THE BENEFITS OF MAY-DECEMBER RELATIONSHIP (CHAPTER 1-3 DRAFT)

THE BENEFITS OF MAY-DECEMBER RELATIONSHIP

A Research Paper Presented to

The Faculty of the English Resource Center

School of Engineering

Asia Pacific College

Magallanes, Makati

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Course

ERESWRT - Research Writing

Samboy Jim B. Montante

April 2014

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

A.    Background of the Study

May-December relationship (MDR) is the romantic involvement of two participants, whereas their ages are significantly different from each other. May-December relationship also called as age gap relationship or intergenerational relationship is happening and is actively occurring in our society. However, its occurrence makes people’s eyebrows raise.

May-December relationships happen. In an article written by Dr. J.R. Bruns, M.D., called, “The May-December Romance”, there is an actual example there of a MDR and that is Hugh Hefner and Crystal Harris. Hugh Hefner is known to be a “notorious sex hound”. According to that article, “Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner, 84, recently announced on Twitter his engagement to 23-year-old Playboy Playmate Crystal Harris.” (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/repairing-relationships/201101/the-may-december-romance)

Kathryn Vercillo also wrote an entry called, “The May-December Romance.” This entry defined the gist of May-December relationship. It talked about the presence of MDRs in the society and how people accept it. MDRs has no age requirements and has not set limits. Thus, this is what makes people look at MDRs as a bad thing.

According to Vercillo, “When someone speaks about the "May-December Romance", they're referring to a romantic relationship in which one partner is considerably older than the other partner. This is no specific age gap which meets the requirements of the May-December Romance. It's merely a general term which applies to relationships which have a wide enough age gap to cause people in a society to raise their eyebrows at the relationship. This can vary significantly from culture to culture so there's no cut-and-dry rule when it comes to defining this kind of relationship.” (http://kathrynvercillo.hubpages.com/hub/The-May-December-Romance)

People discriminate against May-December relationships. Though it has been one of the relationships circulating in the society, MDRs still have not been fully accepted by all unlike the other forms of relationships, since it is seen by some people as taboo. People look at it as a nasty and disgusting relationship. MDRs are commonly perceived by people in the wrong way and they always think about it negatively.

Erica Mark wrote an article entitled, “Are May December Relationships a Taboo?” Mark mentioned in this article that MDRs are not yet fully welcomed in our society. It contains the common misconception regarding MDRs. Both parties engaged in MDR know that they are in it for their personal advances. On the other hand, this article broke the thought of MDRs as taboo because as the author has mentioned, it should not be treated as one. MDRs, being thought as a taboo is really impossible since, like what is mentioned above, it is happening in our society and many people are engaging in it.

According to Mark, “However, there is more to May December relationships than just good ol’ love, and this is the reason why many look at these relationships with belligerence. It is well-known that rich, successful men, who are on the wrong side of age, don’t mind splurging some dough to have a sexy young woman by their side. Young women, on the other hand, don’t mind dating older men. The relationship is based on the mutual needs wherein the young woman depends on his older partner for sustenance.” (http://joliet.patch.com/groups/its-all-about-love-and-relationships/p/are-may-december-relationships-a-taboo)

Some people think that MDRs are inappropriate. In the first place, it is because they came from different generations. Therefore, they are in the different stages of their lives. People say that having been from a different generation, it is impossible for these people to have something in common between the two of them. The fact that the couple came from diverse generation and are in different stages of their life, it is presumable that their wants and needs will not meet; they would have disparity in terms of priorities in life as well as their lifestyle.  

Shehzad Rafi wrote an article called “The Pros and Cons of a May-December Love Affair” In this article, Rafi mentioned that there are only few reason why a MDR is belittled by the society. These reasons include the difference in stage of life they are at and the discrepancy between their wants and needs.

According to Rafi, “As we try to analyse it, there are only a few reasons why the society looks down to the May-December affairs. When one is much older than the other in the relationship, there would always be some instances that their likes and dislikes don’t meet up.” (http://abcthesis.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-pros-and-cons-of-may-december-love.html?detail=yes)

Some people think that these people get into MDRs for wrong reasons due to their misconceptions and negative perception about it. This includes money—which is a common factor in any relationship, as well as pleasure.  They always think that women involved in this type of relationship are gold diggers. These women are already looked down by people who doesn’t even know their names but is negatively judging them based on the kind of relationship they are engaged in. On the men’s part, they are also judged that they are using young women to satisfy their lust and to pleasure themselves.

