Sunday, December 27, 2009

Older Women Dating Younger Men More Than Just A Fad

December 27th, 2009
Older Women Dating Younger Men More Than Just A Fad

Older women dating younger men is more than a fad. It is a trend that is becoming hard to miss. From famous celebrities to your aunt Marge, more people are encountering this trend. So, what is behind older women dating younger men?

Older men have always dated younger women. Theres a biological element to this. Women look for financial security in their partners because they want to be able to have the support of a father to raise their children. Men look to younger women as the hosts of the best eggs in order to have healthy children to pass on their DNA.

But, these days, both men and women are voluntarily desiring smaller families. Both are delaying having children longer. This makes the younger woman older man issue less relevant.

Demi Moore doesnt need Ashton Kutcher to give her any more children she already has three. Instead, she needs a hot husband to keep her happy. And, Ashton has said that he loves Demis girls, the oldest of which is just 10 years younger than himself, so much that he wouldnt love a child of his own blood any more that that.

Because of these changes in society, older women dating younger men is now not only a possibility, it is happening more and more. Kim Catrells character, Samantha, on Sex and the City, dated a younger man for the last two seasons. But, Catrell herself has dated significantly younger men. Madonna broke up with Guy Ritchie who was several years her junior only to start going out with Alex Rodriguez, who was younger still.

And, ordinary people are starting to take part in this trend as well.

After her husband of 29 years left her for someone else, Pam Wilkenson, a 50 year old nurse, started dating Jeremy Hoffman who was only 27. Hoffman worked at the same hospital Wilkenson did. Hoffman was only two years older than Wilkensons oldest child.

The relationship lasted two years and Wilkenson says it helped her get over the break up with her husband. She developed a new confidence because a younger man was interested in her.

The statistics bear out that the older women dating younger men trend is real. In 2003, the American Association for the Advancement of Retired People (AARP) did a study which showed that 1/3 of the single women over 40 were in a relationship with a man who was younger than they were.

A lot of this has to do with the very real financial and social gains women have achieved over the past 50 years. As women have become more powerful, theyve been in the drivers seat to pursue younger men.

And, that, in a nutshell, is what is behind the trend of older women dating younger men.