to want to look older

[54321nought]

I am about to retire, and still getting mistaken for 30s/early 40s, and occasionally 20s.

This is not a good situation to be in, as people constantly misjudge me in all sorts of ways. I am nowhere near as strong as people expect me to be, and have far more professional experience.

I don't have any grey hair, and have never died my hair, but I am considering dying it grey before the new term

@Booboosweet

Everyone thinks they look young for their age. It's just vanity.

That's not true! I'm 33 and look late 30s unfortunately- I have dark circles under my eyes and definitely look older.

@darktriad

My sister is autistic and probably hypermobile, she was IDed in Tesco at 50, she's definitely looks 25-30 and is 53. Kind of disablist this thread as many autistic people look way younger. Not all before anyone jumps on me

I don't think that that's true as a general rule. Your sister might, but there's no reason for people with autism to look younger than anyone those without autism.

Sorry that was meant to say 'anyone else' or 'those without autism'.

Why do people keep giving examples of people looking 5 to 15 years younger than they are? That's not so unusual.

OP is talking about up to 40 years

I mean, howay now...

I think op may be exaggerating a teeny bit here. 😁 However I do understand that it can be annoying in a professional context to be mistaken for younger than you are, I do get mistaken for a teenager pretty frequently and it means people take me less seriously!

That said in my day to day life it’s grand though I did once get IDed trying to buy chocolate liqueurs while massively hormonal once and honestly almost cried 😬

Last time I went out with my mum, a Dr came running up to us trying to put a stitch in her.

So I feel your pain op.

I sympathise, I have always looked younger than I am. I work in senior management in a male dominated organisation and have often been infantalised so have had to work harder to be taken seriously as colleagues naturally assume I am a lower grade than I am.
It can be quite amusing though, I once answered the door of the house I own to a cold caller who asked if my parents were in!

People are deluded if they think they look like a teenager when they are in their mid 30s, or like they're in their 20s, when they are in their 40s.

@PRsecrets

I raise you Bianca Lawson.

You will have to try harder than that. Because that photo you posted of Bianca Lawson (at 22.12) is over 10 years old. She is 42 now, but was 31 then. Also, with a quick google search, I found half a dozen photos of her now, (at 42,) and whilst I agree that she looks younger than her age, she looks no more than 7-8 years younger. She easily looks mid 30s...

On the pic I am posting here, she looks close to 40 IMO.

I rest my case. NO-ONE looks more than 7-8 years younger, not when you look properly, and when there is NO filter.

The pic that @NeverDropYourMooncup posted at 22.34 - and the one have posted here - is more what Bianca looks like.

On the second pic you posted, she is heavily made up, and the pic has a filter on it. And I also see botox in her forehead. And she STILL looks like she is in her mid 30s.

What is your problem? What the hell is wrong with looking your age? And what is wrong with this woman (Bianca Lawson) looking her age? You seem bizarrely defensive of her. Yeah she is attractive, but she does NOT look as young as you are desperately trying to make out.

@ScreamingMeMe

Why do people keep giving examples of people looking 5 to 15 years younger than they are? That's not so unusual.

OP is talking about up to 40 years

I mean, howay now...

Yes this!! Honestly loads of people can look ten years younger, all the celebrity pictures posted they do not look like teenagers! the poster is at retirement age and claiming to look like she is in her twenties, posting random pictures of celebrities who look ten years younger than they are is not being disputed, Angelica Belle and the rest of them looks great but certainly not like a twenty somethings, we are talking claims of 40 years younger!

@ZaraCarmichaelshighheels EXACTLY!

It's batshit to suggest someone looks a generation younger. People are deluded to fuckery.

I'm done with the batshittery now. I'm of to bed!

I'm fast approaching 35 and I do get people thinking I'm younger but nobody mistakes me for a teenager and I never get asked for ID anymore so I must look 25+.

When I was in my mid 20s I did get mistaken for a 15 year old once which was ridiculous. I know I'm short and I look younger but not so young. It was an opticians and something came up about me being in school, something to do with me wearing my work suit I guess. Bizarre.

