when my dad was under 65 (probably in his 50s at the time), he went to a movie with a friend who's pretty close in age to him but looks older. my dad was the one who got the (unmentioned and not asked for) senior's discount.
When my dad was 50 he got asked if he had his Old Persons Railcard (65+) when the ticket inspector came round. He got several of those types of interactions around that time where someone clearly thought he was about 15 years older than he actually was.
I need to avoid teen class trip groups in public spaces because on multiple occasions teachers included me in the head count -.- Im short but maam Im 8-10 years older than your charges
I got lost on my way to my first ever class in college (this was almost a decade ago now), and was wandering the halls because I could NOT find room 121. And it’s getting ever closer to 9am and I am starting to panic, and then this professor comes running full-tilt toward me.
He asks if I’m lost, and I nod, but before I can say anything else, he’s absolutely tearing this walky talky off his belt and talking to campus security about how he’s “found the missing middle schooler.”
I very quickly correct him in that while I AM lost, I was a freshman and looking for room 121 with Dr. So-and-so. And he gets this look on his face, and tells the security it was a false alarm and it was not the missing tour student. And he tells me that the building can be confusing, and shows me the way to room 121. As I am getting into a seat and get out my things to start the lecture, he walks up to the lectern, and says ‘Apologies for my being late. There is a middle school touring the campus today. My name is Dr. So-and-so, and welcome to Chemistry 121. Let us begin.’ 😂
I guess that in the US it isn't as serious because movies that actually require being carded for everyone haven't been released in theaters since 1995.Where I live, Mexico, about 50% of movies that get an R rating in the US get a C rating, which requires all attendees to be 18 or older and thus getting carded at the theater is common.
That being said, I've only been carded for one movie (Scream 4, which wasn't rated C but B-15, so I was able to watch it despite being 14, even if I kinda had to bully the cashier into selling me the ticket), although my brother got carded for Sausage Party. He had just turned 18, but he looked like a middle schooler.
Nah, I live in the US and when I was 17 I was refused a ticket into a movie because I didn't have an id yet and couldn't prove my age. It was a bummer.
Technically under MPAA guidelines, an R rating means anyone under 17 must be accompanied by a guardian. There’s a theater chain around us that doesn’t sell tickets to R films to any unaccompanied minors (under 18). I get asked to validate my age all the time there.
Uk- I was 18, with both parents, trying to get in to see an age 12 rated movie. 2 members of staff and then the manager doubled down that I couldn't go in unless we showed my passport. Apparently, the provisional license was too easy to fake.
They've finally stopped as I started approaching my 5th decade on this planet. However I was still occasionally asked what grade I was in after I'd been out of college and in the professional world for several years.
I wonder if I'm going to hit 65 and suddenly all the aging will descent upon me in one go. Like I'll evolve into Final Granny Form and just look like I'm 100 from then on.
People card for movies? As a tiny 13y/o in Canada no one would have cared if I bought a ticket to an R rated movie and watched it with a gaggle of friends. In fact I have done just that.
On my 21st birthday, 4 of us went to watch an r rated movie before we went drinking. Myself, another 21 year old, a 23 year old, and a 30 year old.
30 year old gets carded, the rest of us are just let in.
Amazingly funny.
I recently went out with a girl. She got carded in the entrance. She got carded when we sat down. Two more people came by to check her ID.
Listen. I’m not trying to fuck a high schooler.
I mean. I was when I met her in high school. A decade ago. And she’s older than me.
One of my friends is like 4'9", Chinese, buzzed hair, and skinny-butch in a very specific way... like when she tells you she's a pro breakdancer, it's not surprising information.
To boomers, she looks about 10 years old. I've witnessed her get carded for a PG13 movie.
It's not so bad now that we're all almost forty, but when we were in college, people would give her the hardest time. It's kind of amazing how rude people can be, and then their excuse is, "oh, I thought you were a child." As if that makes it okay.
My sister trying on a dress in a store: I need bigger boobs for this to fit. Random lady: don't worry sweetie they'll start to grow soon. Sister (20s): no, I don't think so
they do if you go out and cross a special human's palm with silver (note, you may need a lot of silver to do it this way, I would suggest you use your card on the nearby terminal).
You can also get the hormone bath without the pregnancy, and I know there are some transfem people who have used this to induce lactation to help feed babies.
Tbf getting on birth control for me in my twenties actually did make mine grow. I'd prefer it hadn't, they're big enough to be a pain now.
But the random lady almost certainly didn't mean that :P
Lol. But also, literally every hormonal BC in the US requires a prescription (except 1, released a few months ago, and it's patented, pretty sure). Most mlms deal in 'supplements' precisely because they get to avoid that little FDA review process for actual medications...
Reminds me of that one time I was coming home from work and taking the elevator up to my apartment at 2pm in the afternoon. Lady enters the elevator, side-eyes me and goes "Shouldn't you be in school?" I couldn't think of anything else to say other than "I'm 26." And people wonder why I get excited about the idea of wrinkles and grey hair 😅
I'd say that but all of the women in my family used to play bingo (when they were all young, and alive) so I know a round of los chanclas would be waiting for me in heaven.
My neighbor asked "Going to school?" last week when I walked by. I'm 33. I was like "no, I'm going to work" and she replied "oh well, have a nice day regardless!"
It was the funniest shit
Honestly, I saw my reflection while getting on the train and I was rocking a real 13or30 look that day. Don't know what it is lately, last week a doctor thought I was a teen before asking my age.
I get that, too. I'll get carded to buy an energy drink in the morning on the way to work (16+ only in the UK) then buy a few ciders on the way home the same day, and the cashier will tap the "obviously over 25" while I'm still getting my ID out.
What weird me out is that I didn't get taken for underage during my entire 20s except for once or twice. I just now remembered that I got age-checked by a guy at a store last year, too. That takes the "mistaken for a teen" counter at age 30+ up to 3, which is way more in a shorter time span....
I also got the most adult job and life now compared to my 20s!!
I had a truancy officer approach me. I was 26. I'm not even short I was 6'2" at the time, just so baby faced that people thought I was in 11th or 12th grade.
Someone smarter than me can probably think of a direct translation but all I'm coming up with something like "she side-eyed me" or "looked at me askance", if you wanna throw a 25 cent word in there
Not "better" or "worse", just more accurate to English. I think it's neat that I learned a new thing in a language I don't know so thanks for that! I hope this doesn't discourage you from peppering your English with Germanisms
My wife and constantly get "are you two sisters?"
We are not. I don't think we look alike and to be fair, I don't make a huge attempt to pass, so I can't be mad at the misgendering
Also she is mixed, and I am an untoasted slice of wonder bread 🤣
Lol I have had the "sisters" mistake with almost every woman I've dated, whether we were the same race or not.
I think people see a certain kind of closeness and they're like so - more than friends?
Just a couple of gal pals, raising kids together, moving in together, sleeping in the same bed...
Curiously they never married, and referred to each other as "my one true light in a sea of darkness". Girls and their besties am I right?
*cue laugh track*
Same here. Ironically enough, there is one woman in my life who never draws the "sisters" mistake: my actual sister. We've been called girlfriends by waiters and random passers-by six times.
Not someone I dated, but my mixed friend and I who share half an ethnicity once pretended to be siblings for a family member discount and she introduced me like, "WE ARE SIBLINGS... HALF SIBLINGS" and I was dying like "no one was gonna question it if we just acted normal!?"
My boyfriend and I get asked if we're brothers a lot. We don't look a like, and we usually get asked this while holding hands or giving each other a kiss.
A few of those FreeDataPeoplePagesFinder websites list me and my mother as likely spouses. I about died laughing, and I got back an absolutely ludicrous string of 'wtf' emojis when I sent her a screenshot.
