Younger Man/Older Woman

I love working in the city. I love the energy in the morning as people rush to work. I love walking through the downtown and watching people in the morning.

This week, on the way to work, I watched something quite interesting.

I saw a couple walking in front of me. At least I thought they were a couple. Then I realized that the guy was cute -- probably in his late twenties or early thirties, very tall, nice tan, curly brown hair. The woman, by contrast, looked to be in her mid-forties or so. She was tall as well -- probably six feet -- but was a few inches shorter than him, and was heavier than average.

They were walking briskly, his arm dangling around her shoulders. It was casual, as if he were comfortable with her. A dating-type pose. But I immediately assumed that that couldn't be possible, since she was so much older than him. She was probably his mother, I decided. She could look a little bit young for her age. That was a bit of a creepy position, though, with his arm around her like that. It was slightly TOO intimate. He would never get a girlfriend if he kept that up, I thought. Someone is a little too attached to his momm--

And then he kissed her.

On the mouth.

For a good three or four seconds.

Okay, then. Defintiely not mother and son.

You hear about older women with younger men a lot more now. A few years ago, it was almost a trend, just beginning to be seen as something besides taboo. I'm guessing that it's only become more popular.

But the women that are with these guys are usually attractive! Look at my namesake -- she's gorgeous and sexy, as well as an incredibly successful career woman and a self-professed "kind of a somebody" in the New York social scene. That's definitely attractive.

But this woman wasn't attractive. She had a heavy frame. An hourglass figure, I guess you could say, but only because she was big in the hips AND big in the shoulders. Her hair was dark and cut into a chin-length bob. Nothing spectacular.

So where was the attraction?

The more I think about it, the more I remember that the woman walked with confidence. She held her head high -- which a lot of tall people don't do -- and walked enthusiastically, as if she could take on the world. She wore a nice navy blue suit. If I had to guess, I would say that she was a very successful businesswoman.

Maybe men like the power.

It's weird how it's portrayed in the media. Whether it's Samantha on Sex and the City or Gabrielle on Desperate Housewives or even Monica or Rachel on Friends in the episodes when they dated younger guys, age is always a major issue. But these women are all gorgeous and sexy (as much as I hate Eva Longwhoria, that's the general consensus), and it's really not as big a deal as they make it seem. They have nothing to worry about, other than fertility. And it's been shown that most older woman/younger man couples don't have kids.

But when it just hits you in the face on a city sidewalk on a Monday morning, it's shocking.

Any thoughts?