Degrassi Debate: Does The Show Need More Tall Female/Short Male Couples?

You know there isn’t much happening in Degrassiland when even Degrassi joins in on posting fake spoilers and the like.  I don’t have as much time as I’d like to review older episodes, so I wanted to take on random questions and premises presented throughout the fandom during this down period.

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I have noticed that all the couples on the show are either male taller than female or the same height. But I have hardly ever seen a female taller than the male. This bothers me because some men are short and some women are tall. The man isn’t always taller than the woman. I think the only time we had this storyline was with Dave and Sadie. They should have more of them. What do you think about this Kary?

–DegrassiParodies
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We could literally sit here all day and nitpick Degrassi in terms of which groups/traits/etc it doesn’t show often or at all, but I’m not sure if I even want them trying to stretch themselves to be that broad in an attempt to please everyone.

I’d like to think we’re all on board with the show infusing more culture and people of color.  There are specific storylines we all want to see them deal with.  But if we’re expecting a broad variety of “types” that represent everyone in existence, down to specific physical traits, where is the line drawn to avoid Degrassi diluting its messages because they’re now focused on making sure the show fairly represents every person and scenario in some way, shape or form?

The way the initial question is framed, no I don’t want the show to have more tall female/short male couples walking around for the sake of having them simply because the man isn’t always taller than the woman in real life.

I think what kind of irks me is that just having this type of couple around has little value if the focus is just wanting to see them together on the show.  Dave and Sadie’s storyline was decent, but there was nothing to it after the initial plot, so I don’t see the point in going down that road again by itself.  In later episodes up until their breakup I wasn’t thinking “Oh hey it’s cool that Degrassi has a tall girl dating a short guy,” I just saw them as a couple.  The same way I’ve never thought of them or even Jenna and Connor as interracial couples, they’re just Dave & Sadie and Jenna & Connor.

If anything I’d want to see some sort of relationship form as part of an overall character arch for the female, because there’s no reason to revisit it from the male’s perspective.  It’s realistic that tall teen girls are subject to bullying because of their height, and this could lead to issues with self confidence as Degrassi explores how that plays a role in the girl’s relationships.

I guess what I’m trying to get at is I’m fine with that kind of couple happening naturally or as part of a bigger whole, but putting them together just to have them represented on the show? No way.  Degrassi is not a show where we want them doing things “just because.”  Spemma anyone?

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