Arianne Cohen must have one of the more interesting job descriptions around: when she's not writing and talking about life as a very tall woman, she's in charge of editing New York's favorite voyeuristic pastime: the New York magazine Sex Diaries. It takes a lot of imagination to come up with that as a career! Arianne was kind enough to talk to Mr NYC about "Tall World," editing the erotic adventures of others, and her thoughts on this crazy city.
So you stand 6 foot 3 inches and have written a whole book about your height and other tall people called The Tall Book. Briefly, what is Tall World?
Tall World is where life is lived up high! It's a unique perspective. For example, it's very dirty--people rarely clean above six foot, so the tops of things tend to be quite dirty. And more to the point, like any group that's somehow different, you gain a great vantage point on society.
Based on your research, as well as your own experience, are there big differences between being a tall woman and a tall man?
It's mostly the same--the biggest challenge is living a very public life, which is akin to always having a spotlight on you. And that's genderless. The biggest differences are romantic. Tall men are the most successful dating and mating group in the world, bar none: they're more successful than rich men or powerful men. Tall women, on the other hand, have low birth rates--they have half the birth rates of average women, and it's because they insist on dating men taller than they are, and thus don't find partners. Which leads me to my big recommendation: ladies, consider dating down. At least an inch or two. It'll triple the size of your dating pool.
And talking about mating (sorry for the bad pun), you are also the editor of New York magazine's Sex Diaries that chronicle a week in the sex life of various New Yorkers. Like most readers I wonder: are these people real and where do you find them?
They're quite real! Most come from online ads, though these days many are referrals from previous writers--they'll tell their friend, "oh you have to do this."
How do people get their sex diaries published? What makes a good "diary"? What goes on "behind the scenes" at the Sex Diaries?
A good diary tells not just what happened, but what the diarist was thinking. It's a journal of thoughts. Roughly 1 of every 3 commissions runs--many writers have a hard time with delving into their own personal lives honestly, so a lot are too shallow to run. And of course there are those who try to make them up. After reading 400 of them, it's pretty obvious what's what.
What is the best and what is the worst diary you've edited?
There have been many great ones--recently, I was a fan of the 68 year-old tantra student, a man who was getting over his wife's death by throwing himself into tantra and nudism. I just learned so much because he has so much perspective. The worst? It did not run, because among other issues, it involved body bags. I'm forever mentally scarred.
Finally, you live in both NYC and Portland, Oregon. What do you like/dislike about both places?
New York is where I work, and Portland is where I live. Portland is like Brooklyn, but 1/3rd the price, and everyone bikes everywhere. Same type of people. It's heavenly. In New York I fill my schedule morning to night seeing people and going to museums and lunching and dining out 14 times in a week and going to back-to-back theater, which I love to do a week every month. The cultures are quite different though. My New Yorker friend visited me in Portland, and was helping me put out the trash and recycling. Portland trashcans are quite small, half the size of recycling cans. And she goes, "So where do you put your garbage?"
Thanks Arianne!
So you stand 6 foot 3 inches and have written a whole book about your height and other tall people called The Tall Book. Briefly, what is Tall World?
Tall World is where life is lived up high! It's a unique perspective. For example, it's very dirty--people rarely clean above six foot, so the tops of things tend to be quite dirty. And more to the point, like any group that's somehow different, you gain a great vantage point on society.
Based on your research, as well as your own experience, are there big differences between being a tall woman and a tall man?
It's mostly the same--the biggest challenge is living a very public life, which is akin to always having a spotlight on you. And that's genderless. The biggest differences are romantic. Tall men are the most successful dating and mating group in the world, bar none: they're more successful than rich men or powerful men. Tall women, on the other hand, have low birth rates--they have half the birth rates of average women, and it's because they insist on dating men taller than they are, and thus don't find partners. Which leads me to my big recommendation: ladies, consider dating down. At least an inch or two. It'll triple the size of your dating pool.
And talking about mating (sorry for the bad pun), you are also the editor of New York magazine's Sex Diaries that chronicle a week in the sex life of various New Yorkers. Like most readers I wonder: are these people real and where do you find them?
They're quite real! Most come from online ads, though these days many are referrals from previous writers--they'll tell their friend, "oh you have to do this."
How do people get their sex diaries published? What makes a good "diary"? What goes on "behind the scenes" at the Sex Diaries?
A good diary tells not just what happened, but what the diarist was thinking. It's a journal of thoughts. Roughly 1 of every 3 commissions runs--many writers have a hard time with delving into their own personal lives honestly, so a lot are too shallow to run. And of course there are those who try to make them up. After reading 400 of them, it's pretty obvious what's what.
What is the best and what is the worst diary you've edited?
There have been many great ones--recently, I was a fan of the 68 year-old tantra student, a man who was getting over his wife's death by throwing himself into tantra and nudism. I just learned so much because he has so much perspective. The worst? It did not run, because among other issues, it involved body bags. I'm forever mentally scarred.
Finally, you live in both NYC and Portland, Oregon. What do you like/dislike about both places?
New York is where I work, and Portland is where I live. Portland is like Brooklyn, but 1/3rd the price, and everyone bikes everywhere. Same type of people. It's heavenly. In New York I fill my schedule morning to night seeing people and going to museums and lunching and dining out 14 times in a week and going to back-to-back theater, which I love to do a week every month. The cultures are quite different though. My New Yorker friend visited me in Portland, and was helping me put out the trash and recycling. Portland trashcans are quite small, half the size of recycling cans. And she goes, "So where do you put your garbage?"
Thanks Arianne!
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