There was an 11 year gap between my paternal grandparents, qualifying them (just) as a May-December couple. if you’re not familiar with the term, it basically means that one partner is significantly older than the other. Dawne is a mere 18 months older than I, so we don’t qualify. The general consensus in our society is that people should marry within their own age group. While a May-December relationship is not strictly taboo, it does raise eyebrows, especially if the gap is greater than 10 years.

Women who marry older men are often thought to be gold diggers, and should an older woman marry a younger man, well the terms and attitudes can get decidedly impolite. It also bears noting that the same conventions do not hold true for men. A young man who has a relationship with an older woman is considered lucky, as she is “experienced”. Yes, that kind of “experienced”. An older man who marries a younger woman is also considered lucky, if for no other reason than it (apparently) proves that he is still virile in his decrepitude.

And so it is that, with a smirk on my face, that I present to you an article I recently found at The Times Online, entitled, “Every young girl needs an older man“. It is a modern tale of a May-December relationship. I think that I like it most because it just goes to show that May-December or June-July, love is eternally timeless, knowing no bounds… Despite the opinions of jealous wanna-be gold diggers and wishful decrepitude of old men.

Cheers, Marc

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