[Shadix]

Just wondering how people on here feel about this.

[Shadix]

Wow, can't delete your posts, can't add a poll, this forum is just really convenient isn't it.

[Open Eyes]

Maybe a 24 year old, but 21 is still too young IMHO.

[Shadix]

Interesting. I didn't realize there was such a big difference between a 21 year old and a 24 year old. How about 22? 23? When does she magically become not "too young" anymore? I thought it was 18.

[SnakeCharmer]

I started dating my husband when I was 22 and he was 34. We've been happily together for decades. It all depends on the maturity, fitness and personalities of the people involved. I had also gone out with some guys in their late 20s who seemed really old, stodgy and decrepit to me. It definitely depends on the person, not the age.

[doyoutrustme]

Sounds ok depending on where each of them fall on the spectrum

[Koko2]

It's okay as long as it's legal and mutual.

[angelene]

Why wouldn't it be? If legal and mutual, like Koko2 says, why wouldn't it be okay?

[gloamingone]

I'm 40, and my boyfriend is 58. Despite our problems, we love each other very much and get along like peanut butter and chocolate! :-)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ConfusedBLP]

Well I believe it should be ok in this time and age.

[BobbyDavis]

You asked this question on one of my old threads Shandix and I don’t see a problem with it but I just wouldn’t date somebody that age if I were single because I don’t think I would have anything in common with them and I prefer older women.

[healingme4me]

At most it's a 12 year age difference.
Depends on the two people involved. It's a May-December relationship, nothing really new to society.

[Silent Void]

What is with these threads? So what? Both are legal. What's the big deal?

[Jan1212]

Yes.. It's okay they are both adults. Why do you want to know what we think, just curious, do you want to date 21-24year old? Or do you feel like it's wrong?

[hamster-bamster]

What will the next question be, I wonder?

Is it OK for a man who is 32 years and 8 months old to date a woman who is 27 years and 2.5 months old?

[Shadix]

I'm gonna bump this one up also. Kinda curious to see what people have to say.

[hamster-bamster]

Shadix,

I think we are getting tired of these questions, so why don't we turn the tables and have you answer the following question:

I used to teach my students in math classes the following:

- if you are 2 years old, and your neighbor is 5 years old, there is a huge divide between you.
- if you are 92 years old, and your neighbor is 95 years old, you are basically age peers.

The question: What concept did I teach this way?

Yes, not only that, it's completely natural for a man to like younger women.

[lunatic soul]

I think it's pretty normal.

[Shadix]

Originally Posted by hamster-bamster

Shadix,

I think we are getting tired of these questions, so why don't we turn the tables and have you answer the following question:

I used to teach my students in math classes the following:

- if you are 2 years old, and your neighbor is 5 years old, there is a huge divide between you.
- if you are 92 years old, and your neighbor is 95 years old, you are basically age peers.

The question: What concept did I teach this way?

I am not sure what the concept is called, but yeah when you are an adult, age doesn't matter like it does when you are a child. However, people often like to pretend that women under 24-25 are still children. Basically what they want is for these women to be forbidden to every man who is more than 3-4 years older than them. It has nothing to do with any alleged "maturity difference", especially considering that when men date younger women, they are labeled as immature (If the man is immature, then how is there a maturity difference between him and the younger woman??). The alleged "maturity difference" is just a made up excuse.

[hamster-bamster]

Originally Posted by Shadix

I am not sure what the concept is called, but yeah when you are an adult, age doesn't matter like it does when you are a child. However, people often like to pretend that women under 24-25 are still children. Basically what they want is for these women to be forbidden to every man who is more than 3-4 years older than them. It has nothing to do with any alleged "maturity difference", especially considering that when men date younger women, they are labeled as immature (If the man is immature, then how is there a maturity difference between him and the younger woman??). The alleged "maturity difference" is just a made up excuse.

This is very weird. I was always told that girls mature earlier than boys and it is true both biologically and intellectually. Some boys grow in stature all the way till 25, but girls do not. In middle school especially it is plainly visible that girls mature earlier. And the old idea of holding boys back for Kindergarten is based on the belief that boys mature later, which more or less is true.

