Toyboys are back, apparently. Over the past few months there has been a flurry of middle-aged women crowing about the joy of dating younger men. One author in her mid-forties extolled the virtues of having not one but three lovers half her age. In a piece explaining that ‘younger men are having a cultural moment’, a thirty-something writer described a first date apologising for his scruffy appearance because he’d ‘cycled straight from school’.
These women claim it’s liberating, empowering, confidence-boosting and a lot of fun, and even brag about younger men being far better in bed than their older counterparts. And presumably all of this works both ways – so why are we less understanding when men choose younger partners?
Leonardo DiCaprio has split with model Camila Morrone after five years together. When the news became public this week, social media commentators were quick to point out that Morrone turned 25 in June – and this seems to be 47-year-old Leo’s age cut-off. There is a pattern going back to 1999 that shows his girlfriends get the shove as soon as they approach their quarter-century. Trust me, someone even made a graph.
In response to his apparent preference for younger women, the actor been labelled predatory and his behaviour described as ‘genuinely disturbing’. I’ll admit, the first reaction I had upon news of his break-up was: seriously? But soon I realised that I probably wouldn’t respond in this way if it were a woman with a similarly young partner.
Of course there’s something a bit odd about it all. But that’s because personally I couldn’t imagine being romantic with someone who can’t hire a car or easily pass the ‘Challenge 25’ test to buy alcohol.
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