Power dynamics between older women and younger men

[Anonymous]

Is it just me who feels there is just as much of a power dynamic in place between much older women and younger women as it is with older men and younger women? Older women have far more life experience and maturity compared to young men eg late teens or early 20s, that they can easily use to manipulate and control the young guy. Many have a financial power too because they earn more.

I feel like this gets brushed off often and not taken seriously as its with older men and younger women.

[ExpatInItaly]

3 hours ago, Anonymous said:

I feel like this gets brushed off often and not taken seriously as its with older men and younger women.

Is this your situation? Who is brushing it off? 

And no, I don't see that there is any difference but I also don't see that many older woman-younger man pairings in real life, either. 

[Anonymous]

On 7/4/2026 at 7:01 AM, ExpatInItaly said:

Is this your situation? Who is brushing it off? 

And no, I don't see that there is any difference but I also don't see that many older woman-younger man pairings in real life, either. 

Not mine situation, but people everywhere.Its never a big deal when the woman is older, but if its a man, people do anything to hate on him. Older women like young guys just as much as older men like young women, but even that is hard for people to accept despite these relations being everywhere. Most of it is just sexual too.

[basil67]

We had an older woman with a younger man here a few weeks ago, and I wrote a response which expressed concerns about her being so much older.  I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that nobody care about the woman being older.

[Gebidozo]

I actually don’t agree that there is equality here.

As a rule, it is much easier and much more common for an older man to manipulate and coerce a younger woman than for an older woman to do the same to a young man.

I’m not saying the latter cannot happen, but it is rare and power dynamics aren’t as blatantly skewed as they are in the older man / younger woman case.

There are entire cultures where older men wield a lot of power and routinely coerce young women to marry them. The reverse barely ever occurs.

So it is quite understandable if people are more wary of older man / younger woman relationships than the reverse.

[ExpatInItaly]

5 hours ago, Anonymous said:

Its never a big deal when the woman is older, but if its a man, people do anything to hate on him

I don't agree with this, nor do I think the latter is always true, either. 

Why is this issue so important to you?