Do petite women look younger?

[Anonymous]

I think so. I am 47 and 5'4" and thin. I am in grad school right now, and kids/young students were looking at me like crazy when I mentioned my 19 year old DS, and though I had him at 20, so it wasn't too late to go back to school! I was like... no, I am old! But, I think just now, it is on that edge of making no difference. I think around 49 it all evens out. I can tell that I looked much younger 3 years ago, and now rapidly I am looking more and more my age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:5ft tall and 37 years old and yes, my experience has been exactly that people often think smaller = younger. I've never had a problem with it though, I enjoy it.

This is obviously cancelled out if you have heavily sun or smoke-aged skin, but if you look relatively around your age and are also smaller, that combination reads as younger to lots of people.

People really are that simple. Their brains link short and young, bald and old, fat and unhealthy - whether or not it's true. It kind of makes sense because you rarely see a young bald guy for example. It's just a
common mental shortcut.

Don't believe me? Take a Harvard implicit bias test. It's about race, but the premise is the same; some associations are ingrained in your brain.
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/iatdetails.html

Just my opinion but it seems petite women look younger for many years and then boom, look totally little old lady.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think so. I am 47 and 5'4" and thin. I am in grad school right now, and kids/young students were looking at me like crazy when I mentioned my 19 year old DS, and though I had him at 20, so it wasn't too late to go back to school! I was like... no, I am old! But, I think just now, it is on that edge of making no difference. I think around 49 it all evens out. I can tell that I looked much younger 3 years ago, and now rapidly I am looking more and more my age.

Isn’t thin different than petite? I always think of petite as meaning short but not necessarily thin (at least that is what it means in clothing sizes).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:5ft tall and 37 years old and yes, my experience has been exactly that people often think smaller = younger. I've never had a problem with it though, I enjoy it.

This is obviously cancelled out if you have heavily sun or smoke-aged skin, but if you look relatively around your age and are also smaller, that combination reads as younger to lots of people.

People really are that simple. Their brains link short and young, bald and old, fat and unhealthy - whether or not it's true. It kind of makes sense because you rarely see a young bald guy for example. It's just a
common mental shortcut.

Don't believe me? Take a Harvard implicit bias test. It's about race, but the premise is the same; some associations are ingrained in your brain.
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/iatdetails.html

Just my opinion but it seems petite women look younger for many years and then boom, look totally little old lady.

That test works only if you were raised here. For example, my white kids raised in Africa had absolutely no bias.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think so. I am 47 and 5'4" and thin. I am in grad school right now, and kids/young students were looking at me like crazy when I mentioned my 19 year old DS, and though I had him at 20, so it wasn't too late to go back to school! I was like... no, I am old! But, I think just now, it is on that edge of making no difference. I think around 49 it all evens out. I can tell that I looked much younger 3 years ago, and now rapidly I am looking more and more my age.

Isn’t thin different than petite? I always think of petite as meaning short but not necessarily thin (at least that is what it means in clothing sizes).

Yeah, I wouldn’t consider 5’4” to be petite. It is average. You must just have a young looking face &/or dress young (being thin probably makes it easier for you to do this).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Petite does not always read as young. Just think of the phrase "little old lady"!

That def negates all the lived experiences you're reading about on that thread. Thanks.

So, that was just a funny remark. Thus the smiley face. I guess I should have written haha also to make it clear.

First PP actually makes a (kinda) good point,though.

And for every short woman on this thread who is often mistaken for younger, there is probably a short woman who is often mistaken for being older &/or a tall woman who is often mistaken for being younger.

Antidotes from anonymous message board posters are hardly rock solid evidence...

[Anonymous]

As a kid/young teen, yes. After that it depends on your face & how you dress/carry yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:5ft tall and 37 years old and yes, my experience has been exactly that people often think smaller = younger. I've never had a problem with it though, I enjoy it.

This is obviously cancelled out if you have heavily sun or smoke-aged skin, but if you look relatively around your age and are also smaller, that combination reads as younger to lots of people.

People really are that simple. Their brains link short and young, bald and old, fat and unhealthy - whether or not it's true. It kind of makes sense because you rarely see a young bald guy for example. It's just a
common mental shortcut.

Don't believe me? Take a Harvard implicit bias test. It's about race, but the premise is the same; some associations are ingrained in your brain.
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/iatdetails.html

Just my opinion but it seems petite women look younger for many years and then boom, look totally little old lady.

That test works only if you were raised here. For example, my white kids raised in Africa had absolutely no bias.

Neither did I, actually.

There are also tests for religion, weight, gender, and more. But that's not the point, it's that people make assumptions they aren't even aware of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Example of blazers that totally work in warm weather, and make a person look older:





Just saying.

Those outfits don't make sense. Who wears a blazer with shorts? You want op to show up to the playground like that?

[Anonymous]

When I was in my late 20's, I met my husband. He was hesitant to talk to me at first because he thought I was in high school. I've always been mistaken for 10-15 years younger than I am.

[Anonymous]

Yes. All other things equal, if you take two women with same skin, BMI, looks etc, the short woman will always look younger.

Yay for short women!!

[Anonymous]

I think it's one of the few advantages of being short. Yes, women under about 5'3" always look younger than taller women. On the other hand, really tall women (5'9" and above) almost always look older, especially when they're over 35.

[Anonymous]

Yes. I am 5 feet tall and am thin. I still get carded, especially when wearing sunglasses (I guess I look older without them). I don’t think I look under 21 but I think the rule is if you look 30 or younger.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Until petite women hit a certain age...60 or so? They then tend to look much older, either thin and frail or any pounds are really obvious because of short stature. Or something, I'm not really sure, my mom's petite friends seemed to age overnight.

[Anonymous]

Homey I am 38 and constantly being asked where I go to school. Let’s talk when you my age!