So many cis people don't understand why being aged incorrectly is so embarrassing (
self.FTMOver30)
submitted 10 hours ago * by
Gallantpride
I've heard it so often from people before. "Being seen as younger then you are is a good thing", "I wish people still thought I was a teen", and "You'll wish you still looked this young twenty years from now". Even therapists have tried to placate me when I've complained about incidents.
I haven't grown an inch since 5th grade. Literally. I've checked. It was fine being mistaken for a 13 year old when I was 14, but it's less so years later.
Years ago when my mom was still around, we went shopping together and I bought some anime Blu-Rays. The guy at the cashier said "So, your teen is going through an anime phase?" and my mom laughed it off with "Oh, she's twenty-five". I felt the cringe and discomfort hit me instantly but my mother thought it was funny that people thought I was so young.
I
still remember when I went shopping at Hot Topic when I was 18 and the guy thought I was a middle schooler. Or even recently when a nurse asked me "If I finished high school yet or am I in college?". I avoided a GameStop for months after the guy at the register accidentally mistook me for a kid.
It's humiliating and embarrassing being mistaken for a teen, nevermind a
tween. I can't wait to be able to grow a beard and for my voice to lower. Still, a lot of people don't seem to understand what the big deal is. They've obviously ever been seen as teens or young adults often. It's cute the first few times but then it
keeps happening.
For a while in my mid twenties, I had a complex over this. I tried to dress and seem as "adult" as possible. Wore only work casual and preppy clothes, kept my hair short so I didn't look too youthful, refused to wear graphic tees, etc, etc. It just seemed like I was a kid playing dress up. Even when I went through a phase where I tried to "be womanly", it seemed the same. I would get aged a teen. I thought maybe it was my voice or maybe it was because I didn't wear makeup, but a lot of women don't wear makeup