Everybody loves an eyebrow-raising age gap, and for every Scott Disick dating a Sophia Richie, there’s a Priyanka Chopra making some young Nick Jonas’s dreams come true.
According to thebigissue.co.ke, a relic of the pre-swiping world of internet love, women aren’t pairing up with younger men — or at least not as much as they want to.
women face disproportionate discrimination when it comes to their romantic preferences, with three out of five female users reportedly claiming that preconceived societal norms limit their choice of dating partners.
This issue is particularly pressing among straight women who may secretly prefer to date younger male partners, with only 78 percent of women pursuing a younger partner compared to 89 percent of men.
While this may not be the “whopping” statistical gap Dating.com makes it out to be, it’s notable that measurably fewer women seek younger partners.
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Potentially more surprising is the fact that according to the dating site anyway, women aren’t just forgoing younger men in favor of adults with full-time jobs and actual bed frames. Apparently, “a majority of both men and women welcome younger partners.”
“Gender norms still exist in a huge way, and a woman taking a younger male lover is both a slap in the face to that gendered norm, as well as a power move,” says Engle.
So if women are confidently backhanding gender norms by heading to bed with younger men, what’s all the reservation Sullivan is seeing over at Dating.com about?
According to Engle, while women may be going to bed with younger men, that dynamic doesn’t tend to have much longevity outside the bedroom.
“I think we’re starting to move into a new world of sexy older women taking younger male lovers, but it hinges more on the sex aspect than the potential to be in a serious relationship,” says Engle. While Sullivan maintains that societal stigma is the “top catalyst” for women to resist pursuing relationships with younger men, that may not be the whole story.
“A younger guy might be fun for a sexual fling, but for a longer commitment, many women want someone who is their equal emotionally and financially,” says Engle. In other words, “There is only so much bullshit a woman wants to put up with before she realizes she wants to be someone’s partner, not someone’s mommy.”
“A younger guy might be fun for a sexual fling, but for a longer commitment, many women want someone who is their equal emotionally and financially,” says Engle. In other words, “There is only so much bullshit a woman wants to put up with before she realizes she wants to be someone’s partner, not someone’s mommy.”
