This is a slightly different “inspiring women” segment, but I was watching the show Friday Night Lights with my +1 the other night and came across the character of Tyra, played by Adrianne Palecki. I felt it was important to shout out a positive representation of a tall woman in a mainstream TV series.
why she’s revered ✨
- The character Tyra is presented as a strong, independent tall woman on Friday Night Lights
- Adrianne Palecki appears to embrace her height at red carpet events, not shying away from being the tallest in group photos
Well, my +1 is so football mad that during the off-season football even pervades our TV watching. However, Friday Night Lights is a great all round show and really easy to get into even if you don’t know much about football (like me.)
Anyway, Tyra Collette is a character from Friday Night Lights who jumped out at me straight away. I didn’t even realize how tall she was, it was more her attitude and powerful presence that drew me to Tyra as I was watching.
volleyball hero
I like that the producers didn’t shy away from creating a “tall” storyline in season 2, episode 13. Coach Eric Taylor’s wife, Tami Taylor, is placed in charge of the volleyball team which, we are told, is hapless. During the course of this episode, Tyra comes home with the Taylors’ daughter Julie for dinner, and Tami notices Tyra reaching easily to the top shelf of their cupboard to grab some condiments. I’ve always said one of the benefits of being a tall woman is that you can reach the top shelf, so it was kind of cool to see this represented on TV.
Tami is so impressed by Tyra’s height she makes her the volleyball star. I suppose you could argue the storyline “pigeonholes” the tall girl as the volleyball star, but again, as a tall woman I was very good at volleyball when I played in high school and my height was one of the main reasons for that. I’m not saying all tall girls should play volleyball, far from it, but it’s a positive representation of a useful way to gain success from your height as a tall girl in high school. Tyra goes on to have huge success in the episode, smashing the lowly Panthers to victory as the team’s top player.
I do think for tall girls sport is a great way to feel vindicated in the body you were given. I’ve personally been inspired by a number of tall and plus size athletes and this episode of Friday Night Lights is a testament to how sport can help give you confidence at a time (high school) when a lot of girls are struggling, and even cursing, their height/size.
adrianne is not afraid to wear those heels
Adrianne Palecki, who plays Tyra, appears to be very happy to walk the red carpet in heels, not worrying about towering over men as she does so. To be honest, so many male actors are below average height and I hate to see tall women “catering” to them by not wearing heels or employing the classic “bend one knee” to lose a few inches in photos. She has black hair in the below photo.
Adrianne should be credited for embracing her height, and though I don’t know too much more about her other than her appearance in Friday Night Lights, she absolutely ticks all the boxes to be an inspiring woman.