By Shae Hadden
Bio
Consider
that the entire universe is made up of the same matter, the same
particles that existed in the first flaring forth of space and time.
And that these same particles are recycled into different forms time
and time again. Essentially, each one of us is as old as our universe.
And according to recent calculations based on the Big Bang theory,
that’s about 13.7 billion years old. In other cosmological models, the
universe has an infinite age.
So if you’re thinking
This post was contributed by Shae Hadden.
I find myself wondering why we let a difference in our ages limit how we relate to each other in our personal relationships. I’m not speaking of the obvious social taboos like pedophilia and infantophilia. It’s the relationships between consenting adults that have me pondering. Why are different arrangements acceptable in different cultures and societies? Why is what is considered perverse in one accepted in another? Why is the most common pattern of heterosexual relationships still a slightly older man with a younger woman? Why is it that age disparity is less of an issue the older the partners involved are?Psychologists have developed a host of terms to describe age-disparate relationships such as gerontophilia (attraction of non-elderly people to the elderly), teleiophilia (attraction of young people to the elderly) and the more general chronophilia (for any age-related preference). These terms make intergenerational relationships sound like a disease. They even assign ‘causes’ in the form of reasons for the attraction—usually from financial and social
By Marilyn Kentz
Bio
Last year’s announcement that actress Demi Moore wed young actor
Ashton Kutcher hardly raised an eyebrow, as it would have twenty, or
even ten, years ago. Hollywood celebrities often lead the way when it
comes to national trends, and one trend is becoming increasingly
obvious: women over forty no longer consider themselves “over the hill”.
Whether the rest of the world is on board is a matter of personal
attitude. It’s not about trying to sex it up for some