It’s backwards that a woman dating a younger man still incites terms like cougar
For all the ways we pat ourselves on the back for supposed social progress, it seems backwards that the notion of a woman dating a younger man still incites references to MILFS and cougars. Meanwhile, the only name we call a man who dates a younger woman is “normal.” It’s still the default for men to be the senior partner in a heterosexual relationship, but why? It probably made sense a long time ago. For much of human civilization, men were the only ones allowed to earn an income. With that in mind, women definitely wanted to find themselves a guy who had already proven to be a good provider. Older guys were also less likely to be pressed into military service. That meant they probably wouldn’t die in your country’s next war, or be away for long stretches of time. Back in the day, grizzled, men of the world might have been the best bet, but is that wisdom really true today?
Don’t get me wrong. I find George Clooney just as sexy as the next person does, but we live in an era when partnering with a younger guy makes an everincreasing amount of sense. Let me explain my thinking: Since more women are engaged in paid labour than ever before, we’re less financially dependant on men folk. The upshot of that social evolution is that relationships today are more companionate than they’ve ever been. Fewer and fewer women are marrying simply to be taken care of by their spouse, and as a result, men aren’t being looked upon as the sole bread winner in a family anymore. Meanwhile, the average life expectancy for Canadian men has reached 80 years, while the average Canadian woman lives to be 84. Since we spend almost half a decade longer on the planet, it makes more sense for ladies to choose younger men – in order to maximize the odds of not dying alone. After all, who wants to go stag at her deathbed, when you can find someone spritely enough to make it through the twilight years with you?
Ultimately, the heart will want what the heart wants, which may sometimes be a silver fox instead of a young buck. A policy of dating younger guys might come across as discriminatory, but men have been choosing partners based on age for millennia. Maybe it’s time for us ladies to have a turn.