Do you struggle with being taken seriously when you look significantly younger than your age?

5 comments

1. I’m a 28-year-old teacher. I get it a *lot* from both colleagues and students. The plus side is that the students see me as more relatable. The downside is that they don’t take the work as seriously and it means I have to bring the hammer down more often, which makes me feel like a dick.

   Though, the trick with this is often that you have to set the standard for how you want to be treated. Appearances are fleeting, and if you’re constantly being taken less seriously because of how you look, sometimes it means having a word with them about it, or if that’s not an option – expressing the side of yourself more that you want them to see.

2. Yes! I am constantly underestimated, even when I prove myself to be capable. It seems like no matter what I do my baby face (worsened by my height) is the leading factor in others perception of me.

3. I’m 32f. My son is 13. I get mistaken for being his sister all the time.

   I work as a Resource and Nutrition coordinator and people think I’m just out of high school and have no idea what I’m doing.

   People always say to take it as a compliment, but being seen as incompetent just because of the way I look has me so fed up.

   I also deal with a lot of really creepy men. It disturbs me knowing how many men my age would hit on a woman they think is a teenager and say the disgusting things they say.

   I also have had bartenders tell me my ID is fake. I’m so over it at this point.

4. baby face is now called Selena Gomez Syndrome 🥹

5. Yes. I’m 26M and if I’m lucky people think I’m at least 18. They usually think I’m in the 16-17.

   I perceive people treat you with condescence and expect you to always be taught/mentored.

   The worse is when you are trying to be assertive and act as the age you actually have, people perceive it as “a kid who does not know his place”.

   This is something that I struggle with all the time.

   Reading the comments makes me feel a little better, knowing there’s more people out there with the same problem.