“I don't think it's your writing he's interested in,” she said.I thought back to the white-haired gentleman at the bar who was easily old enough to be my father and shook my head. Over the next couple of weeks, Bob sent me several samples of his writing without a trace of any innuendo or flirtation.While I did get some messages from men closer to my own age, they were in the minority.When I actively searched profiles of men in their early- and mid-thirties, I noticed that many specified that they preferred women in their twenties.However, their age difference could not compensate for my father's insecurity over being with someone who had achieved more academically and professionally than he had.
Fresh out of high school, my father had been her first kiss, her first sexual experience, her first love.I specified that I would date men in their early thirties to early forties - “no exceptions", I wrote.A few men didn't listen, but I managed to weed out most of them.Such mansplaining is one of the many reasons I don't want to date significantly older men.While sexism knows no age barrier, in my experience, the older men I've met are far less likely to treat me as an equal.