Do men really prefer younger women? The first thought that comes to women’s minds when they think of older men dating younger women is that they are only interested in eye candy and in perpetuating the illusion of their youth. For some men, this may be true but the attraction is a little more complicated than that.
Older men may really prefer younger women because:
1. Younger women may be more sexually attractive to them.
2. Younger women help older men feel more youthful.
3. Younger women idolize older men and do not call them on their issues like an older woman might.
These are all the stereotypical reasons people think older men prefer younger women but it may be more complicated than that. There are five basic human needs experienced to varying degrees by all of us. However, some of us have higher needs than others genetically and at different developmental stages in our lives. Here are is some food for thought in regards to
First is the survival need, which encompasses the need to stay alive via food, clothing and shelter but it also includes the psychological needs to feel safe and secure. Younger women are often looking for a sense of security that an older man can provide. Older men love dating younger women because the level of security they can offer a younger woman satisfies her in ways it might not an older partner.
The next need is connection. We all need to be connected to other people. Some of us need that more than others. This is a need that is different for men and women at different stages in their lives. Young adult women typically have a larger need for connection. While they will create careers, their main focus is their relationship and creating a family.
Young adult men, on the other hand, are most focused on the need for significance. They have relationships and start families but their primary focus is figuring out a way to make it in the world. In young adult relationships, these needs are often in conflict, as the woman wants more intimacy and quality time and the man is focused on work and building his career.
The next need is freedom. People with high freedom needs do best in relationships with someone else with a high freedom need. Another reason older men prefer younger women is that even though she is focused on connection, she might be willing to allow an older man freedom in exchange for the security and the attention he gives her when they are together. This creates a win/win arrangement.
The fourth need is fun. A younger woman still has a keen sense of energetic fun whereas an older woman may have transitioned into meeting her fun need with her children or having a quieter kind of fun. This younger, energetic kind of fun is attractive to an older man who may be feeling his mortality.
Older men prefer younger women for many reasons. But one thing’s for certain: Most of these relationships won’t last. Here’s why.
1. Fantasy love fades. Usually within a year. At first, the older man is in love with her looks and youthful spirit. Eventually, he realizes all they have in common is a roof over their heads, and he’ll be off to look for a relationship with substance.
2. Older men may say they feel younger, but dating younger women won’t make them younger. No matter how hard older men try to make the wrinkles disappear, the darn things keep showing up in the mirror.
3. Older men and younger women use each other, similar to a business arrangement. He’s got money, assets, power, and security; she’s got youth and beauty. If the money runs out, or someone richer comes along, she’ll break the lease, leaving him with an empty wallet and his arms around a tree.
4. OK, maybe she’s not using him. Perhaps she loves him because he’s more patient, laid back, mature, gentle, and understanding than men her age. Still, she’s likely considered his bucks at some point. I mean, you don’t see younger girls with poor old men do you?
