How do you deal with looking younger than you actually are?

[Wilhelm]

I got a haircut a while ago, and it really made me look more male. The only problem is that I look like I'm about 11.  I'm not much older though but a few years at least so that kinda sucks.  I guess it could be worse, but anyway, what I'm wondering is what do you do if someone asks your age? Do you lie and say something that seems more believable or do you say your actual age and hope they don't connect the dots?

Also, would/have you ever used that in your advantage? Say if the tickets to some event is X amount if your under 15 and XX if your 15+. If so, how did that go?

[Eli_]

I say my own age.  I'm 19 and look 15, but people usually just assume I'm a "late bloomer"
And yes, I can often get bus tickets and movie tickets, etc for the 17 and under and even 15/16 and under prices.  No one ever questions it because I look the age.

[Kyle_S]

I've always looked way younger. When I finished grade 3, I had a woman ask me how kindergarten was -_-  and now if someone asks, I awkwardly say my age, which is followed with disbelief from the person who asked. I'm 22, but I'm frequently asked if I'm even old enough to work at my job. They always put me 12-14 :/   I don't have anywhere to use this as an advantage. And it sucks when I have to be ID'd for alcohol or a bar or something....cause I don't want em to notice the "f". Maybe t will help make me look older *crossing fingers*

[Natkat]

I hate telling people my real age, if I tell them I am younger then I am way better to pass, usunally I just say I hit puberty late..
hmm now when I am gay I am glad there are people who actually think its attrative with boys who looks young, and still I try not to look like im way too young.
I dont mind going for being 15,  I feel more like a teen anyway..
also in japan it where kinda funny, there where this girl asked if I where a boy or a girl and when I said I where a guy she just stood like..
"hondo... KAWAIIIIII" *really oh so cuteee*

[Arch]

At my age, it's sometimes nice to be seen as a young whippersnapper of thirty-five. But, yes, I do feel awkward telling them that I'm barely on the right side of fifty. I have been closeted about my age on many occasions and went out of my way to hide my actual age so people wouldn't suspect. Because, you know, the first thing people think when you look young for your age is, "TRANS MAN!!!!"

Yeah, I kinda went overboard on the paranoia.

You are in an entirely different space, obviously. You can always try the joking reply, something like, "Alas, I'm not old enough to drink yet..." and only tell your real age if someone presses you. Or you can just be honest and deal with the different reactions you get, on an individual basis. Or just head 'em off at the pass and say your age and add that you are a late bloomer or that you went a little overboard on that Fountain of Youth regimen. Honestly, I would try different strategies, see what works, and maybe have a little fun with it all.

[Adio]

I have a hard time with it honestly.  I don't feel as if I'm taken very seriously.  I avoid saying my age because of the surprised looks I get.  Things seem to be getting better though, and when I actually talk and interact with people, they tend to release that I'm older than I first appear.

When I was pre-T/didn't have many changes yet, I was always so tempted to use it to my advantage.  Like get cheaper tickets, use the "kids" menu, etc.  But I felt bad about it and (almost) never did it.

[insideontheoutside]

It never did bother me. But the older I get it makes me feel even better that I don't look my chronological age.

[Jen61]

I am sorry Guys for posting on your section but I look at the title and I just could nt let it pass. I am consistantly tasken for being younger, like 15 years younger! and it tickles me pink when I tell them how old I am.

[Elijah3291]

it depends on the situation, if its someone you will never see again, sure lie and say you are the age you look, but if you are going to see them again then dont lie or it will be awkward.

funny story, before I was on T and when I had recently come out to my brother and dad, the three of us were looking at shoes for me.  i was trying on a pair and I asked the shoe guy if i should go up a size just in case I grow.  I was passing completely to me and he says "well how old are you" so fast as lightning without even thinking about it I said "fifteen" lol I think I was 19 at the time.  My brother and dad didnt say anything.  I just figured, hey I look 15 to this guy, and I hadnt gone through my second puberty yet so I knew i would grow anyway.

[anibioman]

im a high school junior and people usually think im a bit younger like a year but im still at an age where i could be a late bloomer and have a high voice but it gets harder to pass everyday i really need to start T. i dont see any advantages really but there arent too man disadvantages either.

[skakid]

I'm 18 and I don't usually tell people I'm any younger. Sometimes people will get a little too pushy and keep trying to find out why I look so young and in those cases I just tell them I have a hormone disorder and leave it at that. Looking younger has sometimes helped me because I can get into some museums in my area for free, but usually looking younger just causes me trouble. People constantly ask to re-check my ID and then badger me with questions because they think it's fake.

[MaxAloysius]

I'm almost nineteen, and looking younger atm is just a pain when everyone keeps checking my ID and looking at me funny. I did get into a fair a week ago with a kids (sixteen and under) ticket, but that was my step-father taking advantage of my silence to only have to pay half price.

Apparently I look suspicious though, because I've flown several times over the last couple of weeks, and been called out of the que and bomb checked five times! I think something about me strikes the security guards as odd, but who knows if it's the age I look or the gender that confuses them.

