The Older Woman-Younger Man Pairing: An Acceptable Age Gap Relationship?

the younger man and the older woman it's become a trend that's gradually losing its taboo and being accepted as more and more normal over the past few years there's been a steady stream of famous beautiful women over a certain age dating younger men Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles Lisa Bonet and Jason Momoa Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson Sam and Aaron Taylor Johnson Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas we teach each other things he showed me how to use tick tock for example you know and I showed him what a successful acting career looks like recent movies and TV shows like licorice pizza succession and good luck to you Leo Grande feature that same older woman younger man Dynamic and it's becoming more common in society at large but it's also true that some of these relationships prove temporary there are still a lot of obstacles to the older woman younger man pairing whether that's lingering social disapproval or the differing demands on each partner as they live through their respective life eras here's our Take On The Rise of the older woman younger man relationship what it offers and what it tells us about romance in the 21st century on my a disappointment so to speak what do women gain from a relationship with a younger man the Trope of the cougar goes back decades but often films featuring her don't deeply explore the woman's motivations or internal life now at last we're starting to hear women's perspectives on why they might be interested in the younger man for example when Cher revealed that she was dating 36 year old Alexander Edwards she explained that she finds it easier to be herself with younger men younger men don't care if you're you know funny or outrageous and want to do stupid things and I'm not giving up my personality for anybody and Lucy Holden a writer for the evening standard echoed this sentiment in an op-ed about her experiences dating younger men observing of her younger boyfriend he wanted to know what I thought about everything rather than just telling me what he thought she also points out that younger men aren't necessarily looking to settle down and have kids she found it freeing to date men with big dreams and Youthful idealism what about kids it's not like you're 50. but I'm an old 40. so another reason older women might pursue a younger man to have fun when Grandma kept on telling me 40 is the best sex and I was like okay I'm ready go show them grandma and so far Kim Kardashian famously said this about her interest in Pete Davidson while also commenting on his kindness and decency as a person heard about this bde and good luck to Leo Grande Emma Thompson's character hires a young male sex worker to help her climax for the first time she's not looking for a complicated relationship with a man her age she's just looking for a pleasurable fling and I won't tell a man I want a young one [Music] the Mrs Robinson or Stifler's mom character has long been cast as a one-dimensional sexual fantasy for young men I got some Scotch single malt aged 18 years the way I like it these representations hypersexualize the female characters sometimes in a cartoonish way and they can make light of the genuinely concerning power dynamics that sometimes emerge around age Gap relationships guys a teacher praying on a student is wrong yes if the teacher is male and the student is female what happened to Frank is awesome in reality young men in serious relationships with older women don't find their Partners attractive because of some culturally ingrained Stacy's mom fantasy it's often more because these women have gotten to an age where they know exactly who they are you sure look happy to see your moms let me show you how happy I am [Music] male celebrities have voiced the same ideas Colin Farrell for example has spoken openly in interviews about the desire and affection he had for both Elizabeth Taylor and Dame Eileen Atkins 41 and 42 years older than him respectively it's clear that his desire wasn't some taboo interest it was because of who they were as people regardless of their age he's an incredible wait and very attractive woman you know and she's a Dame after all this is a world away from what pop culture has long ingrained in us about older women who date younger men classic films about older women younger man relationships like The Graduate and the last picture show represent the women as tragic figures who we should pity I haven't done anything bro why or as broken and selfish cautionary tales I'm not proud that I spend my time with a broken down alcoholic see this is the sickest most perverted thing that ever happened to me the cultural impact of characters like Mrs Robinson did underline for audiences that women over a certain age could still be very sexy but in both the graduate and The Last Picture Show the younger man leaves the older woman for a more appealing younger woman reinforcing the cultural idea that older women are disposable and doomed to be miserable once a man gets tired of them the cougar stereotype saw a Heyday starting in the 2000s again on the positive end drawing attention to women's sexuality not having an expiration date and starting to mainstream relationships between older women and younger men but the cougar was also fetishized or treated as a joke not viewed as a serious three-dimensional person countless TV shows feature a plot line where the young hot Man dates an older woman and has fun but it's always pretty temporary and it's typically assumed this is because the woman is cast aside that's not necessarily true though as Frasier learns when he tries to apologize to the former piano teacher he thinks he abandoned and real realizes that he was just one in her long line of younger guy boyfriends I wasn't interested in 40 year old men then and I guess I'm still not when it does work out the gift of this age Gap is that sometimes the pair can shake out of tired cultural expectations and bring new energy to each other's lives in movies like The Proposal and I could never be your woman the younger man's openness and lack of judgment helps the woman see her own life differently while he appreciates that she knows who she is and has achieved things in Don John the older woman's greater experience especially with intimacy helps Jon learn to outgrow unhealthy attitudes toward dating and porn that are seriously limiting him in his life and romances so maybe it's time we do away with the Stifler's mom stereotype to recognize that these relationships often are more transformative and deeper than just a physical thing they grow and Bloom and fade and die and change into something else Paul