You’ll find “eternal youth” bottled and sold in beauty aisles and splashed across U.S. media. But what happens when looking young actually works against you—especially at work? Associate Professor Alicia Smith-Tran ’10, who teaches Sociology and Comparative American Studies at Oberlin, explored this in two recent studies, published in Sociological Perspectives (2023) and Contexts (Winter 2024). She focused on a cultural phrase you might have heard: “Black don’t crack”—the idea that Black women often appear younger than they are. But Smith-Tran found that this youthful appearance can backfire in professional settings. For Black women, being seen as “too young” often makes it harder to be taken seriously and recognized for their achievements. “Even though media tells us we should look younger, whether your perceived age is beneficial or detrimental depends on your other social identities,” Smith-Tran says. “The women I talked to are not only combating sexism and racism—gendered racism...