Comment of the Day: 'In dating, women get the advantage early, men get it later.' -

Comment of the Day: ‘In dating, women get the advantage early, men get it later.’

This conversation was between Freddie, Danny, Silke, and Trey on the comment thread of the post “7 Double Standards That Hurt Men (And Women)” by Mark Greene. The double standard the commenters are discussing is pictured above.

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Freddie:

I agree with all of these *except* #7. Most women don’t think they deserve a tall, fit man. Most men think they deserve and can acquire a tall, fit, woman. Just sayin’.

Trey:

As a short heavy-set guy all my life…… That is BS. “You’re too short for me” was common when I was dating….even from women that were 6″ shorter than I was. Along with the you’d be perfect if you were 6″ taller comments…… Hell, my MIL told my wife to throw me back because we were the same 5’7″ and “a woman can’t be happy if her man isn’t taller than her”. #7 is a extremely real life, lived experience for billions of men.

Danny:

Tell that to all the women that have said they don’t want to date fat guys. In my experience men are much more open to different body types that women.

Silke:

Yes I think you are right Danny. And women are more tolerant of aging men. I wonder if many men feel they lose status if they date women older than themselves. Lots of men like women in all ages for a fling but not so much for a committed relationship.

Danny:

I think both are a matter of conditioning from gender roles.

Women being more open to men who are older on the grounds that women are expected to look for a man that can provide for them. An older man is more established and grounded and can provide a more stable environment.

Men being more open to women of varying body types on the ground that men are expected to be ruled by their hormones and want as much sex with as many women as possible. Being open to a wider variety of body types adds up to (hopefully) more opportunities for sex.

Trey:

Let’s be honest, That pattern is set near the start of dating age for most of us. Girls in HS want boys that have cars and other resources….. older boys. When boys start dating on average they are outclassed at it by older guys… So they date down in age…..a pattern that holds for most of us over a lifetime. But also typically a fairly narrow 5 year spread with women dating up -1/+4 and men dating down -4/+1. Women get the advantage early, men get it later.

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