Thomas Anderson's 2021 film licorice pizza is about the relationship between 15 year old Gary and 25 year old Alana and when asked about the age Gap he dismissed it there's nothing but the right intentions that's not the story that we made in any kind of way there isn't a provocative bone in this film's body but ignoring age gaps is easier said than done in our culture especially if it's the woman who is older when I'll be 21 on my next birthday so that makes me 20. it's not even legal even women are more likely to judge other older women than older men in age Gap relationships according to a 2022 ipsis poll 56 percent of women are accepting of female-led age Gap relationships versus 70 when it's male lead this can make being in an age Gap relationship difficult especially for people in the public eye apparently people have a crazy fascination with our age difference but it doesn't really bother us but then again I'm new to this so if you have questions about a relationship with a big age difference just ask Leonardo DiCaprio Jason Statham Michael Douglas Richard Gere Jeff Golden there are other obstacles too sometimes being in different stages of life makes it hard to maintain a relationship long term in the rebound arum and Sandy have a good time together but as a mother of two Sandy can't get over the fact that 25 year old arum doesn't have enough life experience to be a good long-term investment I appreciate that you feel this good work more than you ever know similarly in bold Durham Susan Sarandon's Annie romance is the young pitcher nuke played by Tim Robbins but nukes immaturity always feels like an impediment to them staying together and eventually she does get together with Kevin Costner's more age-appropriate crash ironically that movie is where Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins got together and unlike their characters despite their 12-year age difference they did stay together for over 20 years me huh aren't you glad to see me done I look nice and the rebound actually has a hopeful ending too the pair meet up five years later and there's a suggestion that Aram could potentially have matured into a new era so they might have a shot sometimes being in different stages of life also means being in different places in your careers which can make long-term relationships hard Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson split after his career started taking him around the world shooting projects while Kim was in a more established place in her career and as a mother of four had to be more homebound in Prime Uma Thurman's character Rafi can't get over the fact that her young romantic interest David would have to abandon his burgeoning art career to settle down with her it's her who can't get over the generation gap because she wants him to have a different kind of Life maybe the life that was denied to her you know this but not every age Gap relationship is hindered by these differences in personal and professional stages of Life Priyanka Chopra for example has spoken about how Nick Jonas supported and encouraged her successful and established career but I will never be the one who'll tell you to cancel work because I know how hard you've worked to be where you are and I was just like first time yeah someone's ever done that Aaron and Sam Taylor Johnson made headlines when the then 18 and 42 year old confirmed they were an item after meeting on the set of Sam's 2009 film Nowhere Boy and Sam and Aaron have been going strong for over a decade raising four daughters two of them their own and two from Sam's previous marriage and even renewing their vows in 2022 to celebrate their 10 years of marriage rumors have swirled for years about the pair some allege that he was really only 17 when they first met and so Sam took advantage of Aaron when they started dating others even claimed that she has been holding him hostage in the relationship for over a decade congratulations to you both and now you're getting married this must be a lucky film for you yeah let's hope so but the couple have always maintained that they didn't get together until after shooting was over and that Aaron was in fact the one that pursued the relationship because he was drawn to Sam even when age Gap obstacles can't be overcome and these relationships end up being temporary that doesn't necessarily mean they're not meaningful in cha-cha real smooth Cooper rapes Andrew struggles to adjust to Life After College and pursues a relationship with Dakota Johnson's Domino the mother of Cooper's brother's classmate Lola Cooper's time with Domino forces him to grow up handles some responsibility and experience the kind of life he could have Domino marries a stable secure man her own age but clearly the relationship was formative for both of them you don't even know Arya what if we just kiss maybe it'll change your mind we're often conditioned to see relationships that end as relationships that have failed and maybe relationships that never should have happened in the first place but sometimes a relationship just runs its course and could be life-changing even if it's not the final one Harold and wad one of the most iconic and extreme examples of this age Gap relationship is about a romance between a young man and a 79 year old woman so obviously there can't be a very long future in this relationship but their love for each other and their Mutual understanding of each other's morbid sides makes this Union deeply impactful for both in the time they have middle-aged and older women today are getting Bolder in voicing their desires both in stories and in real life as they express what they're looking for in a younger man they're showing agency and open up more choices for all women and sure maybe those generation gaps are too big to overcome sometimes but that doesn't mean you don't gain something from trying it's like she knows what I'm thinking or I know what she's thinking or I don't know it's a two-way thing I love it that's the take click here to watch a video we think you'll love or here to check out a whole playlist of awesome content don't forget to subscribe and turn on notifications

Channel: The Take

Views: 88,914

Keywords: older woman, younger man, the take, priyanka chopra jonas, nick jonas, licorice candy, The Last Picture Show, Great Expectations, American Pie, 30 Rock Y Tu Mama Tambien, Harold and Maude, Licorice Pizza, Don Jon, Good Luck To You, Leo Grande Cha Cha Real Smooth, Bull Durham, The Rebound, Prime, I Could Never Be Your Woman, aaron taylor-johnson, pete davison, kim kardashian, lisa bonet, jason momoa, sam taylor-johnson, harry styles, olivia wilde

Id: bzWa2Y7lDro

Length: 12min 13sec (733 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 01 2023