I wonder why they are so inaccurate estimating underage girls. It seems possible that taboos play a role in this. Some underage girls are really quite lovely and although there's really nothing deviant in noting a young girl's attractiveness, it still may feel like pedophilia. It seems likely that if there's any conscious or unconscious flash of "what a pretty girl" respondents will think they are older to square their thoughts with their moral standards. I'm not saying there's anything perverse in this. There's a mile of moral distance between thought and action and ten miles between "what a pretty girl" and "I'd like to..." but our taboos against pedophilia are strong enough that even innocent thoughts may lead to protective wrong estimates.

I'm skeptical of the taboo theory. Certainly, our culture tells us we men should feel 'wrong' when we find out that a woman we were so sexually attracted to is actually 16 or 17 instead of 18, but I don't think that's what is interfering with age judgments. I just think it is because woman mature earlier than men, physically. (Even college men, obstensably adults, often look quite a bit different between freshman and senior year. The women, though -- some look different, but many look much the same.)

Also, current fashion trends are really good at hiding a woman or girl's age. Heavy makeup can make a girl look several years older, as can a low-cut top with a padded bra or some killer heels. Men don't really have the option of "sexying up" in order to appeal to the bartender or convince someone of their age. It's not a matter of pedophilia, per se. It's a matter of the "sexy is pretty" ideal that reaches down into all age groups of women or girls, and the idea that if you look nice, people will help you out (say, by buying you a drink even though you're only 17).

I agree, its a phenomena I used to curse roundly when I was in college because the bouncers looked at a male and said "I wonder if he's old enough," but looked at a female and said "She looks old enough to me."

Personally, if I were king for a day, I do away immediately with the drinking age (and a host of other petty annoyances). I believe it creates a "forbidden fruit" phenomenon, causing drinking problems in later life. Many other countries do without it entirely.

"I believe it creates a "forbidden fruit" phenomenon, causing drinking problems in later life."

I agree, or at least binge drinking in college. I knew many people who got trashed every weekend until they turned 21 and then barely drank at all a few months after they were legal. If we are going to enforce such a low tolerance for drinking (low BAC, tough sanctions for drinking and driving, laws about not serving really drunk people), maybe we should rethink the drinking age. I haven't seen it making much of a difference anyway.

Also, as far as the forbidden fruit thing goes, my stepmother was a bartender for many years and is a big wine drinker. As I was growing up, I was always offered a glass of wine with dinner and knew that if I wanted some (or something stronger), no one would object to me having some at the house. I've never seen much appeal in getting drunk and most of my friends didn't understand until they turned 21. I kept having to explain that there was nothing special about alcohol to me....I had zero interest. They all were starting to really drink for the first time in college. I had to laugh at the lengths they went to to get alcohol and drink themselves into oblivion. I was thinking, "Grow up! Drink a beer and hang out. Having alcohol at 19 doesn't make you a badass."

I agree with you. I think it's the makeup.

It's so much more easily explained than that. A 13-yr-old boy, stereotypically, not only acts, but LOOKS much less mature than a 13-yr-old girl. This is just the course of nature. Girls DO mature sooner than boys...No big mystery that it's harder to guess their age. DUH

I, too, would eliminate the drinking age. I spent my senior year in Spain and was at first a bit excited about the no drinking age idea, but when you can just order a beer without the frisson of danger, what's the fun in that? My fellow students might order a beer during siesta - that lovely three hour break between morning and evening classes, but when they were consumed with the free tapas served, no one got drunk. In fact, I can't recall any of my classmates drinking to excess.