Guys in Their 20s

Is there any place on earth where physical beauty is more commodified than Los Angeles? I don't think so. Physical beauty is as ubiquitous and interchangeable in LA as corn or pork bellies on the commodities exchange. You don't click with this hottie? Next!

So, I was pretty astonished when guys in their 20s started contacting me on the dating website. And not just guys with nothing going on, except their weekly trips to the local comic book store. Many of them are hot. You might think I would be flattered, but you'd be wrong. My first reaction was, 'What the hell is wrong with these guys?!'

You see, I've been honest in my profile about my age and the fact that I'm raising a kid. I'm 48 and I plainly state that I am looking to date guys between 35 and 54. I really don't get why a hot guy in his 20s would want to date someone MUCH older. If their motivation is *just* sex, they have plenty of opportunities to hook up with someone in their 20s or 30s, who is just as hot as they are. And wouldn't it be excruciatingly awkward to date someone at such a dramatically different stage in life?

Hence, I've been grilling these guys to find out why they would want to date someone so much older. It's kind of fun putting them on the spot, to see how they tap dance around the question. The typical answers I've received are that older women are more mature, more interesting, more confident, smarter, and know what they want. Whatever. My guess is that it's the novelty of sex with someone much older.

For me, the temptation of dating a guy in his 20s lies not just in the presumably awesome sex, but also in the opportunity to torture my friends by frequently using the phrase, "I have taken a young lover," pronounced "lovah" and said in a dramatic British accent. As if I were a 48-year-old duchess stuck in a lonely marriage to a wealthy frail old man.