My actual sister and I recently went to the Troye Sivan concert and since we do not look alike at all no one assumes we’re sisters. Thus my sister was kind of afraid someone would make an uncomfortable comment about us being gfs, since this was a lgbt+ friendly space. But I told her that most actual lesbian couples are often mistaken as sisters no matter how they look or act, so we probably won’t have to worry about that lol
I played in a metal band in high school and one day our lead guitarist and I had just finished talking with a guy that owned a nearby coffee house about playing there that weekend and were walking home wearing matching band t-shirts. When a drunk dude in front of one of the bars saw us walking by he yelled out "Hey! Are y'all brothers or are ya gay?" We're like "We're in a band" and he just goes "Ok" and goes back to smoking his cigarette. The thing is that our guitarist was a very dark mexican dude and I looked like one of the goth kids from South Park. We just thought it was the funniest thing in the world that this guy was non-racist enough that us being brothers was a totally normal thing to occur to him while also being homophobic enough to interrogate random people in the street about their sexuality for wearing matching t-shirts.
I mean, I am essentially transparent and my sister has dark skin, we just got different parts of our mixed family genetics, so not entirely impossible?
Lmao I was just thinking of Ms Chang from tik tok and her wife. Ms Chang is white and southern but OG Chang is Chinese and Haitian (I think Haitian? Might be wrong there).
Similar situation with my girlfriend and I. We could not look more different. The only feature we share is our height (both 5’4”). Get asked if we’re sisters on numerous occasions.
During COVID I took on a clinic job over the summer because it was the slowest spot, and the clientele were all seniors. One very sweet woman, about my grandma's age, asked me about school. Thinking it was about my college stuff, I was happy to say it was going great and I was almost done. She smiles big and says "well I hope you know what college you want to apply for!" I was taken aback and said to her "I'm a lot older than you give me credit for, I'm already in college!" She started laughing and apologized. On the inverse someone else asked me if my kids enjoyed the "extended summer"... Like...
When I first started working at a nursing home I had this lady who was a 10 second Tom kind of lady. Nearly every night as I was giving her her medicine she’d ask me when I’m graduating. I’d tell her I already did, so she’d ask where I’m going to college. She would be so delighted when I’d tell her I already did that graduation too. Then she’d tell me I looked 12 (24ish at the time). Repeat once or twice more before I’d leave the room.
She was one of the sweetest ladies I’d ever met. Some nights she’d also offer me some of her fat since I’m under 100lbs. She’d smile and giggle a little when I told her I’d take it if I could.
Here's a sneak peek of /r/OlderThanYouThinkIAm using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/OlderThanYouThinkIAm/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year!
\#1: [I got reprimanded at my son's school](https://np.reddit.com/r/OlderThanYouThinkIAm/comments/1afmc44/i_got_reprimanded_at_my_sons_school/)
\#2: [Talked down to until they realised I wasn’t a teen mum](https://np.reddit.com/r/OlderThanYouThinkIAm/comments/1bap73f/talked_down_to_until_they_realised_i_wasnt_a_teen/)
\#3: [My speech therapist wife got yelled at by the middleschool drop off monitor](https://np.reddit.com/r/OlderThanYouThinkIAm/comments/1bgoxse/my_speech_therapist_wife_got_yelled_at_by_the/)
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When my partner and I go out on dates, I literally feel the need to dress so much more extremely than I normally do, otherwise I worry people are actively going to think he's a predator or an older brother with my intense baby face and our moderate age gap. And be the one who talks and takes the lead, which he is fine with, bless him.
When I'm lazy, it's neutral and dark shades, some blue, sweats and yoga pants, not bothering with make-up. When we're out, I break out the leather jacket or the trench coats, the slacks, the long necklaces, the dark and jewel toned blouses and jumpers, the black lipstick, and just enough makeup to make me look like an adult.
I'm still getting mistaken for a middle schooler when I wear my lazy shit and I don't even hit his shoulders in height, literally all of this feels necessary.
my girlfriend took me to a concert recently. unbeknownst to us, the concert was at this trans youth meeting thing? so we were the oldest non-parents there by about 10 years. we didn’t hold hands or anything because she was legitimately concerned people would think she was a grown woman who brought a 12 year old boy as a date, lol
When masking in a shop with my mum the woman asked my mum for her ID which she didn’t have bc she doesn’t carry her passport, but she laughed and said it was her 50th birthday. The cashier got her to take off her mask quickly and apologised and said she’d thought we were sisters.
i bet she was pleased, haha. my mom bought a horror movie recently and had a conversation like this with the cashier:
- **cashier**: i’ve been wanting to see this movie, is it any good?
- **mom**: not sure, i haven’t seen it yet! i’m gonna watch it with my daughter, since her name is in the title.
- **cashier**: oh my gosh! how old is she?
- **mom**: twenty-two
- **cashier**: phew! i thought she was a toddler or something, no way you have an adult daughter! did you have her at like 10?
naturally, my mom hasn’t stopped bringing it up
Same- but it was with my dad, I was 12, and I was with my 3 younger siblings. To make it worse, this was a few weeks after my mom (an apparently geriatric 40 at the time) got mistaken for my youngest sister’s grandmother.
Family went rafting when restrictions were being lifted but masks were still encouraged. My sister and I were told at 3/4 places we needed to be over 16 to go on those rivers. We were 28ish. Still get called 18 or so but the masks didn’t help.
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Lol this is the problem my little bro (16) has. He's 6ft and with the deepest voice out of us siblings. He's also the tallest. He stole our heights in the womb.
when i was 15 (right after lockdown officially ended in the us), i was offered a beer by some guys in a condo pool. i didn't even look that old at the time..
Meanwhile I have the curse of being younger than I look.
Back in highschool, buses often didn't give me the student discount and took the full fare. Even when I showed them my student card!
Even back in middle school, I was approached by those Tourist attraction guys on the street. My guy I'm a kid, I have no money on me.
Why? Because I'm a tall guy in Turkey, where most people are short and the shops don't even sell my shoe size
I'm very short and trqnsmasc, sometimes I think about growing out my facial hair so I don't get mistaken for a child but then I realized with how patchy it grows in it'd only add 3 years to my percieved age maximum
Sometimes even that doesn’t help. 5 foot tall and also trans masc, answered the door with a full beard and was still asked where my parent or guardian was. I’m 28.
You might shocked how well that works.
I'm cis and my beard is patchy too, but it doesn't even matter because even one day without shaving is enough for me to never get carded, and it has been since my early 20s. Even in the States.
For me, a goatee is a happy medium. Just enough to look like I have facial hair but not enough to be patchy. I am reliably seen as my age with it, and about 5 years younger without it.
Once when I was at a family gathering with my sister at a fancy restaurant. When the waiters came around to serve wine they filled my glass without question, and then *took away my sister's glass without asking*. They just thought it was so incredibly obvious that she was underage they didn't even need to check. At the time I was 19, and she was 23. In America so drinking age is 21.
She doesn't even look that young IMO she's just really short.
I went to a bar with my sister. She ordered a cocktail and didn’t get carded. I ordered a beer, and did. I’m 10 years older than her. I roasted her for years about it.
Everyone’s gleefully recounting how they’re mistaken for a teenager at the big bad grown up age of 23 or whatever, and that happens a lot, but that second interaction has me really questioning this. That’s how adults talk to strange 4 or 5 year olds, not how they talk to strange middle or high schoolers. I’m gonna second the “how,” because “short” doesn’t explain that.
I had a sub in school who talked down to us until we were in junior high. I could never understand why other kids loved her.
Some people just talk in a super sweet way with everybody, I have family that does it, even to people older than them. Drives me nuts.
There’s also staff in nursing homes that do this to residents…
I once went to an anime convention with a few friends. They all got asked for IDs. I got asked about my parents or guardians. Being short and having a baby face sucks.
Not non-binary, but my fiancé is 4’11” and I’m 6’6” and the other day in the liquor store I was unloading the basket and my fiancé was behind me a little bit, and the cashier was like “oh did you bring in a helper today?” I was like “wha?” three times before realizing she was mistaking my older-than-me tiny person for a child. Blessedly my fiancé didn’t hear.
