To date a younger woman vs an older woman? A millenial’s view

When it comes to the issue of age and relationships, opinions can be as many as grains of sand in the beach.

While for some, there is an ideal age for dating and getting married, others believe it is all a matter of preferences and not a clock.

On the issue of age difference, there are some who firmly believe that the man should be older than the woman… but not too old.

From this comes the tags ‘sugar daddies’, ‘mubabas’, ‘craddle snatchers’ and more.

Benjamin Mbatia spoke to Wananchi Reporting about his stand on realtionships and age:

Men are visual beings and many often consider younger women more appealing. It makes them feel young and powerful, especially when it comes to finances because most ladies prefer a man who can cater for their needs and wants. 

Men have the patriarchal belief that their partners and people around them should rely solely on them so they feel the need to provide. 

Some men avoid dating their older women or sometimes even their peers because they already have things going for them so they don’t really need them, and for a man, there is that part of their ego that makes them want to be needed.  

According to Psychcentral.com, in the case of older men dating significantly younger women, it is sometimes a case of dealing with an identity crisis in their life as the latter enables them to relive their youth.

This often affects men over the age of 45 years.

In the case of the women, the website also cites some instances of ‘father complex’, whereby a woman might have grown up without a father figure and looks for it in a relationship.

According to Grace Wamuyu, a psychologist, each individual needs to determine what works for him or her and not be influenced to get into relationships because of norms.

She however adds that the reasons for entering a relationship should be the right ones, not looking for a sense of completion or somebody who will fill a gap due to things like absenteeism or mid-life crisis.