it was positive that she stood out.

“And I think it all depends on your own experience. When you feel like you stand out and you feel uncomfortable about it – like all teenagers feel uncomfortable about a lot of things – it kind of changes the way you see yourself.”

In addition to the obvious benefits of height – being able to see over a crowd, easily find exits and reach things on high shelves – another advantage is being able to dominate a room and easily be perceived as a leader, says Prosser.

“The women I spoke to said that’s what they really enjoy about their professional lives now: the ability to stand out and own that. And I think you have to have the confidence to use those things to your advantage and that’s something that a lot of us grow into.

“I’ve really grown into my size and I really love it.”