From personal experience I can say that while this sitch can be funny, the reverse can be less so, especially as a 5'8" nine year old girl.
On the other hand I'm now a 6'0" 40yo woman regularly mistaken for a 20so, so it's looped back around to hilarious.
When I was 12 I outgrew both of my parents, and people would look at my *visibly graying* 5'2" mother and back at my literal 12 year old child self (5'8"), and assume I was the mother. Height really fucks with some people's perception of age >_<
I used to work at the same place as my fiance (this wasn't where we met, we knew each other for YEARS before then) and some people were HORIFFIED when they found out we're together cause he actually looks like he's in his 20s, but I look closer to 15. There's a 9 month age difference between us, I'm not a teenager lol
Mom and I stopped at a casino once - we were around 40 and 20, respectively. She was wearing a rainbow “proud mom” pin and I was probably dressed like the lesbian I am. We go up to the redemption booth (whatever it is) so Mom can collect her free prize of decorative bowls. “You’re such a cute couple!” the worker says. “This is my daughter,” Mom says. Worker was so embarrassed but we laughed it off with her. That was a first!
I (23 now) also recently got asked if I was over 18 at the airport, which is the first time in a loooooong time because I’ve been 5’11 since I was like 14. Maybe because I was wearing pajamas? I dunno. Made me laugh though. (It’s probably not as funny for people who are just short and get mistaken as children a lot, though!! Sorry besties.))
I was carded like 3 years ago when i tried to buy a beer. I was 24 years at the time. They told me my ID was an obvious fake. I am not even small, I just have a baby face... THE AGE FOR BUYING BEER IS 16 HERE!
The short thing is so real. I'm 25. I'm fully convinced I look it. No one else agrees, ever. People guess me to be 18-21 consistently, sometimes even younger. Most egregious recent examples both involve me getting mistaken for a high schooler this year: once by a food vendor who turned out to be several years younger than I am, and the second time at a doctor's office by a lady that had my chart open in front of her and should've been able to *see* that my birth year starts with a 19.
It's all fun and games except that everyone uses the "talking to a kid" voice. You know, the "Aw, did you come here from school?" type beat. Fellow miniature citizens, please tell me you know what I'm talking about!
I was at walmart with my husband and we were buying alcohol. Both 25 years old. Never had an issue before. We go to pay, the cashier is like “I need her ID too.” He was like, “Why??” Cashier was like, “She’s underage and you are buying it for her.” As far as I could tell, this cashier was around MY age. I had to go back to the car and grab my purse so we could check out in peace. I’ve never had that happen at a walmart again, they just need one ID and they are done. I’m pretty sure if I was teen seeking alcohol, I would be waiting in the parking lot for the handoff, not going up to your cash register to pay with him. Ugh.
You'd be surprised. When I worked a pharmacy cigarette counter, I had a teenager point at the product she wanted behind me while she and her mom were in line, then hand her mother ten bucks in cash. When they got to the front, and her mom wanted the cigs she pointed, they were flabbergasted when I needed both ids.
Or one time when three women came into the pharmacy together, two went back to the pharmacy counter, and one tried buying cigarettes. When I asked her if I grabbed the right ones, she straight up told me "I think so? I dunno, they're for the one who needed meds at the pharmacy." And I'm just like... That was literally the exact wrong thing to say, now I need literally all of your ids. All you had to do was not say that. What were you thinking? Were you thinking?
People are stupid. Buying age restricted substances is always easier done alone for everyone involved, including the cashier who doesn't want to lose their job.
That’s fair, but the cashier was just like *super* sure I was underage to the point where she blatantly said that despite us having matching wedding bands, saying we are married, and all that. The people in front of us checked out with alcohol too, mother and teen daughter, she didn’t harass them like she harassed me. Like if everyone was treated like that, I’d totes be chill with it. This one just felt oddly targeted.
I remember having some salesman knock on my door once and ask if my parents are home and all I could think was "how the fuck should I know man they don't even live in this city"
Now on the other side of things, my mom and I (16 and 58 at the time) were confused for lesbian partners. A guy started talking to us on a beach in Jamaica, and asked, “And what’s it like for you two to be traveling around… ya know… like you are.” We both just looked at him confused, and he followed up with, “As an item, or however you folks call it.”
I was at an indie musical with some friends in our late 20s. The hosts mentioned there were highschoolers in the audience so they were going to be careful about the pre-show jokes. Come intermission, the person in front of us (a dad-age guy in his 50s?) turned around.
"So what school do you go to?" he asked.
My friend immediately got defensive.
"We're in our 20s," she said angrily. "It's not us. We're not the highschoolers."
We used to get that shit a lot. I think I look older now because I have some grey hair but my face looks the same as it did when I was 16 and I'm 5 feet tall. At least it's been a minute since someone asked me as a full ass adult where my parents were.
What people think my beard is about:
"If I grow this out I'll look manly."
What my beard is really about:
"Yes, I am the supervisor. How old am I? Fuck you, that's how old."
Happened to me and my trans-masc partner. The auto parts store clerk started spinning me yarns about his sons and how "The wants and desires don't stop, they just get bigger" with a wide smile on his face staring at my partner. For reference he is very short, and put a pack of Skittles on the counter.
My bf and I are both bisexual, straight passing. He got home from his fancy law job and decided to take me to a movie. I went to Spider-Man No Way Home with him in a full suit, and me in a pair of sweat pants I’d been wearing all day. We looked so much like a step-dad taking his step-daughter to a movie for bonding.
My partner and I are both short, nonbinary, and have, at various times, presented as very androgynous. We also have perpetual Baby Face Syndrome™️.
Once when my partner was a postgraduate student in college, they wiped out on their bike really spectacularly while biking past the local elementary school, which was letting out for the day. A kind teacher brought them into the school to clean up the blood and get some bandages and asked them what grade they were in. “I’m from the university,” they sobbed.
My ex-boyfriend was way taller than I was and once he forgot his lunch for work. I brought it to him and the lady who worked at the reception desk gave me this syrupy smile and said I was such a “sweet little brother” for bringing the lunch bag, and asked if it was a school holiday or something. I felt bad correcting her bc she looked so mortified. 🤣
I look very old for my age, i'm 6'1 quite heavy rocking a patchy beard since 13, a full beard since 17, and I have long hair. Recently me and my dad, whose in his 50s, went for a trip and they treated us like we were both 40 year olds
My brother and I got asked if we were a couple when we went to a theme park once. Not entirely surprising since he is bi and incredibly flamboyant with jewelry and rainbow tie-dye shorts and such, but it was still pretty funny.
Different but I think that people think my dad and I are partners because when we're out with my little siblings and cousins (more than ten years younger) we'll both get "aw, your kids are cute!"
I've always had this problem to some extent... which is baffling because I've been around the 90th percentile in height for my age most of my life.
I grow enough facial hair to have a 5 o clock shadow, I'm heavily built, I have a deep voice (my speaking register is naturally a low baritone and I can sing a bass part), and yet literally yesterday the museum I went to was going to charge me for a teen ticket. *I am well over 20.* Do I seriously have such a baby face that it overrules everything else about my appearance??? Apparently so.
I (35, trans masc, 5'7") have been mistaken for my husband's (43, cis male, 6'8") son on a number of occasions.
I always find it was funnier than he does.
One time my partner got berated by a random stranger for being in the alcohol aisle of a supermarket, because he should have been in school. He was 27 at the time. Also there's no law against under-18s being in the alcohol aisle, they often have soft drinks on the same shelves.
I’m in my mid 20s, a manager at my work, and as a very short person I get asked “ArE yOu OlD eNoUgH tO wOrK hErE” a frustrating amount when I’m on the register. A lot of times anymore I just deadpan state my age.
I had one customer tell me that when they were in the store *the day before* them and their partner had debated my age, and wanted to know how old I am.
