# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/101 "2010-05-11T05:53:32Z")
I answered 12 because I have met people who could easily pass for older, my younger brother being one of them. By age 15 he was about 6’3" and built like a linebacker with a voice deeper than mine will ever be. I’ve met quite a few other young teens who could easily pass for 18 or older so went a little younger then my own experience. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/102 "2010-05-11T06:07:31Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > I’ve never seen an eleven year old who looked 18 but I have seen many, many 16 year olds who I would assume were 18 or 19 and I’ve seen many 18 and 19 year olds who could pass for 16 year olds. It’s just hard to tell sometimes. It might be hard for **Dio** to accept, but I don’t think **Olives** is lying. Things aren’t black and white and not everyone who mistakenly hits on an underage girl is a creepy monster. Speaking of black and white… I was going through my old photographs to see if there were any ‘‘obviously looking older than I was’’ shots. Afraid there are no gratuitous T&A shots because I apparently wore black a lot. I decided to scan them and have others judge for themselves. [A collage of three full body shots](http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/1t7WaGji7IQ00iFe9I6W-Q?feat=directlink), taken at various ages. Personally I feel the first and second photographs aren’t so different from one another. Same hair, same smile, same goofy squint. [SPOILER]Girl number one is in fact 14 years younger than girl #2. Left to right: Age 12, Age 26, Age 15.[/SPOILER] And [two](http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2hHQNDf5u7fN77ppb5FTTw?feat=directlink) [more](http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/zlkR7koBZz2Y6yALsntmmA?feat=directlink) (face shots.) The black-and-white photos were taken as a 15th birthday present by my Aunt. **Hilarity** , that’s creepy. I once had some dudes follow my Mom and I through a dark parking lot in their truck and they refused to believe I was her kid. Because we were huddling together in the rain, they thought we were lesbians. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/103 "2010-05-11T06:28:43Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > Girl number one is in fact 14 years younger than girl #2. Yeah, I’m not surprised by that. The comparative tit sizes gives it away. > [@olive](#): > > Left to right: > Age 12, Age 26, Age 15. Wow. All three are far younger than I would have guessed. You’re welcome for the compliment that implies for pictures one and three and apologies for the insult that implies for picture two. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/104 "2010-05-11T06:49:53Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Yeah, I’m not surprised by that. The comparative tit sizes gives it away. This is the internet, so I guess someone had to focus on the tit sizes. I thought the shorter hair gave it away. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/105 "2010-05-11T06:50:22Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Wow. All three are far younger than I would have guessed. You’re welcome for the compliment that implies for pictures one and three and apologies for the insult that implies for picture two. 😛 Yeah that’s the downside of looking older than you are. It’s awesome until you stop wanting to look older than you are. If that’s the price I pay for an eventful life, so be it. ---
**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 11, 2010, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/106 "2010-05-11T06:55:29Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Yeah, I’m not surprised by that. The comparative tit sizes gives it away. Charmingly put. :rolleyes: For what it’s worth, **olives** , I would have guessed: A: 22 or 23 B. 26 or 27 C. 19 or 20 and for the face shots (and disregarding the previous black dress shot), 22 or 23 for both. The face shots and the 3/4 length shot are nice, btw; you look all movie-starish and stuff. 😉 The other pics are good too, but they lack that Hollywood aura. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/107 "2010-05-11T07:03:50Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > The face shots and the 3/4 length shot are nice, btw; you look all movie-starish and stuff. 😉 Yeah, that was the idea. My Aunt and her friends grew up worshiping the '80s, and it was sort of a ritual that she took glamour shots of her friends for their 15th birthdays. It was a kind of rite of passage. (My aunt is 13 years older than me, and more like an older sister figure than a matronly auntie figure.) I think it’s cool that I have something like that, a nice picture for my kids or something. > [@](#): > > The other pics are good too, but they lack that Hollywood aura. Yeah. If there’s one thing I can say about myself definitively, it’s that I lack that Hollywood aura. But at least I look friendly. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/108 "2010-05-11T07:13:03Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > Yeah that’s the downside of looking older than you are. It’s awesome until you stop wanting to look older than you are. If that’s the price I pay for an eventful life, so be it. People have always thought I’m older than I actually am, too. I don’t think I’ll reach a point where I care, though. Maybe it’s a woman thing. ---
**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 11, 2010, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/109 "2010-05-11T07:15:46Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > Yeah. If there’s one thing I can say about myself definitively, it’s that I lack that Hollywood aura. But at least I look friendly. You look friendly indeed. And I don’t think that there’s anything at all wrong with the more casual shots either. Even movie stars often don’t look all that fabulous without the proper makeup, lighting, camera angles and so forth. I just meant that the black dress shots had a Hollywood studio glamour to them that I thought was nice. