When I was a teenager, anyone who was 30 or over was a geezer unworthy of my time or energy, and all my friends pretty much felt the same way. To us, they were just plain creepy. Surprisingly enough those older gentleman used to hit on us all the time, and we were not fond of the attention.
Fast forward, and everyone below 40 is a kid to me. (lol) This is also when I noticed many more romance novels dedicated to the older woman/younger man scenario. You know who they are. Society calls these hot older ladies, "cougars". *heh*Even though we've heard the phrase, "age ain't nothing but a number", I am not a fan of dating younger men. I made that mistake when I was about 23 and he was 18, and to say it was a nightmare would be too tame a word. I lasted a whole 9 days before pulling that proverbial plug. Nothing he said ever made any sense, or he had nothing to say at all! (lol) Ironically, he's a newscaster now and speaks for a living, but he sure wasn't that grown up back in the day. Who knew, right?
I guess it depends on the age. 23 to 18 won't work but if you're 50 and he's 40 then it might work?
ReplyDeleteThat's probably a good scenario and takes a woman out of cougar territory. (lol)
DeleteA story has to have substance to hold my interest.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree for sure, Angela! Hugs...
DeleteWell, my husband's family has two marriages that are a decade apart, a third that there is a twenty year difference, and a fourth that she is older by a few years. All, but one are doing well so I guess I have empirical proof in front of me that these work. But, as far as I know, all but one started a relationship well after high school so I think where both are on the age spectrum is probably as important as the gap itself. Now, I do have to put in that my mother had an opinion on this and shared a while back that 'Don't forget that men die younger than women so you'd already be spotting him some years and maybe this would bring you down to the finish line together, but be choosy if you go this route because women are also more mature for their ages'. LOL
ReplyDeleteFirst, let me say that your mom is a very wise woman, and those words are something to think about for sure. It's good to see that the age difference can work, so that makes me super happy that all is well in your world. Big Hugs...
DeleteI think it very much depends on the couple as well as the relative difference in ages. I'm 2 years older than my husband -- not really a problem by the time we met, in our twenties, but it could have been if we'd met in high school. My aunt is about 10 years older than her husband; they've been really happy for decades now, but he had a hard time persuading her to marry him at the time. OTOH, pursuing a much younger partner because of his/her age is kind of tacky. I mean, if what matters most to the older one is that the younger one is young and hot... that's objectifying them, and that's not OK, regardless of the genders of each person in the relationship. If what matters is the person they are, then I'm fine with it. (Good fictional example of the latter: the Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes mysteries by Laurie R. King.)
ReplyDeleteI agree, and never thought about that, Lark. Chasing after someone based purely on age is a deal breaker for sure. More to life and a relationship than sexual healing. (lol) Cool trivia about Laurie King. Need to check that out. Hugs...
DeleteI'm with you on not being particularly interested in dating a younger man. Pretty much everyone I ever dated was my age or older and my husband is a full 10 years older than me! I don't have an issue with women dating younger men as long and it doesn't really bother me in books either. My main thing is that the people are on similar footing when it comes to stability and independence otherwise it gets kind of creepy.
ReplyDeleteSomething about it just seems too weird to me, and may have to do with the fact that my son is 31. I agree. There needs to be some type of mutual bond to work out other than the sex.
DeleteI don't mind reading them but so not my thing. I've always preferred older guys. But reading...I'm game :D
ReplyDeleteI sort of have a hard time reading them, but hasn't always been the case. I think about 12 years ago, it was okay, but lately...*heh* Hugs...
DeleteI'm an old woman myself, so if I date anybody older, they'll probably be gross. Lol. Unless of course, they're the silver fox type, then yes.
ReplyDeleteLOL! You're too funny Joy!
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