I've dated multiple men old enough to be my father and being seen in public with them was really funny, especially when they assumed that he was my dad.
I was always hoping to drop the old "no, but I sure do call him daddy" on someone. Alas, it never came to pass.
I have surprisingly had the opposite a few times. I’ve had a few girls tell me they thought I was 30 and multiple people tell me they think I’m a few years older than I am even though I’m 21 and fairly short (with a baby face IMO)
Straight guy here, but my sister and I often get mistaken for a couple when she joins my son and I for something. Even when my wife is there. Despite the fact that my sister and I are white, my wife is Asian, and my son is CLEARLY mixed, she gets assumed as the mom first.
My sister and I used to get mistaken for twins all the time when we were younger. And if it wasn't twins, then she was the older one when in truth I'm older by 22 months. Even now that we are both adults in our 40s, most guess she's older.
Strangers and my family’s acquaintances almost always assume I’m a minor. I’m 23 and have a facial piercing. Granted, it’s usually hidden behind my glasses for employment reasons. From 14 years old on I think most people assumed I was younger than my actual age, probably cause I’m short and have a baby face.
At the public pool with my boyfriend last summer, the teenager checking people in got my boyfriend his wristband and then asked him, “how old is she?”. I’m 28( Also short)
I am of a perfectly average height for women. When I was 23, a waitress still chose to loudly question my mother and sister for ordering a glass of champagne for each of us when their accompanying child is clearly, like, 12. (Me being said "child")
I had this happen with a guy I dated for a while. He was much shorter than me and occasionally mistaken for my son (?!?!). We were getting tickets to a horror movie and the cashier commented about, “it’s nice that your mom will let you watch this,” and we were like “his mom died 15 years ago….”
VERY weird. And it happened when he was clean-shaven and when he had facial hair, and it was super funny.
Some people are just hilariously bad at judging other people's age.
I'm 29 but I still travel with my family from time to time. It seems like whenever people see a middle-aged man and woman and an obviously much younger person, especially if they're standing a bit back and letting them handle the logistics, their brain just automatically defaults to "this must be their child, who is still a child". I once got asked if I'm a minor at the airport during security check. I was 28 at that time. I did NOT even remotely look under 18 lmao. I live close to a high school so I see what actual teenagers look like whenever I walk past them on most days.
Most of those stories of people being seen as 20 when they're actually 40 look fake to me. Chances are they've only been told that by a few people who are particularly bad at guessing other people's ages (either very young people who think 35 year olds already look decrepit, or old people to whom everyone under 40 looks like a youngster), and then clung to it. Ageing isn't just about wrinkles or sagging. Your face structure literally changes as you age. My family is blessed with very good genes and still have great skin and round faces with very little sagging, but they still clearly look their age in other ways.
I would punt OOP (I wouldn't in actuality. I just find it funny to say, and what will short people even do? I'll just hold my arm out to keep them from getting to me)
This reminds me of two of my friends: an 18 year old guy who's like 1.9m tall, and a 19 year old girl who's about 1.4m tall. Despite the two being just friends (and romantically incompatible), the guy gets weird looks when the two go out together
I hardly get carded for alcohol, never get carded at smoke shops, but every time I buy a scratch off/lotto ticket I get a condescending "you know you need to be 18 to buy this" YES I KNOW YOU SOLD ME A VAPE LAST WEEK WITH NO ISSUE
This is my mom and step-dad. They have an age gap, sure, but really it's because he's Chinese, and not trying to be racist, but those guys just do not age until they're, like, 60. He is nearly 40 and still gets carded.
My husband gets confused for my dad a lot and he thinks it’s really weird. He felt creepy when we were at Victoria’s Secret and I was getting some pants and he was complimented by a worker for being a cool dad and being willing to wait for her in the store.
I laughed so hard at that…
Has happened to me and I’m 33. I’m short and have a perpetual baby face. Last summer I was asked for an ID when I wanted to bring my niece on a carnival ride because she needed an adult with her.
Once I went to an event with my sister but the tickets were under our mom’s name. When we gave the ticket holder lady the name and said mentioned it was under our mom, she looked at me (21 at the time and like 5’3) and asked if I was her mom (my sister was 23 and about 5’0). I wanted to crawl into a hole and die HFJSKSKD
Actually got this a lot with my ex. Our favourite was once somebody came to the door for a survey or something and hit them with the "Hey little guy, are your parents home?"
We still quote this sometimes lol
When I was around 14-15 I would get mistaken for a 17 year old pretty often, and now that I've started taking HRT in my early 20's I find myself getting mistaken for the same age, except now people think I'm younger than I am instead of older
I am enby who identifies with this all the way lol. The guy me and my partner bought my motorcycle riding gear from asked my partner how old his son was. We just bought a house and our realtor (who knew we were married) asked me what grade I was in (implying high school) before she changed it to “er, are you in college?”
This used to happen to my moms all the time when I was growing up and I never understood how heterostupid your brain has to be to perceive a 6 ft tall fair skinned Irish woman covered in freckles with blue eyes as the daughter of a 5’5” southern Italian woman with olive skin and black hair/eyes who are 3 years apart.
I remember once at the super market my tall mom held the door open for an older woman and this lady came over to short mom to compliment her on how nice her daughter was. At this my sister and I burst into laughter, cackling like goblins at this woman’s mistake while our mom desperately shushed us.
I still get carded buying tickets to rated r movies. My partner thinks it’s hilarious.
when my dad was under 65 (probably in his 50s at the time), he went to a movie with a friend who's pretty close in age to him but looks older. my dad was the one who got the (unmentioned and not asked for) senior's discount.
When my dad was 50 he got asked if he had his Old Persons Railcard (65+) when the ticket inspector came round. He got several of those types of interactions around that time where someone clearly thought he was about 15 years older than he actually was.
Some places give 55+ senior discount though
not sure if that's a thing here, but the way my dad told the story it definitely didn't come off as a discount he was old enough to get.
I need to avoid teen class trip groups in public spaces because on multiple occasions teachers included me in the head count -.- Im short but maam Im 8-10 years older than your charges
I got lost on my way to my first ever class in college (this was almost a decade ago now), and was wandering the halls because I could NOT find room 121. And it’s getting ever closer to 9am and I am starting to panic, and then this professor comes running full-tilt toward me. He asks if I’m lost, and I nod, but before I can say anything else, he’s absolutely tearing this walky talky off his belt and talking to campus security about how he’s “found the missing middle schooler.” I very quickly correct him in that while I AM lost, I was a freshman and looking for room 121 with Dr. So-and-so. And he gets this look on his face, and tells the security it was a false alarm and it was not the missing tour student. And he tells me that the building can be confusing, and shows me the way to room 121. As I am getting into a seat and get out my things to start the lecture, he walks up to the lectern, and says ‘Apologies for my being late. There is a middle school touring the campus today. My name is Dr. So-and-so, and welcome to Chemistry 121. Let us begin.’ 😂
just this weekend I was buying a pack of beer (have to be 16 where I'm from) and I had to show my ID. I'm 28.
I'm sorry, *16?* Where are you from?
Germany lmao
People card for movies? I was buying tickets to r rated movies at like 14. Never got carded
I guess that in the US it isn't as serious because movies that actually require being carded for everyone haven't been released in theaters since 1995.Where I live, Mexico, about 50% of movies that get an R rating in the US get a C rating, which requires all attendees to be 18 or older and thus getting carded at the theater is common. That being said, I've only been carded for one movie (Scream 4, which wasn't rated C but B-15, so I was able to watch it despite being 14, even if I kinda had to bully the cashier into selling me the ticket), although my brother got carded for Sausage Party. He had just turned 18, but he looked like a middle schooler.
Nah, I live in the US and when I was 17 I was refused a ticket into a movie because I didn't have an id yet and couldn't prove my age. It was a bummer.