Even weirder was people assuming I was my dad's wife when I was 14/15. He looked younger than his age but even if I looked a bit older it was still a reach and a bit creepy. It happened so many times and we could never understand it because our mannerisms and looks are so similar that there was surely no mistaking we were father and daughter.

I've come to the conclusion that age is tricky to guess. Definitely people can pass 10 years either side but no way can anybody pass for 30 or more. My parents are approaching 60 and absolutely no way could they pass as anything under 50 in my opinion. 40 at an absolute stretch.

Plus the way people behave tends to give others a good idea too. Difficult in a shop but once you start talking to someone you have a rough idea of age. When I talk about my kids being nearly 4 and 6 no way could I be any younger than late teens even if I did look like a 12 year old. I definitely couldn't have been married for 8 years.

Looking young has it's advantages, you don't automatically get written off as old and boring but it does have many disadvantages. It's only recently in the last couple of years I've been able to go to the shop and buy alcohol without ID and once despite my ID I got full on scrutinized and asked to prove it was me via signature. I do wonder if she was on a power trip because it's never happened before or since...

I also get this and hate it too - people always say I look early 20s which might be ok if I didn't have a now teenager 😳😩 so yes lots more awkward embarrassing moments for both of us still to come while ever out together.. any tips on how to look older appreciated as I remember googling it and absolutely nothing came up!

Well, Angelica Bell looks good. Not a teenager.
I have no idea who Bianca Lawson is, she's very attractive, well made up, but hardly a teenager.
What's wrong with looking your age?
I'm a teacher and work with hundreds of teenagers every day. I have never met anyone substantially older that would pass for a yr 10 or 11.
Who are all these people rushing up to tell others how young they look? If I was in A&E I'd say focus on your job.

@NeverDropYourMooncup - you have the solution to looking eternally 14

[quote Imapotato]@AngryWhompingWillow

I thought that too. Although it's believable for a 36 y.o to be mistaken for mid 20s, claiming every single member of staff said she doesn't look old enough to be a mother of a 12 y.o, and claiming that they all said 'oooh but you look so YOUNG,' is over egging the pudding.

Sorry you find this so unbelievable. I can tell you on a night when you’re in A&E with your young teen for a serious issue that you need to be taken seriously about, it can feel very undermining when people constantly point out how young you look.

Is it really so unbelievable that some people may look up to around 10 years younger than their age? Really? [/quote]
What is unbelievable is the fact you were in A&E with a seriously ill daughter, yet all the busy medics and staff marvelled at your youthful looks and weren’t taking you seriously because of it, I’m sure they were not that unprofessional. Looking ten years younger is really not unusual, many many people do, and honestly they were probably just saying nice things to make a worried mother feel calmer, it’s all part of their training, bedside manner! it’s a nice easy thing to say to anyone to lighten a stressful time.

@3Br1tnee

Last time I went out with my mum, a Dr came running up to us trying to put a stitch in her.

😂

I think ageing is a scary process for some people. Maybe telling this kind of story is a way to soften the blow.

@3Br1tnee

I'm hideously ugly but people are always telling me I'm "quite pretty" or even "beautiful". I think it stops me being taken seriously at work and in A&E. What can I do?

@ScreamingMeMe - I think that you just have to accept that you are stunningly beautiful and somehow live with medical staff constantly commenting. I was recently at the dentist and was humming a song, when the dentist and his assistant both said I should sing in opera at Covent Garden. We all have our crosses to bear.

@ShuddaBeenMe

Is that you, Benjamin Button?

@Birdkin

I think op may be exaggerating a teeny bit here. 😁 However I do understand that it can be annoying in a professional context to be mistaken for younger than you are, I do get mistaken for a teenager pretty frequently and it means people take me less seriously!

That said in my day to day life it’s grand though I did once get IDed trying to buy chocolate liqueurs while massively hormonal once and honestly almost cried 😬

You get mistaken for a teenager? How old are you?