Comments on: Don’t Lie About Your Age: A Rant

By: dana_mai

dana_mai — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:16:46 +0000

I hate the way age is either condemned or glorified. Everyone is always asking me what my age is. I’m young, but i always respond with what year of school i am in, or something like that, because if i have to be measured at all, i’d rather it’s according to something that i’ve accomplished on an intellectual level. I don’t have to work or try to get older, but i do work to be educated.
And when i do tell people my age, 16, they always say something about how “those were the days” or “enjoy being young while it lasts.” Ha-ha, yeah, i’ll do that, thanks for putting pressure on me according to my age. Almost worse, though, is the opposite reaction: when people find out i’m a teenager, my opinions are immediately discounted. I don’t matter anymore.

By: Don’t Call Me “Miss”: A Rant - The Pursuit of Harpyness

Don’t Call Me “Miss”: A Rant - The Pursuit of Harpyness — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:01:55 +0000

[...] forbid!–old. Some women probably prefer “Miss”, because, as we know, some women don’t want people to know how old they are and like being treated as though they’re still sweet young things in knee socks. But [...]

By: Weekend Link Love « The Feminist Texican

Weekend Link Love « The Feminist Texican — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:02:47 +0000

[...] 13 September, 2009 · Filed under US news, activism, art & literature, body politics, discrimination, feminism, film, history, human rights, immigration, racial politics, racism, sexism, world The Pursuit of Harpyness: Don’t Lie About Your Age: A Rant [...]

By: Isa

Isa — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 05:47:43 +0000

@BeckySharper: We’re Canucks, and it looks like Canadian birth certificates don’t have any info on the parents, just the children. Which is a shame because I must confess myself powerfully curious. Heh. I still find it so odd that he doesn’t know his own mother’s age.

By: Quince Tart

Quince Tart — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:26:18 +0000

I have been going around proudly announcing that I am thirty all year (I’m about to be thirty one). It’s fun to be proud about this thing that you’re supposed to be all upset and ashamed/frightened about.

I keep being an annoying old fart too. Telling young folks in their early twenties how as you get older all sorts of stuff just appears to be irrelevant crap and you’ll be much happier without it. (S’true tho.)

That said I did have an age-related meltdown when I was 27. That was because my misogynistic ex-employers had convinced me that everything I’d achieved for them I’d achieved because I was young and female so men did stuff for me to try to get into my pants.

Of course that wouldn’t work after the age of 26 because I was now too old to be attractive to men. So I was useless and should give up on ever having a meaningful career and just be a photocopy slave and beg the first available man to marry me so I wouldn’t die in penury.

By: BeckySharper

BeckySharper — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 03:29:14 +0000

@Isa: Does your friend have a copy of his own birth certificate? It always lists the mother’s age at the time of birth. A little simple arithmetic will take care of the rest. That’s actually how I found out how old my grandmother was–she refused to tell me, so later I asked how old she was when my mom was born. She told me that and all I had to do was some subtraction.

By: Isa

Isa — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:13:44 +0000

@misscalculate: Your grandparents sound awesome. I don’t know why people get squicked out by older folks having sex. Sex is awesome and I hope when I’m in my 80s my sex life is still exciting!

@OP: That’s disappointing indeed. Who the hell gets upset with a little girl about that? I prefer your attitude. Right on!

My mum’s in her late 50s, and I don’t think she lies about her age. She had me when she was 35 and people would often ask if she was my grandma when I was a kid. She would tell them straight up, “Nope, this is my daughter.”

I’ve always known my parents’ ages and birthdays, and when I got older I found it totally weird that some of my peers didn’t know how old their mothers were. My boyfriend is almost 23 and he doesn’t know his mum’s exact age, I don’t think. She is always trying to appear young.

My mum has never been like that… she’s perfectly open about how old she is, and why shouldn’t she be? She’s an intelligent, accomplished, fucking badass professional woman. She says what she thinks, and she gets shit done. Assuming I make it to 50 without getting hit by a bus or something, I don’t want to be ashamed of my age. I want to be like my mother.

By: PhDork

PhDork — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:00:14 +0000

If asked, I won’t lie about my age, but I also don’t volunteer it. I think, if I had the plum job I wanted, I would feel less self-conscious. As it is, being 34 and professionally in limbo feels a bit shameful.

When students ask me, I usually demur; whatever I say, the reaction could be problematic. Either OH MY GOD SHE’S SO OLD AND OUT OF TOUCH or OH MY GOD SHE’S SO YOUNG AND HAS NO AUTHORITY.

By: sarah.of.a.lesser.god

sarah.of.a.lesser.god — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:20:11 +0000

I’m 28. Due (mainly) to my insanely short stature, I’m almost always mistaken for 5 or more years younger. I have to fight the socially-conditioned impulse for me to be thrilled when someone says, “I thought you were 19!” like a bouncer did earlier this year. (Pilgrim Soul, who was with me, thoroughly cracked me up by saying “well, you look like you’re eight.) I really hope I never want to start saying, “Oh yeah, I’m 23!” when I turn 30. It’s not like I was having a lot of fun when I was 23 anyway.

By: wondering

wondering — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 23:59:53 +0000

lol – the people in my family have a tendency to literally forget how old we are. If I do the math, I know I am 38 – and will tell you so if asked – but I have also been known to tell people I’m 26 or 40, because it’s the number that comes to mind at the moment.