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/110 "2010-05-11T07:45:05Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > People have always thought I’m older than I actually am, too. I don’t think I’ll reach a point where I care, though. Maybe it’s a woman thing. At first I was like, ‘‘Wait, I look older than 27? Shit. What does that mean?’’ And then I realized in the grand scheme of my life it means absolutely nothing. I can’t think of a single thing in my life that is dependent on looking youthful. I guess I’m finally learning to lighten up. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/111 "2010-05-11T07:59:19Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > 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. But the question is not about “the average” or even “the average in your home town”. It is, indeed, about the extremes. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/112 "2010-05-11T08:02:17Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > At first I was like, ‘‘Wait, I look older than 27? Shit. What does that mean?’’ And then I realized in the grand scheme of my life it means absolutely nothing. I can’t think of a single thing in my life that is dependent on looking youthful. > > I guess I’m finally learning to lighten up. I would have thought sex was pretty dependent on how old you look but you’ve been around longer than I have so maybe I’m wrong. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/113 "2010-05-11T08:49:42Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > I would have thought sex was pretty dependent on how old you look but you’ve been around longer than I have so maybe I’m wrong. 😛 There’s only one person on the planet who has to think I’m hot in order for me to get laid. Guess what? He does. Psst. You know old people have sex, right? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/114 "2010-05-11T09:11:00Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > Psst. You know old people have sex, right? But say there’s two people, both of them twenty five. If one looks like he/she is thirty five, I can see how it might affect things. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/115 "2010-05-11T10:05:45Z")
I hope **Dio** ’s looked by this thread and realised how wrong he is. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/116 "2010-05-11T10:15:20Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I hope **Dio** ’s looked by this thread and realised how wrong he is. You should actually read the thread. Not only has he looked by this thread, he’s posted in it a bunch and doesn’t seem to realize how wrong he supposedly is. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/117 "2010-05-11T12:13:36Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > But say there’s two people, both of them twenty five. If one looks like he/she is thirty five, I can see how it might affect things. There are never only two people. And its ok to date someone older than you (once you, yourself, are a little older than 17). My middle aged looking sister married a guy eleven years older than she is. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/118 "2010-05-11T12:28:06Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > There are never only two people. And its ok to date someone older than you (once you, yourself, are a little older than 17). My middle aged looking sister married a guy eleven years older than she is. You guys are missing the point, which is that youth is generally seen as attractive. Looking thirty when you’re twenty or forty when you’re thirty would, in general, make you less attractive than you would otherwise. That would have an affect on your sex life, I’d imagine. Yes, I’m aware it’s OK to date someone older than you. When I lost my virginity at 18 it was to a 23 year old woman. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/119 "2010-05-11T14:07:41Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > My middle aged looking sister married a guy eleven years older than she is. So, they match, then? ---
**Author:** ![markm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@markm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markm)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923/120 "2010-05-11T14:28:58Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > Yeah that’s the downside of looking older than you are. It’s awesome until you stop wanting to look older than you are. If that’s the price I pay for an eventful life, so be it. Heh, it can reverse for you. When I was in HS, in fact, at my first job after just turning 16, I had all the college freshmen I worked with always asking me to buy for them. When I tried to tell them I was younger than they, they simply would not believe it and thought I was just a jerk who wouldn’t buy them booze. When I finally showed them my ID, they were shocked. They just knew I was at least 21, probably 22 or 23. This lasted for me until I was probably 28 or so, people always thinking I was just a bit older than I was. Then, about the time I hit 28, people started thinking that I was younger than I am. Now in my mid-30’s, I routinely get carded for alcohol (and sometimes even R-rated movies!) If people go to guess my age, they routinely guess 8-10 years younger than I am. I can live with that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-minor-look-older-than-18/538923.md?page=7)