Yes I look young but I don't need to hear it ALL THE TIME....

[Anonymous]

i really doubt you 30somethings look nearly as young as you think.

[Anonymous]

Another baby-faced 30-something here. People are always telling me I look young (why do they do that by the way??) I was working in London when I was 25 and I went to purchase a ticket for the tube. The lady at the counter asked me how old I was and I jokingly told her I was old enough to ride the tube by myself. Out of curiosity I asked her the age requirement -- it was 16. Damn!

I just gave birth to DS and my fingers are still slightly swollen meaning no wedding ring. I know people think I'm a teen mom when I'm out with the baby. A woman in my condo building recently asked me if I was home from classes (hopefully she meant college...) I told her no I was home for maternity leave and she nearly passed out. My biggest pet peeve is when I come across older men and they greet me with "Hello young lady". I know they mean well, but sometimes I just want to respond with "Hello old man".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i really doubt you 30somethings look nearly as young as you think.

Sorry but it's true. I guess for a miserable 50 something woman that can be frustrating. Oh and btw 30 is not old on general.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i really doubt you 30somethings look nearly as young as you think.

This. I also think maybe you can pass for younger here where the life expectancy is quite high and the birth rate is comparably low. But I think maybe it would be different in places where the people are homogeneous, mostly work outdoors, have a lot of children, the majority of the population is under twenty and don't live that long.

[Anonymous]

ah, I remember when I was single (only a few years ago), and all of these 30somethign and very pretty women I met would love to play the game where I had to guess their age, because they thought for sure they looked so incredibly young. Sometimes, when I was feeling especially horny and wanted to be somewhat charming or flattering, I'd say 26 while I clearly knew their real age (say, 34 for example). But normally I would just name their age exactly and they looked at me as if I should be working in a circus.

Trust me, you look your age.

[Anonymous]

Having a baby face does not always = being attractive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ah, I remember when I was single (only a few years ago), and all of these 30somethign and very pretty women I met would love to play the game where I had to guess their age, because they thought for sure they looked so incredibly young. Sometimes, when I was feeling especially horny and wanted to be somewhat charming or flattering, I'd say 26 while I clearly knew their real age (say, 34 for example). But normally I would just name their age exactly and they looked at me as if I should be working in a circus.

Trust me, you look your age.

guy or lesbian?

[Anonymous]

I thought I looked super young for my age, and being pregnant in my mid-20's I looked like I could be on 16 and Pregnant. I have aged so much in the past year! Chasing after a kid has made me look so much older. I bought beer the other day and the woman didn't ID me. Hopefully, I can regain some of my youthfulness when I am done having kids.

[Anonymous]

Go ahead flatter yourself, OP. Enjoy it while you can. You'll wake up one day and you'll have a huge kick in the ass. That's all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Go ahead flatter yourself, OP. Enjoy it while you can. You'll wake up one day and you'll have a huge kick in the ass. That's all.

Did you find out your husband was cheating on you today or something? That sucks for you. Why you gotta be such a nasty bitch?

[Anonymous]

Definitely understand how uncomfortable you feel, OP. A linguistic perspective that might be helpful: probably a fair number of the "you look so young" people are responding to other cues - language, affect - when they make those comments. There are linguistic elements in your postings that make you "sound" young.

Just start paying attention to the word choice, intonation, etc., not to mention body language, of people whose style of interacting is - let's say, poised, assured, very *not* "you look so young." (Not to suggest you're not poised or assured, of course, but when people say "you look so young" they're making that suggestion. And that may be one reason why this comment bothers you so much.)

If you can modify your own language (in ways that you feel comfortable with and reflect who you really are), I think you'll see a big difference in how people react to you. I know I have. It hasn't gotten 100% better, but it's a lot better than it was.

[Anonymous]

I had the same problem. In my 20's I constantly got the *you look so young* coupled with teasing that *you sound like a cute little girl!* (usually followed by a *I can't believe you're that bitch from the boards!* whenever I met an internet friend irl). I was around 21-22 and riding the bus to work when some old man asked me why I wasn't in school. He thought I looked 14.

I'm 32 now, with 2 kids. I haven't gotten it since I was pregnant, thank all gods. The first time I went somewhere without being carded, I was all the way home before I realized.