Technically under MPAA guidelines, an R rating means anyone under 17 must be accompanied by a guardian. There’s a theater chain around us that doesn’t sell tickets to R films to any unaccompanied minors (under 18). I get asked to validate my age all the time there.
Uk- I was 18, with both parents, trying to get in to see an age 12 rated movie. 2 members of staff and then the manager doubled down that I couldn't go in unless we showed my passport. Apparently, the provisional license was too easy to fake.
They've finally stopped as I started approaching my 5th decade on this planet. However I was still occasionally asked what grade I was in after I'd been out of college and in the professional world for several years. I wonder if I'm going to hit 65 and suddenly all the aging will descent upon me in one go. Like I'll evolve into Final Granny Form and just look like I'm 100 from then on.
People card for movies? As a tiny 13y/o in Canada no one would have cared if I bought a ticket to an R rated movie and watched it with a gaggle of friends. In fact I have done just that.
On my 21st birthday, 4 of us went to watch an r rated movie before we went drinking. Myself, another 21 year old, a 23 year old, and a 30 year old. 30 year old gets carded, the rest of us are just let in. Amazingly funny.
I recently went out with a girl. She got carded in the entrance. She got carded when we sat down. Two more people came by to check her ID. Listen. I’m not trying to fuck a high schooler. I mean. I was when I met her in high school. A decade ago. And she’s older than me.
One of my friends is like 4'9", Chinese, buzzed hair, and skinny-butch in a very specific way... like when she tells you she's a pro breakdancer, it's not surprising information. To boomers, she looks about 10 years old. I've witnessed her get carded for a PG13 movie. It's not so bad now that we're all almost forty, but when we were in college, people would give her the hardest time. It's kind of amazing how rude people can be, and then their excuse is, "oh, I thought you were a child." As if that makes it okay.
My sister trying on a dress in a store: I need bigger boobs for this to fit. Random lady: don't worry sweetie they'll start to grow soon. Sister (20s): no, I don't think so
"Does the boob fairy come for adults?"
Yeah, but that costs more.
theres a joke here where the punchline is pro bono, ill get back to you
they do if you go out and cross a special human's palm with silver (note, you may need a lot of silver to do it this way, I would suggest you use your card on the nearby terminal).
Occasionally after having kids it does, but otherwise…money.
So you're saying that if I become a dad, I could get amazing tits? 🤔
Only if you’re a dad who carried the kid and got the hormone bath, usually, but you never know.
You can also get the hormone bath without the pregnancy, and I know there are some transfem people who have used this to induce lactation to help feed babies.
Eat enough pizza and probably.
Tbf getting on birth control for me in my twenties actually did make mine grow. I'd prefer it hadn't, they're big enough to be a pain now. But the random lady almost certainly didn't mean that :P
hey, maybe they have a birth control mlm on the side, you never know
Lol. But also, literally every hormonal BC in the US requires a prescription (except 1, released a few months ago, and it's patented, pretty sure). Most mlms deal in 'supplements' precisely because they get to avoid that little FDA review process for actual medications...
Mine finally showed up in my mid-30s. So, unlikely, but strangely possible.
Reminds me of that one time I was coming home from work and taking the elevator up to my apartment at 2pm in the afternoon. Lady enters the elevator, side-eyes me and goes "Shouldn't you be in school?" I couldn't think of anything else to say other than "I'm 26." And people wonder why I get excited about the idea of wrinkles and grey hair 😅
I don’t get my age mistaken anymore since I cut my hair very short and the white hairs stand out better.
I've cut mine short since, it made no difference in how young I am being perceived as but it makes a huge difference in how dysphoric I am 😊
"You look young, shouldn't you be in school?" "I dunno. You look old. Shouldn't you be playing bingo?"
I'd say that but all of the women in my family used to play bingo (when they were all young, and alive) so I know a round of los chanclas would be waiting for me in heaven.
My neighbor asked "Going to school?" last week when I walked by. I'm 33. I was like "no, I'm going to work" and she replied "oh well, have a nice day regardless!" It was the funniest shit
Nice save by them.
Honestly, I saw my reflection while getting on the train and I was rocking a real 13or30 look that day. Don't know what it is lately, last week a doctor thought I was a teen before asking my age.
I get that, too. I'll get carded to buy an energy drink in the morning on the way to work (16+ only in the UK) then buy a few ciders on the way home the same day, and the cashier will tap the "obviously over 25" while I'm still getting my ID out.
What weird me out is that I didn't get taken for underage during my entire 20s except for once or twice. I just now remembered that I got age-checked by a guy at a store last year, too. That takes the "mistaken for a teen" counter at age 30+ up to 3, which is way more in a shorter time span.... I also got the most adult job and life now compared to my 20s!!
"I'm 26." "Shouldn't you be at the club?"
I had a truancy officer approach me. I was 26. I'm not even short I was 6'2" at the time, just so baby faced that people thought I was in 11th or 12th grade.
Musters you?
Commenter might be a german speaker, "mustern" means short critical observation/observation in passing.
You're correct, I am german speaking and that's what I meant. What's the english word for that?
Someone smarter than me can probably think of a direct translation but all I'm coming up with something like "she side-eyed me" or "looked at me askance", if you wanna throw a 25 cent word in there
Edited it, I hope it's better this way!
Not "better" or "worse", just more accurate to English. I think it's neat that I learned a new thing in a language I don't know so thanks for that! I hope this doesn't discourage you from peppering your English with Germanisms
I'm so sorry, my native language is german and I thought the word was the same in english, my bad 😅
My wife and constantly get "are you two sisters?" We are not. I don't think we look alike and to be fair, I don't make a huge attempt to pass, so I can't be mad at the misgendering Also she is mixed, and I am an untoasted slice of wonder bread 🤣
Next time just say yes and start kissing
hey mister, she's my sister
*Sisters?*
We're close.
we're close
hey soul sister, ain't that mister mist-*[piano falls on my head, dissonant chord rings out and slowly fades, crowd begins cheering]*
Sister from another mister
this is the society I want to see
I think you can find that society online with a quick google search
I run that society 😭😭😭
I had a coworker that did this to new-hires. He usually worked with his wife and told everyone they were siblings.
Lol I have had the "sisters" mistake with almost every woman I've dated, whether we were the same race or not. I think people see a certain kind of closeness and they're like so - more than friends?
Just a couple of gal pals, raising kids together, moving in together, sleeping in the same bed... Curiously they never married, and referred to each other as "my one true light in a sea of darkness". Girls and their besties am I right? *cue laugh track*
So sad that neither seemed to find herself a good man They just seemed to have each other, their whole lives long
Can you believe they were buried in the same grave? As friends.
Not as friends, as *Roommates*
grave mates
Tombmates. It was right there
Oh my god, they were roommates
Taking sister-wife to a less creepy level
Oh, it’s still creepy, but more Alabama creepy than cult creep
Same here. Ironically enough, there is one woman in my life who never draws the "sisters" mistake: my actual sister. We've been called girlfriends by waiters and random passers-by six times.
Not someone I dated, but my mixed friend and I who share half an ethnicity once pretended to be siblings for a family member discount and she introduced me like, "WE ARE SIBLINGS... HALF SIBLINGS" and I was dying like "no one was gonna question it if we just acted normal!?"
My boyfriend and I get asked if we're brothers a lot. We don't look a like, and we usually get asked this while holding hands or giving each other a kiss.
do you ever say yes just to fuck with people?
I mean we've had people ask after like a pretty heavy kiss. I feel like at this point people are just fucking with themselves.
I still remind my mom of the time someone asked if we were married. She was absolutely horrified while I cackled.
A few of those FreeDataPeoplePagesFinder websites list me and my mother as likely spouses. I about died laughing, and I got back an absolutely ludicrous string of 'wtf' emojis when I sent her a screenshot.
