Eternally Young

Published April 1, 2008

By Lea McLellan

The first time someone told me I looked like I was fifteen years old was a couple of monthsago. “It’s your face. It’s…” he trailed off. “Round? I offered dejectedly. “No… not round. You have a baby face,” he stated matter of factly. My thoughts immediately jumped to Babe Ruth and I was grossed out. Still, I figured he was probably just being a jerk.

A week later I ran into a random soccer mom from my town who vaguely knew my family. “So you’re a sophomore this year?” she asked. She meant in high school, which would make me about fifteen. I told her that no, I was actually in college and she was embarrassed, assuring me that one day I would love to have people mistake me for a young teen. I’m sure this will be true… when I’m thirty-five.

The references to my newborn babe face didn’t stop there. Recently, I was talking to my international friend about going out on the weekend, parties, etc. He looked at me, trying to articulate what wasn’t quite right with our conversation. “Your face… it is so young.” I’ve come to accept that I look like an innocent high schooler, still awaiting my driver’s permit. I figure it beats looking like an old crack ho.

Like it or not, people are judged by their appearances. If a guy is kind of greasy, wears thick glasses, and his pants stop above the ankles, we assume he knows a lot about computers…or at least plays Magic the Gathering. Likewise, if a girl only wears ponytails, sweatpants, and has broader shoulders than average, we assume she’s athletic. It isn’t fair. It isn’t always accurate, but it’s fact. People make snap judgments all the time.

According to Malcolm Gladwell, the author of Blink, it takes about two seconds for a person to come to a conclusion about a situation or another person. He calls it rapid cognition. And what do people have to go by when they are deciding what you’re all about in the time it takes to blink? Appearances.

Gladwell got the idea for his book after a decision to grow his previously short and conservative hair into a large and wild ‘fro. Immediately he noticed the change in how people treated him. He started getting more speeding tickets and was singled out for extra security measures at airports. One day, in New York City, three policemen jumped out of a car and told him he looked a lot like a rapist they were after. Turns out he looked nothing like the rapist, save his wacky hairstyle.

After the revelation that I look like a young  child, I started to make connections between how I look and the way people treat me. It made a lot of sense. I had never understood  why, but when people first meet me they think that I am quiet, sweet,  and innocent. I’ve noticed that if I say or do something that  doesn’t fit with the way people first perceive me (which is  inevitable), it’s always a bit of a shocker.

In contrast to Gladwell’s experience with the police, the one time I was pulled over for speeding, well… I got a little teary. Lame? Yes, but suddenly it was like the officers were more concerned with comforting me than punishing me. I thought maybe I just got lucky, but thinking about it now—my innocent cheeks with a few tears running down them? There was no way I was getting that ticket.

Gladwell’s ‘fro-induced experiences with authority—he’s a columnist for The New Yorker, not a rapist—is a negative example of rapid cognition. Also, the fact that people assume I am wholly incapable of wrongdoing isn’t quite accurate. Obviously, snap judgments can be wrong.

But Gladwell also argues that our first instincts about things and people are often very accurate and important to pay attention to. So can you judge a book by its cover? Studies show that you can. Still, it sucks for the do-gooders of the world who want to grow out their hair, or sport a creepy mustache. Because people will think you are a pervert.

Print This Article

Comments