Significant age disparity in sexual relationships has been and remains a feature of couples in many cultures and societies. The most common pattern in heterosexual couples is an older man with a younger woman.^[1] This may be brought about as an arranged marriage, or either member may pursue and initiate the relationship. Relationships involving a younger male and an older female also exist, and while not as common, have become considerably more common in recent years.^{[citation needed]} Homosexual relationships of both sexes may also exhibit age disparity; when between an adult male and adolescent boy, the term "pederasty" is sometimes used, especially in European historical context. In extreme cases, age disparity may be seen as dysfunctional (a paraphilia) if such relationships are pursued to the exclusion of all others and to the detriment of the partners. Sexual relationships involving an adult or adolescent and a prepubescent child are defined as child sexual abuse in all modern societies.^[2][3] For other uses, see Culture (disambiguation). ... Young people interacting within an ethnically diverse society. ... Heterosexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by esthetic attraction, romantic love or sexual desire exclusively for members of the opposite sex or gender, contrasted with homosexuality and distinguished from bisexuality and asexuality. ... Marriage à-la-mode by William Hogarth: a satire on arranged marriages and prediction of ensuing disaster The purpose of an arranged marriage is to form a new family unit by marriage while respecting the chastity of all people involved. ... Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ... Pederasty or paederasty (literally boy-love, see Etymology below) refers to an intimate or erotic relationship between an adolescent boy and an adult male outside his immediate family. ... Look up paraphilia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A male Caucasian toddler child A child (plural: children) is a young human. ... Child sexual abuse is an umbrella term describing criminal and civil offenses in which an adult engages in sexual activity with a minor or exploits a minor for the purpose of sexual gratification. ...

[edit] Motives

Factors leading into a search for a younger individual with whom to share an intimate relationship can vary wildly. A common perception is that younger mates serve the purpose of a "trophy", or object of status.

Many psychologists study the phenomenon of age disparity, and have observed certain extremes of this behavior. {redirect|Psychological science|the journal|Psychological Science (journal)}} Not to be confused with Phycology. ...

• Chronophilia is a general term, applied to any age-related preference.
• Ephebophilia is the attraction of older individuals to adolescents.
• Infantophilia is the attraction of older individuals to small children (ages ranging from 0 to 5).
• Pedophilia is the attraction of older individuals to pre-adolescents.
• Gerontophilia is the attraction of non-elderly individuals to the elderly.

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Age disparity in sexual relationships. ... An Ephebe Kisses A Man Tondo from an Attic kylix, 5th c. ... Infantophilia or nepiophilia (From Greek nepion, infant + -philia) is the primary sexual attraction of adults to very small children (defined by various studies as 0–4). ... Not to be confused with Ephebophilia. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

[edit] Age disparity as paraphilia

There is also the issue of whether all age-disparate relationships fall under the definition of paraphilia. Individuals who exclusively pursue age-disparate relationships are generally classified by psychologists as parasexual, that is, their behavior is qualitatively different from the norm. Individuals who occasionally pursue age-disparate relationships are not included in this category, except in the popular press. As is speculated with other practices considered paraphilia, sexual imprinting may play a role in age-disparate relationships. Look up paraphilia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Imprinting is the term used in psychology and ethology to describe any kind of phase-sensitive learning (learning occurring at a particular age or a particular life stage) that is rapid and apparently independent of the consequences of behavior. ...

[edit] Social criticism

This section does not cite any references or sources. (October 2007) Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

In some societies age-disparate relationships are seen as aberrant or even perverse. Historically, the "gold digger" mentality, when one member of a couple uses the other romantically or sexually because of his or her material wealth and social power, has been frowned upon as being akin to prostitution. The age difference that is generally accepted by modern Western society varies directly with the age of the individuals involved in the relationship; larger differences are more acceptable with older individuals. For example, while an eight-year difference might be considered unacceptable between a 22-year-old and a 14-year-old, it is less remarkable between a 30-year-old and a 22-year-old, and generally unnoticed completely between a 58-year-old and a 50-year-old. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Wealth usually refers to money and property. ... Sociologists usually define power as the ability to impose ones will on others, even if those others resist in some way. ... Whore redirects here. ...

Other societies have more tolerance for wedding 14 or 15 year olds. In Texas the age of consent with parental approval was recently raised from 14 to 16, and the Mormons were encouraged to just wait a year, instead of marrying 15 year olds.

[edit] The "half-your-age-plus-seven" rule

Graph of the "Half-Your-Age-Plus-Seven" Rule

The "half-your-age-plus-seven rule" is one rule of thumb defining a mathematical formula to judge whether the age difference in an intimate relationship is socially acceptable.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]} Mathematically speaking, the rule is: A rule of thumb is an easily learned and easily applied procedure for approximately calculating or recalling some value, or for making some determination. ...

