To think 26 year old dating 19 year old is weird?

Seriously, mind your own business. You’re worrying about something you can’t control. Pointless.

Why is it ludicrous? Women/girls mature earlier than men/boys. A 19 yr old woman can be at a similar stage to a 26 yr old man. Whereas often, the other way round, a 19yr old man is a worls apart from a 26 year old woman. This is of course a huge generalisation!

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-myths-of-sex/202303/older-women-who-date-younger-men-are-more-satisfied

can anyone explain the cougar women ? why does society accept cougar women too ?

You are a bit, because you're massively generalising. My DH was a mature, sensible 16 year old, I was young for my age till my mid twenties

The couple that I know with a 15 year age gap, he has always been the grown up mature one despite being the physically younger partner.

Women and girls just have stricter behavioural standards thrust upon them.

When I was 19 I found all males my age and a couple of years older far too immature for me.

If 19yo is the male - then generally I'd think that a 26yo female is being a bit weird. Simply because women do mature a bit faster. And 19yo boys are still very much kids - albeit in fully grown bodies. And 26yo women are often ready to start looking for a partner to settle down with and have kids in the next 5(ish) years)

If the 26yo is a male - and still live at home, then it's a bit less weird. Sure - there is an age difference, but not sure how much maturity difference there is. And most 26yo men aren't yet looking to settle down just yet. So - while there is a bit of difference in life stages - it's not as much as if the sexes are reversed.

I am sure I'll be called sexist here -but so be it.

No, not weird at all. A 7 year gap is nothing.

So if he's 26 he can't work in a bar or a bank etc then? Weird

I have managed to read the thread and agree with @x2boys. You have an immutable view of age gaps, OP, so why bother posting your question?

And fwiw when people are sarcastic on MN it usually indicates to me that they know they're losing an argument...

Americans apparently find this sort of thing super weird and get really het up about it.

Do you generally imagine that over 300 million people all get "het up" about any one thing? Because we don't. We're actually all different, just like you, I expect.

There are 19-year-olds who are childish and then there are 19-year-olds who are serious, mature for their age, and know their own mind. Your sibling (according to you) is more the first type, but based on this thread, some of your attitudes aren't particularly mature, either. Maybe you're not in a place to judge, really.

My husband is 8 and a half years older than I am, but we've only been together since 1977, so it probably won't last. 😉

Your mistake is to judge everybody else based on your own standards or behaviour.

If my 18 year old son told me he was dating a 25 year old woman I'd think she was mad. He was wearing school uniform up until his last A level this week.

Age gaps get less gross and weird as you get older.

It's not illegal obvs but there's something a little off about it. 19 with a 21 year old - sure, maybe they're at uni together, maybe they met travelling or at a gig for a band they both love, or they work together in a bar or a bank or on a boat. But 26? Hmm.

I met my now husband when I was 18 and he was 27. My mum had some concerns to start with but after 17 years and 3 kids she says he is her favourite child and would keep him in the divorce 🤣 age is just a number and as long as they are both at the same stage in life what does it matter. My mum was concerned that my DH would want to settle down really quickly but we dated 7yrs before we got married and then waited another couple of years before having kids

I don’t think that’s an especially big gap. 26 year olds are still growing and developing, much the same as 19 year olds. If the older person was 30 plus then it would start to get into weird territory.

Why? That's ludicrous.

I think its ok if its F19 M26. The other way round, no

They are both adults I don't think there is an issue. I would class them as both as young adults and the same generation and I wouldn't expect their lives to be that different

Tik tok..what is the age demograhic on that?
Dont use it myself
Age isnt a big deal - why care.

This.

I (F) briefly dated an 18 year-old (M) when I was 28.

Yes, it was weird, hence it didn’t last very long.

He had left school at 16 and was working as an actor, so more mature than most, but our lives were just so different.

I had one child and one on the way to a 27 year old man when I was 19.

it took me a very long time to realise, he liked them young as easier to manipulate.
Hes now 50 with a 30 year old girlfriend.

I hadn't thought about the changes in how people meet now, but yes, that's a fair point.

It's interesting to look through a lens at changes in relationships in general. I had friends who were engaged at 15 (same age relationship). You wouldn't hear of that now. Some of them actually married as well, one couple is even still together!

Everything seems to start a lot later now, which isn't a bad thing. I think relationships are less of the be-all and end-all that they once seemed to be. It was important to have a boyfriend when I was at secondary school for some reason. I was at a school with an even mix of WC and MC and it wasn't just the WC kids who had intense relationships.

I've been ill recently, and in a search for mindless TV, I found episodes of Byker Grove on ITV X, which first aired in the late 80s - Ant and Dec are my age and God, they look so young - watching it now, it's amazing how many storylines involve intense relationships between 15 year olds and talk of marriage and engagement. But that is a pretty accurate reflection of how it was. Of course there'll be people who say that wasn't their experience, but it was certainly mine.

For all the dodgy internet influences, 5 year olds with skincare regimes, etc, I think in a lot of ways today's kids are younger than we were at that age. And I don't think that's a bad thing at all.