Honest opinions ... is a UK 14/16 seen as unattractive for dating as a 50 year old?

Right.

I’ve been a young woman and I’ve been a middle-aged woman and I’m more sympathetic to the sad middle-aged men than I was when I was younger.

Why do you think young women don’t think they’re sad losers too?

The older the sadder and more creepy.

I fucking love protecting young women on public transport from pervy blokes.

I get in there physically. Look them in the eye, and tell them to fuck off. I say, you leave her alone. I'm not scared of large blokes, I love taking them on.

Because they're generally utterly weak.

I've yet to be battered.

I have been in situations where men are looking to leap in and 'save me', they never need to though because bully horrible men are just a bit useless. They're always weak. They always fold.

Jeysus.

This thread.

It's fucking depressing.

I do think apps have made people go a bit wrong.

As a 50 year old happily married woman (size 8/10, 5' 8.5", two sisters one a size 6 at 5' 5" and 51 and one a size 8 at 5' 4" and 61 and we're not emaciated or gaunt).

I obviously don't go on apps & neither do my sisters who have been in their relationships for 25+ years.

However, I do go out into the world and get chatted up quite a bit. My experience is that there's a lot of chancers, from 25+, there's certainly a contingent of young men who have a 'thing' for older women. I presume it's porn-based. 90% of men my age really dislike me. 90% of women my age really like me.

Me and my sisters get a lot of love. Me most, I'm a man-attractor. Which is unfortunate for them.

Because my base reaction is:

Fuck Off.

Ah but the important thing to remember is that when these aging creeps target our daughters, making a nuisance of themselves on their nights out (in a venue I go to they congregate in an area next to the women's toilets to accost and even touch women as they pass) the thing to remember is that this is older womens fault! Because if only we'd date them ourselves, they wouldn't have to do it you see.

I think I'd go for someone more fun and less opinionated and bitter too and if that meant younger so be it.

In other words, someone more naive and easy to manipulate.

And you can 'go for' whoever you like. Just like I could 'go for' Chris Hemsworth. Doesn't mean I have a snowball's chance of getting him. Same with your average 50 something guy chasing young women on the interwebs. It's not going to happen.

Until you have been on the online dating sites you won't know how it is. I haven't but as I said before my young looking slim mum tried in her late 50s and was getting message from 80 year old men, the men in the age group she would be interested in listed their upper age in a woman as 50, it is depressing. Close friend was also trying dating sites in her mid 40s, same thing, either much older men or young men looking for a quick shag.

What makes you think younger women have a higher opinion of older men than older women do? Because ime young women are WAY more scathing about old guys hitting on them than older women would be. If you were OK with it, I'd say you're in a minority. So whether they're 'going for' younger women because the older ones are 'bitter' (ie, don't fancy them!) or because they'd rather have a younger one anyway, is neither here nor there. They will still be highly unlikely to get a young one.

This thread gets even more depressing. Women seem to have such a low view of men, it is really sad. No wonder they're going for younger women when the majority of women their age think they're superior and think all men are sad losers(this thread just proves it) who let themselves go. I think I'd go for someone more fun and less opinionated and bitter too and if that meant younger so be it.

Any guy I've met/slept with, dated or married has been within 8 years either side, oldest being 5 years older youngest being 7 years younger (and I married him for my sins). I've never had an issue with being hit on by much older men, but maybe I have a slightly higher bar regarding age.

To be fair the title of the graph is “A man’s age vs the women who look best to him”

Look best to him, not age he would like to date.

If you asked him what kind of car looks best to him, he would probably name something he couldn’t afford, and he would know that.

“Men shag vacuum cleaners “ … too funny 😂

I only did OLD for a few months and I was quite horrified at the state of some of the men who messaged me.

Im a reasonably attractive well presented woman in my 50’s and I was bombarded with messages from very overweight pasty faced slack jawed men 10-20 years older than me who all seemed to think we’d be a perfect match.

I can’t imagine any of these men would approach us in a bar so it does seem hiding behind a screen gives their delusions an outlet they wouldn’t be brave enough to go for in RL

This doesn’t surprise me at all I can remember many older men hitting on me when I was in my 20’s

what I can never get me head around is how deluded so many men are

😶

Have you seen the state of some of the men on online dating. Rab C Nesbitt looks good compared to some of them.

The problem is usually that many men are absolutely deluded fuckers and think that a 55 year old them is peak George Clooney and will appeal to a fit 25 year old woman!

Online dating is a lottery and is nothing to do with weight. The problem with it is that you can’t really build a connection like you can in real life.

Oh my Lord! That's very interesting, men really think they're the dogs doodahs don't they?

These sweeping statements are so ludicrous. Including the one that assumes men in pubs are busy going wrooar.

I nearly choked on my roast potato 😆

Over the years I have noticed that men like that are always single. Can't seem to get a girl and keep her. Just sad aging men in pubs going wroooar at any hot tottie that walks in and feels entitled to slag off women who are overweight etc
Yeah I don't worry about them now. They lead empty lives... because the fantasy they hold onto is just that..fantasy.

This does seem to be about who looks best or most attractive, not necessarily who a man would want to have as a long-term partner. And we know that age is highly associated with perceived attractiveness in women, but not so much in men (e.g., silver fox stereotypes that don't really extend to women, and the cult of "looking younger"/anti-aging for women).

We don't know how the research was conducted. If, for example, in the research they asked: what age is most attractive to you. Men might interpret that as a physical thing, whereas women might interpret it more holistically.

This is basically a way to say - OP shouldn't read too much into this. It doesn't mean "men don't want to be in relationships with women over 50 because they're obsessed with women in their 20s".

It was as a neutral colour dress with an orange geo print. Nothing out the ordinary.

I like quite quirky unusual clothes so if a man doesn’t like my style then he’s not for me

Why do the women younger than 30 date those men?

I mean, either they’re attracted to them, in which case who’s to knock it? Or there’s a less romantic reason that reflects well on neither party.

Too bright for a date? I've worn red to dates, and it's gone down well. (I wear a lot of red anyway.)

Absolutely. I’ve gone on dates and not liked what he’s wearing or thought his appearance isn’t what I’m attracted to however I’ve not been rude enough to comment.

I can’t imagine many women go on a first date and say ‘I really don’t like your shirt’ or ‘your hair is a bit crap’ yet men think that’s sort of thing they’re perfectly entitled to comment on and act like we’re being over sensitive if we pull them up.

I don't think it's unusual for some professional women to have had kids around 40, like you did.

I honestly think you could find someone around your age with a child/ten around the same age.

It's probably going to be a pretty educated/professional woman or a woman who had a failed relationship/s in her 20s and most of her 30s without having kids and then had one or two quickly around 40.