Mistaken Identity

[Keri]

Have you ever been mistaken for someone?
When my older sister and her then fiance(they're married now) were living with us before they got married, I was doing dishes in the kitchen and her fiance came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. My sister and I look a lot a like. He thought I was her. Once he was completely hugging me from behind and I got all stiff (I was like 15 at the time, my sister was 20) he realized by my reaction that I was not her. He freaked out. The rest of us laughed.
When we would go out in public people would always ask if we were twins. I would reply, "Um, she's 5 years older and has a different dad..." We got it all of the time though. When she had her daughter, and I would be holding my niece people always assumed that Jody was my daughter.


Or people mistake you for being older/younger than your age?
When I was younger I was mistaken for being older. When I was in Jr High people thought I was in High School. In High School I was always asked what college I went to. They would compliment on how mature I was. I developed young so that had something to do with it.

Now I am always mistaken for being younger. When I go to dinner with my family (Mom, Dad 16, year old brother and I) and they ask how many wine glasses, when I say I'll have wine they always card me. But they don't even think of carding my 16 year old brother. He doesn't even ask for wine, they assume he's 25 and he's going to have it.

Or even have your race mistaken?
I'm mixed. Half hispanic, half white. A lot of people assume I'm 100% white. But when people find out I'm mixed and try to guess my other half, I get Italian a lot.

 

[Gym]

Have you ever been mistaken for someone?
Yes it's occured
Or people mistake you for being older/younger than your age?
Also has occured
Or even have your race mistaken?
I got mistaken for being German once at a US customs checkpoint... didn't turn out well for me actually... but ahh that's a whole different story

 

[RayofSun]

Have you ever been mistaken for someone? Not really, no. And if it has happened, it's not because I look like anyone else.

Or people mistake you for being older/younger than your age?
It swings both ways. If I'm just in jeans and a sweatshirt I'm often mistaken for being younger, as people will ask when I'm graduating from high school
But if I'm dressed up for work, I usually get around 3 years older.

Or even have your race mistaken?
No one has ever gotten it right on the first try. So that's a big yes! I usually get mistaken for being Hispanic or Native American, but I'm neither....

 

[TwistTim]

Originally Posted by Squeakers

Have you ever been mistaken for someone?
Or people mistake you for being older/younger than your age?
Or even have your race mistaken?

Yes and no... I've been told I look like one of the Baldwin Brothers...
no one believes I am actually 30... I stopped physically aging at 25 I guess... whatever...
Not a race mistake so much as country of origin... I've been asked if I was) Canadian, British, French, or French Canadian, or even full blooded German... Sorry ignorant Southerns.. there are more than just four dialects of American English, more than "what I speak" "What they speak down south" "New York"(by this they mean Brooklyn) and "Midwest"

​

 

[elenore]

Have you ever been mistaken for someone?
No
Or people mistake you for being older/younger than your age?
Yes
Or even have your race mistaken?
Yes.

 

[mina]

I get told I look like several celebrities but i don't think I do; I just think I have a similar body frame and coloring.

I often get mistaken for being younger than I am. At least I don't get asked about what high school I go to anymore; now people ask about what college I attend. Even though I have been at my job for 10 years now; I still get asked if I"m a first year b/c of how I look.

race wise or nationality as it were- I have been asked if I am Armenian or Persian or Italian and once Indian although my skin is very light. And my heritage is actually Welsh.

 

[Amber.ly]

I've always looked younger than I am. Mostly because I don't wear a ton of makeup and some days, none at all, so people automatically assume you are younger than you are. I'm also really short so that doesn't help.

I used to hate it but now I guess there are worse things that being eternally 16


As to the race, people assume I am Irish because of my hair/skin. I have like a smidgen of Irish in me but mostly Dutch.

The only person I have ever been mistaken for is my sister. We look (and act) like twins. Heck, we even call each other twins because that is what it feels like for us. The main difference between us are hair color and attitude so its mostly people who don't know either of us well that get us mixed up.

 

[explodingboy]

On good day I get mistaken for a woman (had very long hair) which was absolutely awesome because I also had a massive beard at the time and the looks and folks faces when I turned round and they realized their error.. was simply put hilarious.

While in the states, alot of people used to mistake my accent for Australian.. which from conversations with with my fellow Englishmen seems to be rather common.. and most perplexing to all of us.

I did once get asked if I was Welsh.. that was just insulting.

 

[Mr. Runningfish]

People mistake my age all the time. They usually guess I'm in my early twenties, which I guess is... okay? But it's weird. I've been mistaken for a teen before, which is even weirder.

 

[Touma]

I have had my race/ethnicity mistaken a few times. Anything from Arabic to Hispanic to Italian to Israeli (I seriously had an older Jewish woman come up to me asking me if I was from Tel Aviv. uh what?!?).

I don't think I look that different from most white people. Sometimes my skin is a little bit darker, but I am totally a white guy.

 

[acropolis]

When I'm clean-shaven people consistently judge me to be 5-6 years younger than I am. It bothers me, especially while buying booze.

 

[Gista]

Has anyone noticed that Christians often look younger than their age? Especially single ones

 

[explodingboy]

Has anyone noticed that Christians often look younger than their age? Especially single ones

As a rule of thumb, nope, no more so than anyone else with the creepy Cliff Richard gene.

 

[MehGuy]

Have you ever been mistaken for someone?
Or people mistake you for being older/younger than your age?
Or even have your race mistaken?

I bring this up because 1) I'm curious and 2) I have been yet again mistaken, age wise.

Two different women this past month thought I was younger than I really am...the one lady was absolutely shocked to find out I was 21...and even more shocked to find out my younger brother was, in fact, my younger brother.

Other instances:
Someone once mistook me for being Chinese...that was rather amusing.

A stranger thought I was male...that was amusing, but rather awkward at the same time.

1. Yes I have been mistaken for someone else, I'm not sure who it was some famous musician and these group of people took a picture of me and I was like what the heck... I told them I wasn't whoever they thought I was but they took the picture anyways.
2. Have I been mistaken for my age? Many times. I cringe when I have to say my real age.
3. I've been accused of being a Jew from time to time, can't really think of any time I was confused as something else. A few times were honestly a little scary, because I hang out with some friends who's older brothers and friends were antisemitic. I do have a Jesus looking nose though, but it's not like other races don't have it either.

 

[Saucy]

One time when I went to a jail to preach with a chaplain, one of the prisoners asked me if I was a certain someone (forgot the name they asked). Upon finding out that it wasn't me, they were like, "Don't ever come to this prison. There was a guy here who looks exactly like you and he is hated." I felt instantly uncomfortable LOL.

Also, when I'm on the phone I get called "ma'am" a lot. I don't even have a woman's voice so I don't get it! Aww shucks.

 

[Thunder Peel]

I got mistaken for Jennifer Aniston once.

 

[Touma]

I got mistaken for Jennifer Aniston once.

Wasn't that the time, back in the day, when Brad Pitt grabbed your butt?

Easy mistake to make on his behalf, I am sure. But it probably was a little hard to explain to her why he was grabbing a man's tooshie.