However, no funding was received or used in the writing of this article. More than 50 years after The Graduate , a film where Mrs. Robinson, an older woman, propositions a young male college graduate, the Netflix rom-com A Family Affair , starring Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron, has repurposed the same age-gap situationship to drive the plot. So does the upcoming Bridget Jones flick , Mad About the Boy , in which something Bridget gets involved with a man in his 20s.
It also found that many find such relationships perfectly socially acceptable. And in spite of what the aforementioned films suggest, age-gap relationships occur between not just Boomers or Gen X women and younger men. They also occur between Gen Z men and Millennial women, and are more common than many might think. The recent movie The Idea of You hit a cultural nerve about age-gap relationships. What makes them tick? What should Millennial women and Gen Z men keep in mind when sharing their relationships with family and friends?
You might be saving for a mortgage or just struggling to pay rent. You could be swiping on dating apps or trying to navigate childcare. Ready for the next step in your career? Struggling to discuss climate change with older relatives? These 3 scenarios can help. Many older men often prefer to date younger women. The same is true for a lot of older women, with Millennial and Gen Z men emerging as appealing dating options. For their part, many Gen Z men might have fewer opportunities to date women their own age, or prefer to date older women for various reasons.
Enter Millennial women. Some age gaps gain more attention than others. Our reactions also have to do with how old the people in question are. Take the 40 year age difference between Cher 77 and her boyfriend Alexander Edwards When both partners are relatively young and their age gap smaller, as in the case of some relationships between Millennial women and Gen Z men, it might appear less transgressive or impactful.
This could explain why these pairings get relatively little cultural air play. But because these unions occur when a mere few years apart is more meaningful from a developmental standpoint , their significance might be underplayed. As writer Melissa Mason put it :. He can handle my relationship anxieties. He makes me laugh, and I can be myself around him. Millennial women who are with Gen Z men have conveyed to us that they enjoy feeling admired by their boyfriends versus feeling competition from men their own age.
