Aaliyah is right, “Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number.” There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the current cougar or a manther trends, what confuses me are the younger women who often seek older men. There are several attractive friends I have, who enjoy dating “Silver Foxes” or prefer to be the younger 20 something in a relationship. This is paired with the fact that “women mature faster than men”. Fast enough for there to be a 20 year age gap between the two? I think not.

I don’t understand this trend, and almost believe it’s an excuse for unsuccessful women dating in their own age group. I’m not going to complain about woman who’s dating significantly older man. I’m complaining about the women who only seek to date older men and use the maturity excuse as a crutch.

I’m not going to deny there’s a maturity gap between woman and men. While it may be larger during puberty, I fail to believe the gap is the size of the Grand Canyon. This excuse also ignores the fact that women are fairly immature themselves. Turn on VH1 or MTV and take a look at any of the dating reality shows. No one woman is more mature than the other, and their maturity levels are fairly low. Women and men have different points of views of life, at different stages in their lives. A part of this is biology, another part is society. Older men may be in tune with a younger woman’s desire to have a family. That doesn’t indicate he’s more mature.

The most frustrating aspect is the added competition for men. We’re told to be so many different things while dating that adds more pressure on men to perform than women. Take the traditional responsibilities we have as men, add women’s crazy standards, and factor in this insane want to date older men and you’ll have some men wondering what will it take for them to have a date? As I’ve mentioned in the past, women shouldn’t limit their options to a certain type of guy. If you’re seeking only older men, you’re going to miss out on the mature men your age.

There’s nothing wrong with dating an older guy, but don’t use it as a crutch or an excuse to limit your dating options. Dating only older men, is like dating guys who only have blue hair. You’re seeking a requirement to date, not a person.

Image Source: Bryan Villamin on Flickr