Many experts agree that a person’s late 20s is the best age to get married. Clinical social worker Kelsey Torgerson says it’s a time when couples have experienced enough life to know whether they are compatible through both the good and the bad times.
Research also shows that men are most attracted to women around their own age. After 30, they start choosing younger women.
Age & Gender
Many men and women will probably disagree on the most desirable age but for the most part they’re going to have the same answer: their own. That’s because gender has a significant impact on how attractive a person is at any given age. Men, for instance, are usually at their most desirable in their thirties, while women are considered to be most beautiful in their mid-thirties and start to lose their looks after their fifties, according to Allure Magazine.
The exact age at which a woman is most desirable can vary depending on where you live and the social dynamics of your area. For example, a study of online dating messages found that men in New York City were more likely to successfully strike up conversations with women 20 years older than them. In Seattle, however, women were more likely to lust after men of the same age as them.
While these findings are certainly interesting, they’re not particularly shocking. For example, previous research has shown that men’s sexual desirability peaks in their early twenties, with men finding women at their most desirable around the age of 23. In addition, studies on heterosexual couples have shown that women are generally more attracted to men a few years older than them. This is often referred to as the George Clooney effect and it’s allegedly hard-wired from our cave-dwelling days, when older men had more resources, connections and respect.
One reason for this phenomenon might be that as we grow older, secondary sex characteristics become less evolutionary important. In other words, as we age and our hormone levels change, the sexy factor of our appearances might decline while our ability to do great things and be good role models increases. That’s why it seems to make sense that the most desirable age for a woman might be the point at which she’s most mature, responsible and caring. This is especially true in polygynous communities, where women who are older might be favored over younger women.
Age & Education
We’ve all heard the anecdotal stories about men always wanting younger women. Well, it turns out there is some truth to this. In fact, a recent study by Christian Rudder, co-founder of OkCupid, shows that when it comes to dating, both men and women are most desirable at a very young age. He used data from 200,000 OkCupid profiles to find that men’s sexual desirability peaks at 50 and then goes down quite steeply while women’s peak is at 18 and then gets much lower.
What’s more, according to the study men tend to only go for women of their own age so if you’re a 20-year-old girl, chances are that all the guys on Tinder and Bumble are lusting after you. But what really caught our attention was when we looked at the graphs of male and female age ranges and saw that a guy in his twenties always chose a woman under 24 and a man in his thirties would choose a women between 21 and 23.
This is presumably because as you get older your hormones change and secondary sex characteristics such as facial femininity and youthful body proportions start to wane. So while younger men place greater emphasis on physical build and attractiveness, as they get older they start to favour mature looks in women, which is why you see the likes of Leo DiCaprio with a super model girlfriend or Dane Cook chasing after his 27-year-old girlfriend Kelsi Taylor.
In terms of what makes a woman most desirable, the research found that both genders place the same levels of importance on education, intelligence, income and trust in a partner as well as on emotional connection. This is despite the fact that women rate personality factors higher than men do.
So, if you want to be considered the most desirable woman in the room then you should work on being more confident and self-assured. You should also focus on your appearance, ensuring that you maintain a neat and tidy appearance as well as having a healthy lifestyle. You should also aim to be a leader and take responsibility for your actions as this will make you appear more trustworthy, stable and authoritative.
Age & Work
From women who believe that slightly older silver foxes – think George Clooney and Hugh Hefner – will always win to those who wish they could stay young forever, age gaps in relationships are a thing. But the truth is that the age gap you accept can be incredibly flexible depending on your life stage and what’s important to you.
Carmichael explains that women tend to have a set of expectations they want from their partners, which varies by age and the stage of life they’re in. “Maturity counts; younger guys may not be mature enough for her, while older guys can have a lot of maturity from a variety of experiences,” she says.
According to Allure Magazine, both men and women are at their most desirable in their thirties. Despite this, men start to show signs of ageing at 41, stop looking sexy by 53 and are considered ‘old’ at 59. For women, their beauty peaks at 18, but they decline rapidly from there. A 50-year old man’s idea of a beautiful woman is roughly the same as a college kid’s.
Age & Relationships
In relationships, a man is more interested in a woman’s maturity level than her age. Men are willing to accept a large age difference between themselves and their partners if she is mature and has a strong sense of responsibility. Whether she is responsible for her finances, home or children, these qualities are attractive to men. Having a good grasp of the situation and a clear mind are other qualities that make a woman desirable. Punctuality is also an important attribute to have in a relationship, as it shows that she takes her role seriously and respects other people’s time.
In a relationship, the age gap between partners can have a significant impact on how happy they are. This is because some couples have a wider range of life experiences than others, and that can affect their ability to navigate difficult situations together. In some cases, an age gap can even lead to a breakdown in the relationship.
When it comes to age, many women find that they prefer men that are a little older than them, especially in their late twenties and early thirties. According to Jan Antfolk from Abo Akademi University in Turku, Finland, men start noticing a woman’s appeal begin to decline at around the age of 40.
However, there are some couples that are able to have successful marriages despite a large age difference between their partners. PsychCentral writer Brandy Porche suggests that this is because they have other qualities that they share in common, such as emotional maturity and shared priorities. However, if the couple wants to pursue an age gap relationship, it is important that they understand the potential challenges involved and have the support of family members who are not prejudiced against this type of relationship. They should also consider their capacity to have children, as this may not be possible if they are on different sides of the reproductive age spectrum. They can also look for alternative options such as in vitro fertilization or surrogacy. This can bridge the gap and allow them to have the family they want.
