13. Dating at 56.... Part IV
I can’t remember if I was still in high school or my first year of college when I read the biography of Winston Churchill’s mother, "Jenny." The fact that she was in her sixties when she married a man in his thirties astounded me. I can’t even begin to imagine what ridicule she may have had to endure during that time period. More importantly, I also can’t imagine what she went through personally to challenge the strict social mores of that day. A thirty year age gap between any couple would still cause much criticism if not total ostracism today.
Obviously, it has always been acceptable if not more advisable for older men to marry much younger women. Older men are better abled financially to care for a family, a younger woman is better abled to bear children. For example, in India the ideal age to marry is when a man is 26 and a woman is 17. At 17 a female does not know herself yet and will more easily adapt to the ways of her husband. Most of the Indian religions teach that the purpose of marriage is for reproduction and so the reasoning is logical. Of course, in the new millennium, and with over population there seems to be a new social order taking place.
Given that children are not the primary reason for marriage anymore, logic is more in favor of age gap relationships that favor older women with younger men. Women have more longevity than men, they not only remain healthier, they remain much more energetically active. Physically speaking, just from a sexual perspective, this fact alone fosters better compatibility between the species. But let’s not dwell on the obvious that may or may not be blown out of mythic proportions... as referred to in Part III of this series.
What is not so obvious are other factors that attract women to younger men, of which younger men may not even be aware. For starters, younger men carry less emotional baggage from former relationships. Most have not been married yet and they still maintain an idealistic attitude. Many have not experienced a grand passion and still believe that true love can last forever. There are fewer wounds, less scar tissue, and their defense mechanisms are not so easily triggered. No one is more attractive than a person who is upbeat, optimistic and shows a willingness to be open to any and all possibilities. I am sure this is the case for older men and younger women as well.
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