Robbie Dillon wrote an article entitled, “Defending a May-December relationship from the critics.” In this article, there are myths concerning MDRs are included. Because of the misconceptions about MDRs, women engaged in this relationship are often labelled as gold diggers, and men, on the other hand, are called perverts as how the society think they are, since most of the time, they are only after the pleasure young women can provide them. Women are belittled and disrepute by the society just because of the negative perception of people about MDRs. Another misconception about MDRs is that, this kind of relationship will not last. Many people presume that May-December relationship is merely a short-term love affair. They think that MDR is not a healthy relationship. Since, they are of different generations, there is a big chance of misunderstandings which may result to ending up their relationship.

According to Dillon, “Trust me, as you get older, sex drops further and further down your list of relationship priorities. Things like friendship, intimacy and good conversation become a lot more important, which is probably a big part of the attraction for girls who are fed up with guys talking to their breasts.” (http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/older-man-younger-woman-myths/story-fnet0gly-1226520980583)

Since MDRs have been common to our society nowadays, the social order is being disrupted. May-December relationships are detrimental to our society. Focusing on the older man-younger woman relationship, it will result to lack of young women for young men, who are supposed to be the lovers. If it happens, lacking of women will be a problem and will result to social order disruption.

Dr. J.R. Bruns, M.D., wrote an entry entitled, “The May-December Romance.” Stated in this article that according to George Gilder’s observation, when a man left his wife after her child-bearing peak, and find another woman, who is a lot younger than his first wife is, a disruption in the social order will take place. Simply because there no one left for an older woman and younger man to be their life partner.

It is also included in the article, Brad Wilcox of the National Marriage Project found that many younger women are unwilling to marry less successful men their age. It is due to lack of stability of these young men. They are not yet financially and emotionally stable to be in a steady relationship. For this reason, young men tend to have less number of women to choose from to be their potential life partner.

According to Wilcox, “With both of these trends, younger men (who should be marrying and having children who will one day support the social welfare net with their pay checks) are on the losing end.” (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/repairing-relationships/201101/the-may-december-romance)

In addition to that, a statement by George Gilder, chair of Discovery Institute’s Center on Wealth, Poverty, and Morality, “when you have older men (median age 40) abandoning their older wives once they are past their peak child-bearing years and remarrying younger second wives (median age 30), there is a major rupture of the social system, as older women and younger men end up single.”

May-December relationship is happening in our society. However, some people discriminates against MDRs because they think that it is inappropriate and people get in this kind of relationship for wrong reasons. These people think that a May- December relationship is not a good relationship. However, in contrary to common belief and despite of the misconception of people about May-December relationships, the researcher observes that there are multiple benefits a May-December relationship can provide to both participants.

The information in this paper is important because it will change the reader’s negative perception about MDRs. In addition, it will make the reader more tolerant of people they know who are engaged in MDRs.

The purpose of this study is to explain the benefits of a May-December relationship.

B.     Statement of the Problem

This study aims to study the question:

1.      What are the benefits of a May-December relationship?

C.    Significance of the Study

Young Women. This study will uphold young women’s decent stand and will empower them to prove and defend themselves that there is no harm and it is not a wrong act to be in a relationship with an older lover. This will help young women committed in a May-December relationship in a way that they will not be belittled in the society, instead they will become an inspiration to other people to love regardless of age. Moreover, a woman whose lover is an older man, can be benefitted from their relationship.

Old Men. Knowledge about this study will help old men realize that younger women do not choose them to be their life mate for the reason of financial stability and other materialistic act. Men should understand that young women tend to look for an older partner for a strong, mature relationship. With this paper, old men, who only want a younger women for pleasure, will understand that women should be loved and not a toy to be played. This will also help them see the brighter side of being committed in a May-December love affair and the benefits they will be getting from each other.

People against May-December Relationship. With this study, people against May-December relationship will be enlightened about the true essence of this kind of relationship. This study will change their negative perceptions about May-December relationship. Through this, people will understand the reasons why this type of relationship happens and it will open their eyes with regard to the benefits of being in a May-December relationship. It may help people be more tolerant of people they know who are in this kind of relationship. This study will prove that even though there are people against MDRs, they can also be in this type of relationship in the future and might as well can be used as a reference if they do enter in a May-December relationship.

