Study: Men of All Ages Want Women in Their Mid-20s

[Xithras]

376. I'm not talking about marriage.

Marriage and romance are societal creations. I'm talking about selective evolutionary pressures that were hammered into us before we even figured out how to walk upright.

Humans, almost uniquely, have a choice in how we respond to those biological pressures. We can give into them, we can override them, and we can even outlaw them. What we cannot do, however, is make them go away.

I'm a 41 year old man. Do I find 25 year old women pretty? Sure. If I were single and a 25 year old woman wanted to sleep with me, would I go for it? Probably...how many more chances would I get to do THAT in my life?

If a 25 year old woman wanted to marry me and have my babies, would I go there? Not in a million years. While the biological nudge may be there to make 25 year old women "attractive" to men my age, the intelligent and evolved part of me can sit here for an hour listing the reasons why it would be a terrible idea.

Part of the problem with this discussion is that everyone wants to run to one of the edges. They're claiming that biology doesn't matter, and it's 100% choice, or they're claiming that we're programmed to behave in a certain way. As with most things, the answer is in the middle. Our genes certainly do predispose us to like or dislike certain things. As evolved human beings, we aren't slaves to those predispositions and can override them if we choose. That doesn't make the predispositions irrelevant or nonexistent, but it does mean that they can be overridden by other factors.

If I were single, I might sleep with a 25 year old if given the opportunity, but I'd really only date someone in their mid-30's or later. Relationships require more than physical attraction.