India is a deeply hierarchical society and anyone who is perceived to be above you, automatically deserves your respect. I don’t want to paint everyone with the same brushstroke, but think “badon ki izzat karni chahiye (you must respect your elders)”…
On the flip side, anyone who is perceived to be below you, is to be treated with scorn and disdain. Age is an important marker most people use to determine who is worthy of being treated as an equal.
Be it as a psychologist, journalist, filmmaker or a communications professional, I have had to go to great lengths to “look older”. This could mean dressing a certain way, wearing glasses, and recently for me: not indulging in too much skincare lest all the blemishes on my face disappear and make me look younger than I am.
The curse, so to speak, of being a trans man is that I look like a teenage boy on most days even though I’m nearing thirty. There is nothing inherently wrong with that, mind you. However, I have noticed that others don’t take me seriously or tend to look down upon me almost, because I don’t look like a middle-aged man.
Of course, once work takes over—my work speaks for itself. But this is easier said than done.
What do you think? Do you agree? Have you had to go through something like this in your own professional journey(s)?