Future Researchers. This research paper would be of great help to future researchers and they will actually benefit from this study especially if it is relevant or connected with their own research. This paper could be used as a reference or as a source for their study. While doing their paper, they might be able to make use of the information presented in this research paper and improve it in their study.

D.     Scope and Delimitation

This study is focused on the benefits people can gain from a May-December relationship.

Due to limited time given to conduct this research, this study will only be discussing the advantages of being in a May-December relationship and will not be tackling any further about the comparison between the different types of relationships occurring in the society.  As much the researcher wants to include the psychological effect of a May-December relationship to other people’s attitude towards this kind of relationship, it will not be discussed anymore due to lack of information, and moreover, because of a limited time given.

Through this, the benefits that can be gained from a May-December relationship will be highlighted and stressed. For that reason, even though only given a minimal time for this research to be conducted, the researcher has comprehensively did this paper and find information that is best needed to support this study and bring out the best result, and a research paper that would be useful to many people.

E.     Materials and Methods

In this research, the researcher gathered data in order to explain the benefits that can be gained from a May-December relationship. This explanation will help people against this kind of relationship understand why such relationship is beneficial to people engaged in it.

The materials used by the researcher to gather the information are through online articles, journals, and related studies appropriate to the research’s topic. The data gathered will be presented in a comprehensive way by connecting the ideas and facts from the sources.

F.     Definition of Terms

Gold-digger. A woman who becomes or tries to become romantically involved with a rich man in order to get money and gifts from him. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gold%20digger)

May-December Relationship (MDR). A relationship between two people where one partner is in the "winter" of their life (old) and the other partner in the relationship is in the "spring" of their life (young). This can go either way such as the woman is older or the man is older. (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=May-December%20relationship)

Misconception. A view or opinion that is incorrect because it is based on faulty thinking or understanding. (http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/misconception)

Perception. (a)The way you think about or understand someone or something; (b) the ability to understand or notice something easily; (c) The way that you notice or understand something using one of your senses. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perception)

Social Norms. Rule or standard of behaviour shared by members of a social group. Norms may be internalized-i.e., incorporated within the individual so that there is conformity without external rewards or punishments, or they may be enforced by positive or negative sanctions from without. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/social+norm)

Social Order. The totality of structured human interrelationships in a society or a part of it. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20order)

Taboo. A norm that society holds so strongly that violating it results in extreme disgust. Often times the violator of the taboo is considered unfit to live in that society. (http://sociology.about.com/b/2012/07/18/sociological-definition-of-the-week-taboo.htm)

CHAPTER 2

DISCUSSION

What are the benefits of a May-December relationship?

Definition of May-December Relationship

May-December Relationship when defined as a term, according to the Webster's New World College Dictionary, means, “of or designating a marriage or romantic relationship between a young person and a person who is considerably older”.  (http://www.yourdictionary.com/may-december)

Yet May-December relationship is a type of relationship which receives a lot of negativity from people who are against it.

A more comprehensive definition of May-December Relationship, which according to the Urban Dictionary, “refers to a relationship between two people where one partner is in the "winter" of their life (old) and the other partner in the relationship is in the "spring" of their life (young). This can go either way such as the woman is older or the man is older. Being a nonspecific term, it encompasses the concept of slang words like cougar or lech (which is offensive if used on couples who are serious). This term is also tied to concepts such as "robbing the cradle."”. (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=may%20december%20relationship)

To highlight the term May-December relationship, also called age gap relationship or intergenerational relationship, it is a relationship which is actively occurring in our society and is highly participated by two parties who has a significant difference between their ages.

May-December relationship is a type of relationship which is not fully accepted by people. It is a relationship which receives a lot of negative comments from people against it. People draw numerous misconceptions and negative perceptions regarding MDRs. People engaged in a MDR are usually bad-mouthed by other people who find this relationship inappropriate.

Later on this paper, facts about May-December relationship will be presented by the researcher to change people’s misconceptions and negative perceptions about it and to provide the readers the benefits of a May-December relationship.