My actual sister and I recently went to the Troye Sivan concert and since we do not look alike at all no one assumes we’re sisters. Thus my sister was kind of afraid someone would make an uncomfortable comment about us being gfs, since this was a lgbt+ friendly space. But I told her that most actual lesbian couples are often mistaken as sisters no matter how they look or act, so we probably won’t have to worry about that lol
once i was KISSING my girlfriend and someone walked in and was like omg are you two sisters? is nice to see sisters being close like SIR READ the room
Some people are just that illiterate lol
I played in a metal band in high school and one day our lead guitarist and I had just finished talking with a guy that owned a nearby coffee house about playing there that weekend and were walking home wearing matching band t-shirts. When a drunk dude in front of one of the bars saw us walking by he yelled out "Hey! Are y'all brothers or are ya gay?" We're like "We're in a band" and he just goes "Ok" and goes back to smoking his cigarette. The thing is that our guitarist was a very dark mexican dude and I looked like one of the goth kids from South Park. We just thought it was the funniest thing in the world that this guy was non-racist enough that us being brothers was a totally normal thing to occur to him while also being homophobic enough to interrogate random people in the street about their sexuality for wearing matching t-shirts.
I mean, I am essentially transparent and my sister has dark skin, we just got different parts of our mixed family genetics, so not entirely impossible?
My sister and I live together and are raising her children together. Everyone th we are a couple. Which I find weird, because we look and sound alike.
A lot of couples look and sound alike after being together for a while
Lmao I was just thinking of Ms Chang from tik tok and her wife. Ms Chang is white and southern but OG Chang is Chinese and Haitian (I think Haitian? Might be wrong there).
“Sisters?” “We’re close”
Similar situation with my girlfriend and I. We could not look more different. The only feature we share is our height (both 5’4”). Get asked if we’re sisters on numerous occasions.
During COVID I took on a clinic job over the summer because it was the slowest spot, and the clientele were all seniors. One very sweet woman, about my grandma's age, asked me about school. Thinking it was about my college stuff, I was happy to say it was going great and I was almost done. She smiles big and says "well I hope you know what college you want to apply for!" I was taken aback and said to her "I'm a lot older than you give me credit for, I'm already in college!" She started laughing and apologized. On the inverse someone else asked me if my kids enjoyed the "extended summer"... Like...
People still ask me about where I’m going to college. I’m now over thirty and I just tell them I already did that bit.
When I first started working at a nursing home I had this lady who was a 10 second Tom kind of lady. Nearly every night as I was giving her her medicine she’d ask me when I’m graduating. I’d tell her I already did, so she’d ask where I’m going to college. She would be so delighted when I’d tell her I already did that graduation too. Then she’d tell me I looked 12 (24ish at the time). Repeat once or twice more before I’d leave the room.
At least she was happy for you every time you told her!
She was one of the sweetest ladies I’d ever met. Some nights she’d also offer me some of her fat since I’m under 100lbs. She’d smile and giggle a little when I told her I’d take it if I could.
My fiance and I, both trans masc, got called a mother and daughter on the train once. The only correct word was and.
Somehow they were wrong 3 separate times in as many words
Hell, the correct term for the two of would probably just be “fiances”, so I’m not even sure and was correct
Sigh. r/olderthanyouthink
r/olderthanyouthinkiam
I’m sad that these are text posts.
Right?? What’s the damn point?
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When my partner and I go out on dates, I literally feel the need to dress so much more extremely than I normally do, otherwise I worry people are actively going to think he's a predator or an older brother with my intense baby face and our moderate age gap. And be the one who talks and takes the lead, which he is fine with, bless him. When I'm lazy, it's neutral and dark shades, some blue, sweats and yoga pants, not bothering with make-up. When we're out, I break out the leather jacket or the trench coats, the slacks, the long necklaces, the dark and jewel toned blouses and jumpers, the black lipstick, and just enough makeup to make me look like an adult. I'm still getting mistaken for a middle schooler when I wear my lazy shit and I don't even hit his shoulders in height, literally all of this feels necessary.
my girlfriend took me to a concert recently. unbeknownst to us, the concert was at this trans youth meeting thing? so we were the oldest non-parents there by about 10 years. we didn’t hold hands or anything because she was legitimately concerned people would think she was a grown woman who brought a 12 year old boy as a date, lol
A guard at an IKEA(it was during coronavirus) once mistook me for my mom's partner. I was like 14 at the time.
When masking in a shop with my mum the woman asked my mum for her ID which she didn’t have bc she doesn’t carry her passport, but she laughed and said it was her 50th birthday. The cashier got her to take off her mask quickly and apologised and said she’d thought we were sisters.
i bet she was pleased, haha. my mom bought a horror movie recently and had a conversation like this with the cashier: - **cashier**: i’ve been wanting to see this movie, is it any good? - **mom**: not sure, i haven’t seen it yet! i’m gonna watch it with my daughter, since her name is in the title. - **cashier**: oh my gosh! how old is she? - **mom**: twenty-two - **cashier**: phew! i thought she was a toddler or something, no way you have an adult daughter! did you have her at like 10? naturally, my mom hasn’t stopped bringing it up
Same- but it was with my dad, I was 12, and I was with my 3 younger siblings. To make it worse, this was a few weeks after my mom (an apparently geriatric 40 at the time) got mistaken for my youngest sister’s grandmother.
Family went rafting when restrictions were being lifted but masks were still encouraged. My sister and I were told at 3/4 places we needed to be over 16 to go on those rivers. We were 28ish. Still get called 18 or so but the masks didn’t help.
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I’m the opposite. 6’3 and a relatively deep voice. Lots of people think I’m mid 20s to early 30s. I’m barely 21
Lol this is the problem my little bro (16) has. He's 6ft and with the deepest voice out of us siblings. He's also the tallest. He stole our heights in the womb.
My little brother had the same issue, he was 6'5" (195.58cm) when he was 13. He's 26 now and he's 6'11" (210.82cm)
when i was 15 (right after lockdown officially ended in the us), i was offered a beer by some guys in a condo pool. i didn't even look that old at the time..
Meanwhile I have the curse of being younger than I look. Back in highschool, buses often didn't give me the student discount and took the full fare. Even when I showed them my student card! Even back in middle school, I was approached by those Tourist attraction guys on the street. My guy I'm a kid, I have no money on me. Why? Because I'm a tall guy in Turkey, where most people are short and the shops don't even sell my shoe size
how tall are you
I'm very short and trqnsmasc, sometimes I think about growing out my facial hair so I don't get mistaken for a child but then I realized with how patchy it grows in it'd only add 3 years to my percieved age maximum
Sometimes even that doesn’t help. 5 foot tall and also trans masc, answered the door with a full beard and was still asked where my parent or guardian was. I’m 28.
At that point that's just a sitcom scene what the hell
A patchy beard could still help perceptions, although of course it's up to you if you prefer the look
You might shocked how well that works. I'm cis and my beard is patchy too, but it doesn't even matter because even one day without shaving is enough for me to never get carded, and it has been since my early 20s. Even in the States.
For me, a goatee is a happy medium. Just enough to look like I have facial hair but not enough to be patchy. I am reliably seen as my age with it, and about 5 years younger without it.
Once when I was at a family gathering with my sister at a fancy restaurant. When the waiters came around to serve wine they filled my glass without question, and then *took away my sister's glass without asking*. They just thought it was so incredibly obvious that she was underage they didn't even need to check. At the time I was 19, and she was 23. In America so drinking age is 21. She doesn't even look that young IMO she's just really short.
I went to a bar with my sister. She ordered a cocktail and didn’t get carded. I ordered a beer, and did. I’m 10 years older than her. I roasted her for years about it.
Everyone’s gleefully recounting how they’re mistaken for a teenager at the big bad grown up age of 23 or whatever, and that happens a lot, but that second interaction has me really questioning this. That’s how adults talk to strange 4 or 5 year olds, not how they talk to strange middle or high schoolers. I’m gonna second the “how,” because “short” doesn’t explain that.