Another thing is how maturity is defined. Boys are less able to sit still in the classroom which is why traditionally it has been thought that they mature later, but the modern thinking MIGHT (I do not know and am conjecturing) hold that boys' have different learning styles.

Still, all things considered, girls start puberty earlier, usually get potty trained earlier, usually are verbal earlier than boys, etc.

hence this idea that young women are immature is extremely bizarre

But the point I was trying to make was unrelated to maturity.

96-91=5

and

6-1=5

but

96/91 is only slightly bigger than 1

while

6/1=6

[Shadix]

I have a pretty good idea of what the real reason is behind society trying to stamp down on men who date younger women.

Basically what it comes down to is the fact that women 24 and older most likely have little interest in casual flings and are looking for a committed relationship, whereas women under 24 are usually still playing the field. Therefore, if a man past that age group is still looking to play the field, his options will be very limited unless he includes younger women in his dating pool. If this option is removed from the table, then that pretty much kills most opportunities that these men have to continue playing the field.

Notice that the age when society no longer considers women "too young" for older men corresponds with the age where women generally start looking to settle down: 24-25. I believe that if it became the norm for most women to continue seeking casual flings until they are in their 30s, society will start labeling women under 30 as adolescents and stigmatizing older men who pursue them.

Originally Posted by hamster-bamster

This is very weird. I was always told that girls mature earlier than boys and it is true both biologically and intellectually. Some boys grow in stature all the way till 25, but girls do not. In middle school especially it is plainly visible that girls mature earlier. And the old idea of holding boys back for Kindergarten is based on the belief that boys mature later, which more or less is true.

Another thing is how maturity is defined. Boys are less able to sit still in the classroom which is why traditionally it has been thought that they mature later, but the modern thinking MIGHT (I do not know and am conjecturing) hold that boys' have different learning styles.

Still, all things considered, girls start puberty earlier, usually get potty trained earlier, usually are verbal earlier than boys, etc.

hence this idea that young women are immature is extremely bizarre

But the point I was trying to make was unrelated to maturity.

96-91=5

and

6-1=5

but

96/91 is only slightly bigger than 1

while

6/1=6

Depends by what you mean by being mature. I would say men are more mature then women because women tend to be more materialistic and unrealistic. Also if you define maturity by sitting down in a class and learning a bunch of crap which in reality doesn't improve your chances of make a decent living, then yes women are mature in that respect. But on the whole, women take longer to mature then men.

[hamster-bamster]

Originally Posted by Lycanthrope

Depends by what you mean by being mature. I would say men are more mature then women because women tend to be more materialistic and unrealistic. Also if you define maturity by sitting down in a class and learning a bunch of crap which in reality doesn't improve your chances of make a decent living, then yes women are mature in that respect. But on the whole, women take longer to mature then men.

girls hit puberty earlier, on average. Their growth stops earlier, on average. So they mature, in the biological sense, earlier than boys. They reach developmental milestones earlier, on average, as well. Boys catch up later and after age 25, there is no difference, but until age 25, there are still boys who grow taller and taller but girls by then have stopped growing. Humans are still animals and such facts as when the skeleton matures, when the growth stops, when reproduction becomes possible still matter. The last bit about reproduction probably matters the most. Calling a 20 year woman a child, given that she has probably been able to produce a child of her own for ~7 years already, is kind of... very weird. As if biology mattered not.

What Shadix said about the age divide for casual flings is a wild assumption. It is not tested against reality. I thought that Shadix's idea for this thread was to debunk wild assumptions and stereotyping about relationships across age groups; instead, different wild assumptions and different stereotyping are offered as substitutes for what was being challenged. How does it help to discard one stereotype in favor of another?

[Shadix]

Originally Posted by hamster-bamster

What Shadix said about the age divide for casual flings is a wild assumption. It is not tested against reality. I thought that Shadix's idea for this thread was to debunk wild assumptions and stereotyping about relationships across age groups; instead, different wild assumptions and different stereotyping are offered as substitutes for what was being challenged. How does it help to discard one stereotype in favor of another?

I'm not saying it's the case for 100% of people, just based on my observations and what other people say, the trend seems to be that women are less likely to be interested in casual flings when they are older than 25. However, this is more how things have been and I do think it is changing now. But society's rules were created based on the way things have been, so they are based on this assumption.