# Can a minor look older than 18? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 10, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923 "2010-05-10T16:20:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/41 "2010-05-10T18:42:53Z")
Style of dress can make a huge difference, too. If you dress like an adult, your apparent age goes up by a few years, no matter who you are. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/42 "2010-05-10T18:43:49Z")
There’s a difference between sounding underage and sounding stupid, but I always preferred a policy of not fucking anyone who sounded either. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/43 "2010-05-10T18:45:20Z")
I didn’t vote, because it really does depend upon the kid. One example: Was working at a private school in Switzerland, and on opening day we had the students and new staff all arriving. Up comes two girls, mid-20’s, smiling and schlepping large pieces of luggage on wheels. The Director of the school was standing next to me and we greeted them. He started talking about their duties; driving students to sports, making sure lights out at 10:30, where the staff goes for lunch, etc. It took a few minutes until one of the girls said, “We’re students here.” The were both 15 years old!!! After we sent them to the student dorms, the director looked at me and we both shook our heads in amazement. Those two girls seriously looked at least old enough to go to a bar, let alone work as summer counselors at the school! Granted, these were “rich kids” who went to this summer school, and the girls were dressed in designer clothes, had perfect make up and hair done by professional hairdressers - but still - wow. Scary. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/44 "2010-05-10T18:45:21Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Well the question here is _can_ they. I suppose it is possible that they can. But _do_ they? Almost always, no. Replace the “almost always” with “mostly” and I bet most folks will get behind this easily enough. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/45 "2010-05-10T18:45:54Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > Style of dress can make a huge difference, too. If you dress like an adult, your apparent age goes up by a few years, no matter who you are. You can’t disguise the intellectual immaturity, though. I have seen young girls dolled up who looked superfically older until I heard them talk for five minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/46 "2010-05-10T18:48:11Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > > [@billfish678](#): > > > > So, instead, you think the waitress thought giving a minor jello shots was A OKAY? > > Of course not. > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > That she gave jello shots to a girl she knew was probably a minor. She probably didn’t think she was as young as 11, but she probably didn’t think she was 21. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/47 "2010-05-10T18:50:54Z")
I put 15. Prominent breasts and make-up will go a long away. Especially if the girl has prominent hips and other such things. Also, last year I met a girl that I totally figured was about 19. Then when I heard of her birthday party, my world was rocked. She was turning 17. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/48 "2010-05-10T18:53:18Z")
Don’t feel too confused; this is **The World According To Dio** , after all. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/49 "2010-05-10T18:54:46Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > The OP said that you said 21. Anyway, I reckon these people are going with very extreme examples. I suppose there is some 11 year old on the planet somewhere who looks 18, but for the most part, I don’t care if you put grown up clothes and make up on a 6th grader, there ain’t no way in hell I’m mistaking the thing for a college freshman. Agreed. Of course there are outliers, but the average 13 year old girl looks 13. The above average 13 year old girl can probably pass for 16 for all of four minutes until she’s talked her way back to 13 (or 9). Boys read closer to their actual ages. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/50 "2010-05-10T18:59:24Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > There’s a difference between sounding underage and sounding stupid, but I always preferred a policy of not fucking anyone who sounded either. So, you think it should be illegal to fuck stupid people? You know who else didnt want stupid people breeding? ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/51 "2010-05-10T18:59:36Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > I put 15. Prominent breasts and make-up will go a long away. Especially if the girl has prominent hips and other such things. > > Also, last year I met a girl that I totally figured was about 19. Then when I heard of her birthday party, my world was rocked. She was turning 17. One other thing, I didn’t meet her at a party or club or somewhere where you would expect people to be over a certain age or at a place where a girl would be all made up to look good. I met her when she was working at a Chick-Fil-A, not made up or wearing any type of alluring clothing or anything of the sort. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/52 "2010-05-10T18:59:43Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > You can’t disguise the intellectual immaturity, though. I have seen young girls dolled up who looked superfically older until I heard them talk for five minutes. Living in a college town with a relatively large high school, that cuts both ways so hard that I really feel sorry for guys in their twenties–some of the girls I had classes with back in the actual college days sounded like they decided to stop growing their personality at 14. Conversely, and again using my kid sister-in-law as an example, she’s ALWAYS sounded years older than she is–the whole family does, it’s one of those “Dad’s a big-shot professor and we grew up around university types our whole lives” things. Looking at it now, there’s a big indeterminate stretch between 15 and 25 where there are a lot of factors that could easily cause you to misidentify the ages of some people in that ten-year period by a significant amount in either direction. I’m in my 30s now, so this isn’t a “damn kids” sort of observation on the relative frivolity of the chatter among the younger set. Side anecdote: One of my college buddies used to date and have gratuitous public displays of affection with this scrawny, 4’6", dressed-in-flowery-juniors-crap girl. I refused to believe she was 24 until I saw her passport. