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Showing posts with label younger men and older women. Show all posts
Showing posts with label younger men and older women. Show all posts
Younger Men, Older Women: A Pairing Becomes More Common
Emmanuel Macron, 39, the
French presidential candidate, and his wife, Brigitte, 64, who was his
teacher in school when he was 15 years old.Credit
Benoit Tessier/Reuters
The
lead-up to the French presidential election has been rife with debates
over immigration, terrorism and the European Union, but one nonpolitical
factor has fascinated the public in France and abroad: the 24-year age
gap between Emmanuel Macron, 39, the candidate who will face off against
Marine Le Pen on Sunday, and his wife Brigitte, 64.
Granted, the back story to their coupledom is unusual, maybe even by the standards of the French, whose current and past leaders have been embroiled in very public romantic dramas.
Ms. Macron first met Mr. Macron when he was 15 and she was his teacher,
married with three children, at a high school in Amiens, France. The
two became close after Mr. Macron asked her to help him rewrite sections
of a play. Before Mr. Macron moved to Paris to continue his schooling,
he declared, at age 17, that he would one day marry his teacher. He did, in 2007.
The specifics of their love have generated headlines, commentary and opinion pieces around the world. A Forbes article asked: “Who Is the Older Woman That Could Become France’s First Lady?” A feminist think piece in The Guardian responded to a heavy-on-the-sarcasm column in The Daily Mail
that portrayed Mr. Macron as a “mummy’s boy” who needs Ms. Macron to
wipe his mouth or give him “a smack” for misbehaving. Ms. Macron has
been called a “menopausal Barbie” and Mr. Macron a teacher’s pet.
Cindy Gallop,
a provocative web entrepreneur who has been vocal about her decision to
date younger men, points to sexism. “It makes people very uncomfortable
to see the gender equation reversed,” she said. “Out there in the world
are many, many younger men who would love to date older women, but
would never do anything about it because there’s this appalling societal
double standard.”
As
unconventional as the Macrons’ marriage may seem, the pairing of an
older woman with a significantly younger man is not a new one (recall
Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher or Madonna and Brahim Zaibat), nor is it
that uncommon.
“We make this assumption that men want all the power,” said Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist and adviser to Match.com, which funded a survey of 5,500 singles in America
last year and found that 26 percent of women were open to dating men 10
or more years younger. “It’s flat out not true. Men want a companion,
and we are seeing the rise of women as intellectual partners, as sexual
partners, as soul partners.”
Ms.
Fisher added that the prevalence of May-December romances involving
younger men is part of a general shift in Western culture toward
double-income families. With women gaining more economic power, she
added, younger men will seek out partners who either make as much money
as they do or more, and have similar or higher levels of education.
Examples of such relationships already abound in popular culture. Take Aaron Taylor-Johnson, 26, who won a Golden Globe this year for his role in “Nocturnal Animals” and stars in the coming movie “The Wall.” Mr. Taylor-Johnson has been married since 2012 and has two children with Sam Taylor-Johnson, 50, a director of “Fifty Shades of Grey” and other films.
Wendi Deng Murdoch, 48, who was married to Rupert Murdoch, 86, for over a decade recently became Instagram official with Bertold Zahoran, 23, a model. The two vacationed in the Caribbean on New Year’s Eve, and recently went on a trip with Hugh Jackman and Diane von Furstenberg.
Those
who follow reality TV may be familiar with the pairing of Carole
Radziwill, 53, an author and Emmy-award-winning journalist who stars on
“Real Housewives of New York City,” and Adam Kenworthy, 31, a chef. And
magazine insiders may know that Laura Brown, the editor in chief of
InStyle magazine, dates Brandon Borror-Chappell, a writer and comedian
who is 16 years younger.
All of these couples have dealt with a hefty share of scrutiny. Mr. Taylor-Johnson told Vulture
earlier this year that the attention on his marriage has been
“intrusive.” Ms. Radziwill faced criticism from her “Real Housewives”
co-star Luann de Lesseps, whose niece had once dated Mr. Kenworthy.
Ms.
Gallop, who is 57, said that younger men are able to match her energy
levels better than men her age. Beyond that, she sees herself as an
alternative role model. “People are interested in the overall point I’m
making,” she said. “Design a model that works for you as opposed to
imposing a societally approved model of who you are supposed to be.”
Dr.
Fisher goes further, and sees this as a sign of progress. “People will
have natural questions about it,” she said. “But the beauty is that
these days we can go beyond our culture, and choose who we want and go
with our hearts. Love wins.”
Younger Men, Older Women: A Pairing Becomes More Common
Emmanuel Macron, 39, the
French presidential candidate, and his wife, Brigitte, 64, who was his
teacher in school when he was 15 years old.Credit
Benoit Tessier/Reuters
The
lead-up to the French presidential election has been rife with debates
over immigration, terrorism and the European Union, but one nonpolitical
factor has fascinated the public in France and abroad: the 24-year age
gap between Emmanuel Macron, 39, the candidate who will face off against
Marine Le Pen on Sunday, and his wife Brigitte, 64.
