Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Sorry, but dating someone young enough to be your kid is weird
Just under a year ago veteran Times journalist Matthew Parrish "married" Julian Glover, his boyfriend of eleven years, in a town hall in England.
There's nothing particularly remarkable about this - if an old feeb like Elton John can do it, so can anyone - but I was slightly taken aback by the age difference between Parrish, 57, and Glover, 35.
Twenty two years is a big difference... but I've noticed that cross-generational romances aren't uncommon in gay circles.
Personally I find it a little freaky. They started going out when Parrish was 46 and Glover was 24. If I think back to when I was 24, the idea of going out with a 46 year old would have been laughable, not to mention gross. Even at the age I am now it'd be a stretch.
What would they even have in common to talk about? I find it a little difficult talking to guys 10 years younger than me, never mind 22 years: I make an offhand allusion to the Ronald Reagan's jelly beans or witnessing Halley's Comet, and all I get in response is a politely baffled stare.
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2 comments:
Hi there,
As a gay male who is 27 and right now in the early stage of courting a 19 year old guy- I feel I can answer your questions..
I think because our portion of the population (gay men) are in minority- we are forced to look at a significantly smaller portion of the poulation as potential mates. Because of this- by expanding the ages of peopl we would date- we broaden our selection to find someone we can 'click' with.
I would like this guy regardless as to age- within a window- and that's because we just really click.
Also- a bit of an age gap differentiates our personalities a bit- and brings some freshness to our lives.
We both seem to definately enjoying this- and I think that's good enough for me.
:)
Thanks for the feedback. In my entirely subjective opinion an 8 year difference is totally do-able. A bigger age difference, however, might be problematic.
I agree that age differences are irrelevant compared to "click"ing. I just find it difficult to imagine that I might meet someone 22 years younger or older than me with whom I click. It seems so unlikely that it would be a genuine meeting of minds, and so much more likely about scoring with a hot young guy/finding a daddy figure.
By the way, I love the fact that you're "courting" this guy. That's so sweet. It sounds like you're going to have to ask his parent's permission for his hand in marriage at some stage :)
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