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Maturity. Men. Marriage:
Is there such a thing as a marriageable age?
Is it me, or have marriageable men just disappeared off the face of the Earth? The age of men who get married continues to rise. Then again, the age of women who are getting married is also on the rise. The fact that many women are choosing careers over getting married, not to mention the waves of feminism and rise of contraceptives, probably play a large role in this. We have seen countless articles by Forbes that promote this.
Maybe men feel like they are being left behind. After all, women choosing careers first are making these decisions based on their personal circumstances. Due to this, I think men are feeling neglected – and instead of looking for other women who want to get married early, they are simply resorting to immaturity. Now, I mean no disrespect here. By this, I mean more men are choosing to continue the "bar scene" period for longer than they used to; they are out there mingling without any intention of commitment. However, the fact that there is even a cultural term to describe older women seeking younger men, suggests that this goes both ways.
Surely we can all see this scene in our minds: a few 30-ish year old men in a bar, eyeing “potential” women (whatever that means anymore), buying drinks for single women, looking like they are on the prowl. Since there's not really a term for old men looking for younger females, I think we should start calling them “wolves.” There is always a term out for women behaving “badly,” so let's keep this fair shall we? We've heard these phrases before. So, older men looking for younger women are now wolves. I think it's suitable: cougars. Wolves.
Are career-oriented women to be blamed for this? There are many women out there who wish to get married right after college, or even high school. There are even men out there who are looking to get married early on too. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this type of thinking. We all come from various circumstances and upbringings and we all have decisions to make regarding our futures.
However, if women (and men) who wish to tie the knot early in life continue to rag on career-oriented women, it could become an epidemic like the "F" word. Surely, we would not want to see women focusing on their work first being put down. Women and men choosing careers first are also making their own decisions. I should note, there is nothing wrong with this type of thinking.
We have also seen the put-down of career-oriented women by labeling them as a crazy feminists or more commonly, "cougars." I've mentioned we should start calling men of this version "wolves," but does this really solve the problem? When we are putting down a certain sex for choosing to launch their careers before deciding to settle down with “the one,” we are essentially just being selfish. It is the selfish people out there promoting such terms that denigrate powerful, successful persons – be they female or male.
So, I ask you, is there really a problem with a majority of men and women getting married later in life? It could be a maturity factor. Or maybe it's the sex factor. ¤ Erica