[edit] Slang terms

A number of slang terms exist to describe pairings in which one individual is much older than the other:

• Boy toy or toy boy is slang referring to a much younger boyfriend or husband of an older woman.
• Chickenhawk describes an older gay man who sexually pursues younger males, i.e. "twinks"/"chickens" or underage boys. The term was used as the name of a television documentary on the subject of NAMBLA.^{[citation needed]}
• Cougar refers to an older woman, usually in her 40s-60s^[11] who sexually pursues younger men in their 20s or early 30s. Term used by TV series 30 Rock (episode "Cougars"), How I Met Your Mother (episode "Aldrin Justice"), Supernatural (episode "Red Sky at Morning"), the NBC reality TV show Age of Love, jPod and One Tree Hill.

On film, it was used in 2004's National Lampoon's Going the Distance and in 2007's Ocean's Thirteen. The 2007 film Cougar Club was dedicated to the subject - its plot was about two males creating a club where parties are thrown where male members get the chance to meet and have sexual encounters with "cougars".

• Jailbait refers to a sexually attractive person, female or male, below the legal age of consent. This designation connotes enticement to endanger oneself of being prosecuted for statutory rape.
• Lolita refers to a sexually precocious young girl who is the object of desire of a significantly older man. As used in the English language, the term refers to the title character of Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita, who is referred to by the book's narrator, Humbert Humbert, as a nymphet. While "nymphet" is still used to refer to younger children, "Lolita" has come to be applied to older adolescents and young women in the context of pornography.
• May-December romance is a romance in which the age differential between the two adults is wide enough to risk social disapproval.
• MILF - (Mother/Mom I'd Like to Fuck) refers to mothers (or middle-aged women) who attract the sexual attention of younger men. This acronym was popularized by the movie American Pie^{[citation needed]} and is frequently referred to in pornography. It also occasionally spawns analogous letter-ILF acronyms.
• Sugar Daddy refers to a rich, usually older man who offers money or gifts to a less rich, usually younger person in return for companionship or sexual favors. This differs from prostitution in that the older man is usually the sole financial provider to the younger person. In Japan, there is a loosely similar practice known as enjō kosai.

For other uses, see Boyfriend (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Husband (disambiguation). ... In broad terms, any individual of higher status who procures individuals of some lower status, for the purpose of sexual exploitation. ... A twink The label of Twink is used in gay slang to describe an attractive young or young-looking gay male (usually 18-22) with a slender build, a slight muscular physique, and little or no body hair. ... Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ... The North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) is a U.S.-based group that calls for the elimination of age-based restrictions on sexual behavior. ... This article is about the TV series. ... How I Met Your Mother (or HIMYM) is an American situation comedy that premiered on CBS Broadcasting on September 19, 2005. ... Aldrin Justice is the 6th episode in the second season of the television series How I Met Your Mother. ... This article is about the US TV series. ... Age of Love is an American reality TV dating series that features 30 year-old Australian tennis star Mark Philippoussis as he looks for love in women in their 20s as well as women in their 40s. ... One Tree Hill is a teen television drama created by Mark Schwahn that premiered on September 23, 2003 on The WB Television Network. ... Going the Distance is a 2004 Canadian teen/comedy film by Mark Griffiths. ... Oceans Thirteen is a 2007 film directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring an ensemble cast. ... For other uses, see Jailbait (disambiguation). ... Age of consent laws Worldwide While the phrase age of consent typically does not appear in legal statutes,[1] when used with reference to criminal law the age of consent is the minimum age at which a person is considered to be capable of legally giving informed consent to any... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Lolita is a slang term for a seductive, sexually attractive, or sexually precocious young girl. ... This page is about the novelist. ... This article is about the novel by Vladimir Nabokov. ... American Pie is a 1999 teen comedy film directed by Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz and written by Adam Herz. ... Porn redirects here. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ...

[edit] See also

• Ageplay
• Child sexuality
• Generation gap
• Enjo kōsai
• Historical pederastic couples
• List of films featuring May-December romances
• Marriageable age
• MILF
• Pederasty
• Trophy wife

This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Child sexuality refers to sexual feelings, behavior and development in children. ... A generation gap is a popular term used to describe wide differences in cultural norms between members of a younger generation and their elders. ... Enjo-kōsai (援助交際) or its shortened form enkō (援交), in which enjo means subsidy or support and kōsai means company or association, literally translates to subsidized dating or compensated dating. ... Walt Whitman (seated) and Bill Duckett. ... List of movies featuring May-December romances. ... . ... Pederasty or paederasty (literally boy-love, see Etymology below) refers to an intimate or erotic relationship between an adolescent boy and an adult male outside his immediate family. ... A trophy wife is commonly used to describe the second or third wife of (usually) older man; and who is considered a status symbol. ...

[edit] References