[Mr.Rainey]

I act like it and reclaim some of the boyhood that was robbed from me.

If people figure out how old I am I tell them I have a T deficiency (Its not like it isn;t true!)

[malinkibear]

I just tell them, but I can't think of the last time someone wanted to know my age other than when trying to buy ->-bleeped-<-s or alcohol. I guess it helps that I'm at university, so people assume I must be a minimum of eighteen. Though I was at the pub the other night and a friend of mine kept getting asked "how old's your friend? He's like twelve, what the hell is he doing in here?" Those situations elicit an awkward shrug.

[Nathan.]

I'm 20 but most people think I look about 13-15. Just yesterday someone came to my door to get me to donate to a charity and the woman asked if my parents were home  It does my head in.

I just tell them i'm 20 and if they don't believe me I get my ID out.

[Jeatyn]

almost 23 and get clocked at young teen - I've been ID'ed while buying redbull for crying out loud, because the till woman was concerned when she saw it said "not suitable for children" on the can xD

In the vast majority of situations I don't care, I only care when people don't take me seriously because they assume I'm 13.

It is sorta funny though when I'm out with my sister and people assume she's my mother, and that my daughter is my sister xD

[Arch]

People constantly ask to re-check my ID and then badger me with questions because they think it's fake.

I was always worried about this while I was early in transition, but I only ran into problems once. I was about six months into transition and still had the old ID. I bought some stuff at a liquor store in another neighborhood and was carded for the first time in I don't know how long. They looked at my ID for the longest time, and back at me, and back to the ID again...I felt like a bug under glass. I finally got my liquor, but I'm sure they only let me have it because they finally saw the "F" on my card. At that point in my life, I was 46, but people routinely guessed that I was in my late twenties, or thirty. Maybe the guys at the liquor store really thought I was under 21, but maybe they were trying to figure out why a 28-year-old I had the ID of someone almost twenty years older.

Well, I'll never go back THERE again. Not even now.

[Make_It_Good]

I do find it annoying looking young. I am still young to be fair (turned 21 this past week), but I have always been mature for my age/felt older than I am, so taking years off my actual age in terms of how young I look, is annoying. :/
  People  usually assume Im between 15-19ish.
I hate being ID'd for alcohol. Ive had it all through uni so far (the nights I dont get ID'd are great!) and I assume I will continue to get this, hopefully this will start to dwindle once I can finally grow any greatly desired facial hair :p

[Felix]

And it sucks when I have to be ID'd for alcohol or a bar or something....cause I don't want em to notice the "f". Maybe t will help make me look older *crossing fingers*

The one time I went to a gay bar, the guy carded me and announced my admission price loudly enough for the whole room to hear. It was $5 for women and $3 for men. I wanted to hide.

I'm 20 but most people think I look about 13-15. Just yesterday someone came to my door to get me to donate to a charity and the woman asked if my parents were home  It does my head in.

When this school year started, my daughter's bus driver came to my front door to introduce herself and get some paperwork signed, and her first question was "is your mom home?" At least I was passing. At the time I was actually pretty pleased.

There are guys who run around getting registered voters to sign petitions for ballot initiatives, and when I confront them about approaching everybody but me, they apologize and say I didn't look old enough to vote.

I have issues with my age because my daughter is almost 12, and she attracts a lot of attention. People often think I'm her brother, but I don't encourage that. One time a large angry man walked very purposefully up to us when we were sitting on a bus bench around 9:30pm, and he demanded to know "what are you doing out so late with this little girl!?" Oh my god I thought I was about to get my ass kicked. I stood my ground and glared at him and told him we were on our way home. Then he softened, and said I shouldn't be out with my little sister so late at night, and that I needed to take her back to her mom so she could go to bed. Lol then my filterless kid starts giving him Trans 101, and the conversation took a turn for the weird. I was relieved when the bus came.

At thanksgiving I passed with a bunch of strangers, but at some point a guy made it clear he didn't believe me about my age. When I just deadpan insisted that I'm 30, he started saying things along the lines of I must be just pretending my daughter is my biological child in order to keep her feeling secure and happy. I didn't know what to do, so I just excused myself and went and talked to somebody else.

I smoke (trying to quit), and I've had a couple of stores flat out refuse to sell me cigarettes, even after looking at my ID.

The hard part about getting carded for grownup things is the fact that now I anticipate that there might be some awkwardness, which makes me nervous, and nothing waves red flags more than acting nervous while getting carded.

I'm a little concerned about how much I'm tempted to tell people I'm 20 or something, just so I'll attract less attention.

[Arch]

Oh, Felix. Now we can truly say that you're at that awkward age.

I think that guys your age run into unique problems. The young guys can usually give the impression that they are just late bloomers, and the older guys, like me, can just take the compliments about not looking our age. But you're old enough to have a half-grown kid while looking too young to vote. What a mess.