THE FORGOTTEN WOMEN
The news media is obsessed with glamorous celebrities: Demi, Madonna, Courteney, Mariah, and Ivana. These are women who are so beautiful, famous, and wealthy that they can attract just about any man, young or old.
But there is another breed of MidLife woman. These are The Forgotten Women, women without the advantages of glamour, fame, or fortune. Upon reaching age 40 they discover that they are no longer desirable to most men their own age, men who almost universally prefer much younger women.
These women face the sad demographic reality of being a single woman over 40: The SCARCITY of attractive, healthy, single men available to date an ordinary middle-aged woman.
The basic problem is that men are the weaker sex. They die, on average, five years earlier than their female counterparts. This isn’t a problem early in life. In fact, 1% more males than females are born year in the United States. By age 35 that extra 1% has died off, so there is an equal ratio of men to women. From that point on, the men start dying quickly. By the time men reach age 60, there are three and a half women for every man of that age. So the odds of a 60 year old single woman finding a quality man are slim.
But it’s even worse than this. The sad reality is that 60 year old bachelors rarely date 60 year old women. When a man first marries in America, he typically is 25 years old, and MARRIES a 23 year old woman. The same man, in his 40s, after his divorce, on average will marry a woman seven years younger. In his 50s, h will choose a wife 11 years younger; and in his 60s, “he will be eyeing woman who are 13 yers younger, according to a stuy b by Paula England, a professior of sociology at Stanford University. “If men are from Mars and women from Venus, then middle-aged men are from Viagra and middle-aged women are from menopause,” concludes Dr. England.
So our 60 year old single woman isn’t really vying for the attention of 60 year old men. Her most likely option is a 75 year old bachelor, and there are very few of them available. And many of them are LEFTOVERS, men with problems with intimacy, health, finances, alcohol, and drugs, to list only a few. Truly a nightmare.
The answer is obvious: If there is a severe shortage of older men, why not date a younger man? There are millions more younger men than older from whom to choose. And they are usually superior to older men.