I (22-year-old female) am starting to get tired of being treated like a little kid; it’s not even about my behaviour. I am 1.50m (5ft), have a round face, and a high-pitched voice that makes me look and sound younger than my age. Right now, I am working for a few weeks while I’m on vacation at a hotel, and here is where I get tired. Guests talk down to me all the time, touch me, and ignore me. When I have ideas, problems, or really anything, my boss and my colleagues say, “Oh, our little girl is having ideas,” and laugh it off, only to take it seriously when someone else says the exact same thing with the same words. They are even at a point where they don’t let me drink as much alcohol as the other workers at parties.
And this is not just happening where I work (it’s a volunteering vacation program). But also in all my life, I attract creeps, my college teachers don’t take me seriously, people my age don’t find me attractive and even airport security question my age. I don’t dress childishly at all. When I wear heavy makeup, it happens a little less, but if I’m not wearing a full face, I’ve been told I look as young as 15. I am so tired; I want to be treated like an equal. What can I do? Has anyone else had this issue?
Comments
Set boundaries, be confident, and call out unfair treatment. How you act matters more than looks. Need help wording it?
Ugh, I feel you. Next time someone calls you “little girl,” just pause, look them dead in the eye and say, “I’m 22 and perfectly capable.” Then shut up. Awkward silence is your secret weapon.
Start being sassy when they do it. They’ll soon stop I’m sure.
Maybe jokingly say if they say our little girl is having ideas if it’s say an older gentleman something like “ahh the old guy thinks I’m his kid again, must be the dementia” 😂. Sure it’d make your colleagues laugh.