Granted, the back story to their coupledom is unusual, maybe even by the standards of the French, whose current and past leaders have been embroiled in very public romantic dramas.
Ms. Macron first met Mr. Macron when he was 15 and she was his teacher,
married with three children, at a high school in Amiens, France. The
two became close after Mr. Macron asked her to help him rewrite sections
of a play. Before Mr. Macron moved to Paris to continue his schooling,
he declared, at age 17, that he would one day marry his teacher. He did, in 2007.
The specifics of their love have generated headlines, commentary and opinion pieces around the world. A Forbes article asked: “Who Is the Older Woman That Could Become France’s First Lady?” A feminist think piece in The Guardian responded to a heavy-on-the-sarcasm column in The Daily Mail
that portrayed Mr. Macron as a “mummy’s boy” who needs Ms. Macron to
wipe his mouth or give him “a smack” for misbehaving. Ms. Macron has
been called a “menopausal Barbie” and Mr. Macron a teacher’s pet.
Cindy Gallop,
a provocative web entrepreneur who has been vocal about her decision to
date younger men, points to sexism. “It makes people very uncomfortable
to see the gender equation reversed,” she said. “Out there in the world
are many, many younger men who would love to date older women, but
would never do anything about it because there’s this appalling societal
double standard.”
As
unconventional as the Macrons’ marriage may seem, the pairing of an
older woman with a significantly younger man is not a new one (recall
Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher or Madonna and Brahim Zaibat), nor is it
that uncommon.
“We make this assumption that men want all the power,” said Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist and adviser to Match.com, which funded a survey of 5,500 singles in America
last year and found that 26 percent of women were open to dating men 10
or more years younger. “It’s flat out not true. Men want a companion,
and we are seeing the rise of women as intellectual partners, as sexual
partners, as soul partners.”
Ms.
Fisher added that the prevalence of May-December romances involving
younger men is part of a general shift in Western culture toward
double-income families. With women gaining more economic power, she
added, younger men will seek out partners who either make as much money
as they do or more, and have similar or higher levels of education.
Examples of such relationships already abound in popular culture. Take Aaron Taylor-Johnson, 26, who won a Golden Globe this year for his role in “Nocturnal Animals” and stars in the coming movie “The Wall.” Mr. Taylor-Johnson has been married since 2012 and has two children with Sam Taylor-Johnson, 50, a director of “Fifty Shades of Grey” and other films.
Wendi Deng Murdoch, 48, who was married to Rupert Murdoch, 86, for over a decade recently became Instagram official with Bertold Zahoran, 23, a model. The two vacationed in the Caribbean on New Year’s Eve, and recently went on a trip with Hugh Jackman and Diane von Furstenberg.
Those
who follow reality TV may be familiar with the pairing of Carole
Radziwill, 53, an author and Emmy-award-winning journalist who stars on
“Real Housewives of New York City,” and Adam Kenworthy, 31, a chef. And
magazine insiders may know that Laura Brown, the editor in chief of
InStyle magazine, dates Brandon Borror-Chappell, a writer and comedian
who is 16 years younger.
All of these couples have dealt with a hefty share of scrutiny. Mr. Taylor-Johnson told Vulture
earlier this year that the attention on his marriage has been
“intrusive.” Ms. Radziwill faced criticism from her “Real Housewives”
co-star Luann de Lesseps, whose niece had once dated Mr. Kenworthy.
Ms.
Gallop, who is 57, said that younger men are able to match her energy
levels better than men her age. Beyond that, she sees herself as an
alternative role model. “People are interested in the overall point I’m
making,” she said. “Design a model that works for you as opposed to
imposing a societally approved model of who you are supposed to be.”
Dr.
Fisher goes further, and sees this as a sign of progress. “People will
have natural questions about it,” she said. “But the beauty is that
these days we can go beyond our culture, and choose who we want and go
with our hearts. Love wins.”
Betty MacDonald Fan Club, founded by Wolfgang Hampel, has members in 40 countries.
Wolfgang Hampel, author of Betty MacDonald biography interviewed Betty MacDonald's family and friends. His Interviews have been published on CD and DVD by Betty MacDonald Fan Club. If you are interested in the Betty MacDonald Biography or the Betty MacDonald Interviews send us a mail, please.
Several original Interviews with Betty MacDonald are available.
We are also organizing international Betty MacDonald Fan Club Events for example, Betty MacDonald Fan Club Eurovision Song Contest Meetings in Oslo and Düsseldorf, Royal Wedding Betty MacDonald Fan Club Event in Stockholm and Betty MacDonald Fan Club Fifa Worldcup Conferences in South Africa and Germany.
Betty MacDonald Fan Club Honour Members are Monica Sone, author of Nisei Daughter and described as Kimi in Betty MacDonald's The Plague and I, Betty MacDonald's nephew, artist and writer Darsie Beck, Betty MacDonald fans and beloved authors and artists Gwen Grant, Letizia Mancino, Perry Woodfin, Traci Tyne Hilton, Tatjana Geßler, music producer Bernd Kunze, musician Thomas Bödigheimer, translater Mary Holmes and Mr. Tigerli.
