Why Men Should Date Women Their Own Age

En español | The two questions that women over 50 ask me most frequently on a date are:

1. "Why don't men your age date women their age?"
2. "Are you still sexual?"
   

I have a lot to say about that second question, but that's another story. Besides, I feel even more strongly about the first.

Men: Don't rule out dating a woman your own age. — Jon Feingersh/Blend Images/Corbis

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I have deliberately dated women close to my age for the past 15 years and I believe boomer women make ideal dates, and mates, for boomer guys. Among the reasons:

1. Boomer women are fun

I was reminded of this the night my date showed me an old photo and I started laughing so hard my face hurt. "This can't be you!" I teased her about the crinkled black-and-white image, now more than 40 years old. "I mean, c'mon — bellbottoms and a VW van?!"

But it was true — painfully true — as were the other period details in the image, notably Sarah's tie-dyed T-shirt and frizzy brown hair, piled high and shooting in all directions. She must have been a ball of fun back then, I thought as we sat in her living room at the end of our second date, because she's certainly entertaining now.

Earlier in the evening we had hosted a fondue party (remember those?), then giggled ourselves silly about our flower-powered past. The combination made for the most enjoyable date I'd had in a long time — and it drove home the fact that when it comes to later-life dating, "Fun Is Job 1."

2. Boomer women are strong

Boomer women have been through a lot. Many have taken a stand, protested injustices, marched for a cause, written letters to the editor, authored columns in print or blogs online, lobbied for social change, and done their part to make American politics more inclusive. They have demanded equality in the bedroom and boardroom, staging a sexual revolution and storming workplace barriers that blocked their economic progress. Being able to draw on that hard-won inner strength in a relationship makes them rock-solid partners in every way.

Next page: Time is on an older woman's side »