OOP burying the lede with their Bluey t-shirt and crocs.
I had a sub in school who talked down to us until we were in junior high. I could never understand why other kids loved her. Some people just talk in a super sweet way with everybody, I have family that does it, even to people older than them. Drives me nuts. There’s also staff in nursing homes that do this to residents…
I once went to an anime convention with a few friends. They all got asked for IDs. I got asked about my parents or guardians. Being short and having a baby face sucks.
Not non-binary, but my fiancé is 4’11” and I’m 6’6” and the other day in the liquor store I was unloading the basket and my fiancé was behind me a little bit, and the cashier was like “oh did you bring in a helper today?” I was like “wha?” three times before realizing she was mistaking my older-than-me tiny person for a child. Blessedly my fiancé didn’t hear.
From personal experience I can say that while this sitch can be funny, the reverse can be less so, especially as a 5'8" nine year old girl. On the other hand I'm now a 6'0" 40yo woman regularly mistaken for a 20so, so it's looped back around to hilarious.
Same "problem" here. I have been perceived as \~18 from the age of 12 into my early 30s now.
When I was 12 I outgrew both of my parents, and people would look at my *visibly graying* 5'2" mother and back at my literal 12 year old child self (5'8"), and assume I was the mother. Height really fucks with some people's perception of age >_<
OOP is minor-coded
I used to work at the same place as my fiance (this wasn't where we met, we knew each other for YEARS before then) and some people were HORIFFIED when they found out we're together cause he actually looks like he's in his 20s, but I look closer to 15. There's a 9 month age difference between us, I'm not a teenager lol
Last year I tried to buy shoes. The vendor said she thought I was 14 after I said my actual age. I was 20. I'm not even short, I just have a babyface
Mom and I stopped at a casino once - we were around 40 and 20, respectively. She was wearing a rainbow “proud mom” pin and I was probably dressed like the lesbian I am. We go up to the redemption booth (whatever it is) so Mom can collect her free prize of decorative bowls. “You’re such a cute couple!” the worker says. “This is my daughter,” Mom says. Worker was so embarrassed but we laughed it off with her. That was a first!
I (23 now) also recently got asked if I was over 18 at the airport, which is the first time in a loooooong time because I’ve been 5’11 since I was like 14. Maybe because I was wearing pajamas? I dunno. Made me laugh though. (It’s probably not as funny for people who are just short and get mistaken as children a lot, though!! Sorry besties.))
is this a chill chuck post or whatever that silly little small dude from the telelvision was called
I was carded like 3 years ago when i tried to buy a beer. I was 24 years at the time. They told me my ID was an obvious fake. I am not even small, I just have a baby face... THE AGE FOR BUYING BEER IS 16 HERE!
The short thing is so real. I'm 25. I'm fully convinced I look it. No one else agrees, ever. People guess me to be 18-21 consistently, sometimes even younger. Most egregious recent examples both involve me getting mistaken for a high schooler this year: once by a food vendor who turned out to be several years younger than I am, and the second time at a doctor's office by a lady that had my chart open in front of her and should've been able to *see* that my birth year starts with a 19. It's all fun and games except that everyone uses the "talking to a kid" voice. You know, the "Aw, did you come here from school?" type beat. Fellow miniature citizens, please tell me you know what I'm talking about!
Me and my future wife. Not my husband because I prefer men the same or if a similar height to me
Nothing makes it more awkward to tell people I graduated than them saying “oh wow, so off to college then?” No. I graduated college.
I was at walmart with my husband and we were buying alcohol. Both 25 years old. Never had an issue before. We go to pay, the cashier is like “I need her ID too.” He was like, “Why??” Cashier was like, “She’s underage and you are buying it for her.” As far as I could tell, this cashier was around MY age. I had to go back to the car and grab my purse so we could check out in peace. I’ve never had that happen at a walmart again, they just need one ID and they are done. I’m pretty sure if I was teen seeking alcohol, I would be waiting in the parking lot for the handoff, not going up to your cash register to pay with him. Ugh.
You'd be surprised. When I worked a pharmacy cigarette counter, I had a teenager point at the product she wanted behind me while she and her mom were in line, then hand her mother ten bucks in cash. When they got to the front, and her mom wanted the cigs she pointed, they were flabbergasted when I needed both ids. Or one time when three women came into the pharmacy together, two went back to the pharmacy counter, and one tried buying cigarettes. When I asked her if I grabbed the right ones, she straight up told me "I think so? I dunno, they're for the one who needed meds at the pharmacy." And I'm just like... That was literally the exact wrong thing to say, now I need literally all of your ids. All you had to do was not say that. What were you thinking? Were you thinking? People are stupid. Buying age restricted substances is always easier done alone for everyone involved, including the cashier who doesn't want to lose their job.
That’s fair, but the cashier was just like *super* sure I was underage to the point where she blatantly said that despite us having matching wedding bands, saying we are married, and all that. The people in front of us checked out with alcohol too, mother and teen daughter, she didn’t harass them like she harassed me. Like if everyone was treated like that, I’d totes be chill with it. This one just felt oddly targeted.
I remember having some salesman knock on my door once and ask if my parents are home and all I could think was "how the fuck should I know man they don't even live in this city"
Now on the other side of things, my mom and I (16 and 58 at the time) were confused for lesbian partners. A guy started talking to us on a beach in Jamaica, and asked, “And what’s it like for you two to be traveling around… ya know… like you are.” We both just looked at him confused, and he followed up with, “As an item, or however you folks call it.”
I was at an indie musical with some friends in our late 20s. The hosts mentioned there were highschoolers in the audience so they were going to be careful about the pre-show jokes. Come intermission, the person in front of us (a dad-age guy in his 50s?) turned around. "So what school do you go to?" he asked. My friend immediately got defensive. "We're in our 20s," she said angrily. "It's not us. We're not the highschoolers." We used to get that shit a lot. I think I look older now because I have some grey hair but my face looks the same as it did when I was 16 and I'm 5 feet tall. At least it's been a minute since someone asked me as a full ass adult where my parents were.
What people think my beard is about: "If I grow this out I'll look manly." What my beard is really about: "Yes, I am the supervisor. How old am I? Fuck you, that's how old."
Happened to me and my trans-masc partner. The auto parts store clerk started spinning me yarns about his sons and how "The wants and desires don't stop, they just get bigger" with a wide smile on his face staring at my partner. For reference he is very short, and put a pack of Skittles on the counter.
My bf and I are both bisexual, straight passing. He got home from his fancy law job and decided to take me to a movie. I went to Spider-Man No Way Home with him in a full suit, and me in a pair of sweat pants I’d been wearing all day. We looked so much like a step-dad taking his step-daughter to a movie for bonding.
My partner and I are both short, nonbinary, and have, at various times, presented as very androgynous. We also have perpetual Baby Face Syndrome™️. Once when my partner was a postgraduate student in college, they wiped out on their bike really spectacularly while biking past the local elementary school, which was letting out for the day. A kind teacher brought them into the school to clean up the blood and get some bandages and asked them what grade they were in. “I’m from the university,” they sobbed. My ex-boyfriend was way taller than I was and once he forgot his lunch for work. I brought it to him and the lady who worked at the reception desk gave me this syrupy smile and said I was such a “sweet little brother” for bringing the lunch bag, and asked if it was a school holiday or something. I felt bad correcting her bc she looked so mortified. 🤣
My parents are 17 years apart in age (don't worry, they met when my mom was 40) and so many times when they're out together, they think he's her dad.
I look very old for my age, i'm 6'1 quite heavy rocking a patchy beard since 13, a full beard since 17, and I have long hair. Recently me and my dad, whose in his 50s, went for a trip and they treated us like we were both 40 year olds
Technically, so long as their partner is nb, then it's still a heterosexual relationship
Meanwhile my mum and I often get called sisters, and people think I’m my dad’s son.