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/53 "2010-05-10T19:03:34Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Not sure what the absolute youngest would be, but I always find it interesting when people say things like “X was 12 but looked 18 and was gorgeous…” Aren’t there any normal or ugly people who look old, or do people just not notice them? My sister has had the misfortune of looking middle aged since she was fifteen or so. There is something about her face and the way her eyes crinkle at the corners that make her look older. She is a good looking middle aged woman, but you don’t want to be a good looking middle aged woman when you are 17. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/54 "2010-05-10T20:10:37Z")
As a pediatrician I can tell you that quite a few 12-14 year olds could pass for 21, depending on how they packaged themselves. Also as noted by **Qadgop** some do hit puberty early; they may end up a bit shorter than average but otherwise they look fully developed. Younger than 11 may be pushing it, just because of the height bit, but 11? Yes, it can happen. It is an issue for the early developing girl, they need to be prepared for being approached as if they are older than they are and older than they are emotionally prepared for. Also, some 21 year olds could pass for 12, but that’s another issue … ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/55 "2010-05-10T20:13:51Z")
Works the other way too. I think the older you are, the younger some teens look. I see some girls driving and think “How can a girl that looks 12 be driving?” ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/56 "2010-05-10T20:22:36Z")
Of course the real answer is that hormones don’t really care about your age in years. They operate on their own schedule. I certainly understand the reasons for a “no excuses” statutory rape law, but the tail does not wag the dog. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/57 "2010-05-10T20:25:00Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Younger than 11 may be pushing it, just because of the height bit, but 11? Yes, it can happen. I was 6’1" 200 at 11 but I have a very young face and at 27 still look the same as I did at 18. I have no problems believing that someone with and older face and my build could have passed for 18. I answered 15 since that is the youngest that I have experience with, my best friend’s little sister. Based on some of the inane conversations I’ve had at bars it wouldn’t take more then a diligent reading to Tvtropes to understand the culture references to pass conversationally for drunk older person. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/58 "2010-05-10T20:28:14Z")
[There’s a whole market in it.](http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/toddlers-tiaras/about-toddlers-and-tiaras.html) ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/59 "2010-05-10T20:34:29Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > [There’s a whole market in it.](http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/toddlers-tiaras/about-toddlers-and-tiaras.html) That’s on top of encouraging little girls to push around a pram as soon as they can walk. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/60 "2010-05-10T20:46:34Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > “I can’t believe \*anyone \*has \*ever \*had \*any \*experience or data that in any way contradicts my own. What complete bullshit.” > > Why don’t you go hang out with **Starving Artist**? I bet you guys get along great these days. You know, I get really tired of these snide and dishonest drive-by characterizations of my words and/or mindset. I have over 9,000 posts to this board. Kindly show in some post - any post out of all those I’ve made - where I ever said or implied disbelief that anyone would have an experience other than my own. :rolleyes: And as far as “data” goes, I think an honest appraisal of my posting history would show that more often than not I regard what passes for data around here to be biased and inconclusive in much the same way as are my own cites by my opponents, and that this is largely responsible for the fact that I essentially refuse to play the cite game. I will grant that after 50 years of experience seeing first hand through friends, co-workers and relatives certain threads of commonality, and after having observed these same threads of commonality with people from other parts of the country and in national news shows and publications, I am unlikely to be dissuaded by some Google-esque ‘proof’ or a few individual anecdotes which someone has come up with in an attempt to prove that what a lifetime of experience and observation has revealed to me is wrong. For example, I can’t think of a single time in my life’s experience when anyone I’ve known, or any friend or relative of theirs who’ve been mentioned, has failed to get health coverage from their insurance plan, some of which has been very, very expensive. Now, that’s almost fifty years of experience watching as my great grandparents, grandparents, parents, sisters, neighbors and co-workers have had their health care needs provided for as expected by their health insurance companies. So when I hear people around here - people who are strongly predisposed to want government health care to begin with - start to cite instances where insurance companies are alleged to have wrongfully denied care and attempt to portray that as the norm, I am indeed inclined to be skeptical. But still that is still a far cry from claiming that I can’t believe no one has had an experience other than my own. :rolleyes: I’m sure you’re unaware of this, but when you resort to such dishonest tactics it makes you appear desperate and unable to argue your points honestly. But then another thing I believe is that you have little choice. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923.md?page=4)