I Stopped Dating And Couldn’t Be Happier
Prioritizing my well-being outweighs the exhaustion of trying to get picked
Recently, I met a close friend for some drinks. I hadn’t seen her in a while as she’s been going through a rough time. Around two hours later, when she excused herself so she could smoke a cigarette outside, a man significantly younger than me sidled up to me and started chatting. I immediately cringed. And not because he was creepy or otherwise sketchy.
My Aversion To Dating
Within a half-hour into our conversation, I learned that he was 30 years old. Which made him 22 years younger than me. While some women have no qualms dating someone an entire generation younger than themselves, I am not one of them. I have nephews this guy’s age. Dating him would have felt icky and incestuous to me. And yes, I realize that the stigma against women dating younger men is rooted in patriarchy. Such relationships subvert the narrative that men are supposed to be the providers. May-December relationships where a man is younger and a woman is older also go against the stereotype that older women are unattractive, sexless beings.
However, I’ve gone on exactly one date in the past seven years and have no desire to enter the dating pool again. Most of my friends are now urging me…