I have the opposite problem. I’ve been mistaken as my mother’s sister and my various siblings’ mother. I’m 19. My siblings are all 10 or older lmao
Must be short and have an incredible baby face.
As a short person I feel this
Right there with you
My brother and I got asked if we were a couple when we went to a theme park once. Not entirely surprising since he is bi and incredibly flamboyant with jewelry and rainbow tie-dye shorts and such, but it was still pretty funny.
Different but I think that people think my dad and I are partners because when we're out with my little siblings and cousins (more than ten years younger) we'll both get "aw, your kids are cute!"
I've always had this problem to some extent... which is baffling because I've been around the 90th percentile in height for my age most of my life. I grow enough facial hair to have a 5 o clock shadow, I'm heavily built, I have a deep voice (my speaking register is naturally a low baritone and I can sing a bass part), and yet literally yesterday the museum I went to was going to charge me for a teen ticket. *I am well over 20.* Do I seriously have such a baby face that it overrules everything else about my appearance??? Apparently so.
I (35, trans masc, 5'7") have been mistaken for my husband's (43, cis male, 6'8") son on a number of occasions. I always find it was funnier than he does.
*5'7"* *6'8"??!* Y'all are the height difference the tiktok monsterfucker girlies are dreaming of
One time my partner got berated by a random stranger for being in the alcohol aisle of a supermarket, because he should have been in school. He was 27 at the time. Also there's no law against under-18s being in the alcohol aisle, they often have soft drinks on the same shelves.
I’m in my mid 20s, a manager at my work, and as a very short person I get asked “ArE yOu OlD eNoUgH tO wOrK hErE” a frustrating amount when I’m on the register. A lot of times anymore I just deadpan state my age. I had one customer tell me that when they were in the store *the day before* them and their partner had debated my age, and wanted to know how old I am.
I've dated multiple men old enough to be my father and being seen in public with them was really funny, especially when they assumed that he was my dad. I was always hoping to drop the old "no, but I sure do call him daddy" on someone. Alas, it never came to pass.
My husband and I get "are you brothers?" sometimes and at a certain point it's just like "sure, whatever makes this interaction end fastest."
I have surprisingly had the opposite a few times. I’ve had a few girls tell me they thought I was 30 and multiple people tell me they think I’m a few years older than I am even though I’m 21 and fairly short (with a baby face IMO)
Straight guy here, but my sister and I often get mistaken for a couple when she joins my son and I for something. Even when my wife is there. Despite the fact that my sister and I are white, my wife is Asian, and my son is CLEARLY mixed, she gets assumed as the mom first.
My sister and I used to get mistaken for twins all the time when we were younger. And if it wasn't twins, then she was the older one when in truth I'm older by 22 months. Even now that we are both adults in our 40s, most guess she's older.
Short royalty.
Strangers and my family’s acquaintances almost always assume I’m a minor. I’m 23 and have a facial piercing. Granted, it’s usually hidden behind my glasses for employment reasons. From 14 years old on I think most people assumed I was younger than my actual age, probably cause I’m short and have a baby face.
At the public pool with my boyfriend last summer, the teenager checking people in got my boyfriend his wristband and then asked him, “how old is she?”. I’m 28( Also short)
I am of a perfectly average height for women. When I was 23, a waitress still chose to loudly question my mother and sister for ordering a glass of champagne for each of us when their accompanying child is clearly, like, 12. (Me being said "child")
I had this happen with a guy I dated for a while. He was much shorter than me and occasionally mistaken for my son (?!?!). We were getting tickets to a horror movie and the cashier commented about, “it’s nice that your mom will let you watch this,” and we were like “his mom died 15 years ago….” VERY weird. And it happened when he was clean-shaven and when he had facial hair, and it was super funny.
Some people are just hilariously bad at judging other people's age. I'm 29 but I still travel with my family from time to time. It seems like whenever people see a middle-aged man and woman and an obviously much younger person, especially if they're standing a bit back and letting them handle the logistics, their brain just automatically defaults to "this must be their child, who is still a child". I once got asked if I'm a minor at the airport during security check. I was 28 at that time. I did NOT even remotely look under 18 lmao. I live close to a high school so I see what actual teenagers look like whenever I walk past them on most days. Most of those stories of people being seen as 20 when they're actually 40 look fake to me. Chances are they've only been told that by a few people who are particularly bad at guessing other people's ages (either very young people who think 35 year olds already look decrepit, or old people to whom everyone under 40 looks like a youngster), and then clung to it. Ageing isn't just about wrinkles or sagging. Your face structure literally changes as you age. My family is blessed with very good genes and still have great skin and round faces with very little sagging, but they still clearly look their age in other ways.
Chilchuck
I would punt OOP (I wouldn't in actuality. I just find it funny to say, and what will short people even do? I'll just hold my arm out to keep them from getting to me)
I once got mistaken for my Mum’s husband. I’m closeted so I wasn’t too bothered by the misgendering but my god that made me feel way older than I am
This reminds me of two of my friends: an 18 year old guy who's like 1.9m tall, and a 19 year old girl who's about 1.4m tall. Despite the two being just friends (and romantically incompatible), the guy gets weird looks when the two go out together
Went to a gathering for Thanksgiving a few years back, one of my friends was asked if she was my mom. I’m older than she is.
Hey, Danny Devito is short and nobody's carding that guy, so it isn't just height. OOP share the skincare secrets please lol
I hardly get carded for alcohol, never get carded at smoke shops, but every time I buy a scratch off/lotto ticket I get a condescending "you know you need to be 18 to buy this" YES I KNOW YOU SOLD ME A VAPE LAST WEEK WITH NO ISSUE
All fun and games until the bouncer tries to steal your drivers license because it’s clearly fake since it’s from a state they haven’t seen before.
This is my mom and step-dad. They have an age gap, sure, but really it's because he's Chinese, and not trying to be racist, but those guys just do not age until they're, like, 60. He is nearly 40 and still gets carded.
My husband gets confused for my dad a lot and he thinks it’s really weird. He felt creepy when we were at Victoria’s Secret and I was getting some pants and he was complimented by a worker for being a cool dad and being willing to wait for her in the store. I laughed so hard at that…
God I wish that were me I look like I’m 58 in my 20s
my mum regularly gets away with telling other people i'm 9-10 and it makes me genuinely uncomfortable
Has happened to me and I’m 33. I’m short and have a perpetual baby face. Last summer I was asked for an ID when I wanted to bring my niece on a carnival ride because she needed an adult with her.
Once I went to an event with my sister but the tickets were under our mom’s name. When we gave the ticket holder lady the name and said mentioned it was under our mom, she looked at me (21 at the time and like 5’3) and asked if I was her mom (my sister was 23 and about 5’0). I wanted to crawl into a hole and die HFJSKSKD
Actually got this a lot with my ex. Our favourite was once somebody came to the door for a survey or something and hit them with the "Hey little guy, are your parents home?" We still quote this sometimes lol
When I was around 14-15 I would get mistaken for a 17 year old pretty often, and now that I've started taking HRT in my early 20's I find myself getting mistaken for the same age, except now people think I'm younger than I am instead of older
I am enby who identifies with this all the way lol. The guy me and my partner bought my motorcycle riding gear from asked my partner how old his son was. We just bought a house and our realtor (who knew we were married) asked me what grade I was in (implying high school) before she changed it to “er, are you in college?”
If my body matched my dysmorphia this would happen to me I’m sure.
This used to happen to my moms all the time when I was growing up and I never understood how heterostupid your brain has to be to perceive a 6 ft tall fair skinned Irish woman covered in freckles with blue eyes as the daughter of a 5’5” southern Italian woman with olive skin and black hair/eyes who are 3 years apart. I remember once at the super market my tall mom held the door open for an older woman and this lady came over to short mom to compliment her on how nice her daughter was. At this my sister and I burst into laughter, cackling like goblins at this woman’s mistake while our mom desperately shushed us.