Benefits of May-December Relationship (MDR)

May-December relationship, though often seen by people as an inappropriate relationship and commonly earn a lot of misconceptions, has its benefits like any other relationships do. Because people are so particular about the negative side of a certain idea like MDR, they are not able see the brighter side of being in a May-December relationship. In a MDR, both women and men are benefitted in many ways.

A.    Benefits of MDR to Old Men

1.      Health

Being in a May-December relationship, old men surely have their own reasons for getting in it. The good news to old men about May-December relationship is that they can actually be benefitted from it. The best benefit they can gain from a MDR they are in is the longer life. Being together with a younger partner can help them live longer.

 Murray Wardrop wrote an article entitled, “Men 'live longer' if they marry a younger woman”. According to this article, men who are marrying women younger than they are, can reduce the risk of an early death from seven to nine years based on the study conducted at Germany's Max Planck Institute.

According to Wardrop’s article, “A man's chances of dying early are cut by a fifth if their bride is between 15 and 17 years their junior. The risk of premature death is reduced by 11 per cent if they marry a woman seven to nine years younger. Scientists say the figures for men may be the result of natural selection – that only the healthiest, most successful older men are able to attract younger mates.” (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/active/mens-health/5426895/Men-live-longer-if-they-marry-a-younger-woman.html#disqus_thread)

In the same article, Sven Drefahl, the Germany;s Max Planck Insititute spokesman said in a statement, “Another theory is that a younger woman will care for a man better and therefore he will live longer.”

Aside from living longer, there are more benefits a May-December relationship can offer to old men. Being physically active can also be achieved by old men if they are in relationship with a younger woman. A woman’s youthful behaviors may be adapted by their old partners, thus making them also feel young.

Olivia Emisar wrote an article entitled, “Benefits of Dating a Younger Woman Dating Younger Women Younger Women Dating Older Men”. In this article, Emisar discussed about the different benefits a May-December relationship can provide old men. These benefits include health, intimacy, and social life.

Young women, being self-conscious are more likely to keep themselves fit and beautifully-looking. With this, they can affect their old partner’s perspective about this aspect thus, keeping the old man’s health in good state. In that article, Emisar said, “Older men who date younger women may see their stress levels and blood pressure hit their optimum levels while enjoying a more positive outlook on life”. (http://www.relating360.com/index.php/benefits-of-dating-a-younger-woman-dating-younger-women-younger-women-dating-older-men-12404/)

2.      Sex and Intimacy

Whether we admit it or not, sex is one of the prime motive of old men to choose a younger woman. It is men’s natural necessity. Though, sex is being used as the number one reason for misconceptions about May-December relationships, it still an aspect wherein older men are benefitted of. Younger women can make older men’s sex life adventurous and exciting, again.

In the same article, according to Emisar, “A younger woman’s libido may be a better match for the man since a younger woman may be more willing to explore fantasies and making them a reality.  Younger woman may shy away from routine and be more open to new ideas”.

3.      Social Life

Old men will learn a lot from their young partners with regard to modern stuff like technology and other trendy ideas, which most probably, he is not aware of. Like his social life, it will be enrich by going with his young partner, together with her friends, this will surely give old men the opportunity to acquire a youthful perspective about life.

Also in that article, Emisar said, “Feeling young is sometimes dependent on the people we surround ourselves with.  Younger people can make us feel relevant, knowledgeable and part of the fiber of life.  Younger people can enrich our lives by filling them with hope, excitement and the promise of what is possible”.

4.      Self-confidence

Lastly, old men can be benefitted through increasing his self-confidence. In the same article, Emisar said, “Dating a younger woman seems to increase men’s self-confidence.  They tend to carry themselves a little straighter while oozing masculinity and confidence”. 

Despite people saying that May-December relationship is an unhealthy relationship, it is literally healthy. Benefits from MDR which old men can gain are really helpful to be able to keep their live at good state. This way, they were able to be with the person they desire, at the same time they were able to keep themselves healthy and renewed. This only proves that May-December relationships can benefit old men in many ways.

B.     Benefits of MDR to Young Women

May-December relationship has a lot to offer to old men but there is a lot more benefits for young women to obtain from being in a MDR. Though what the society dictates is a young woman for a young man, there is no harm of being in a relationship with an older one. In fact, there numerous benefits older men can provide younger women compared to the younger men can do.

1.      Financial Security

Though this is what makes May-December relationship so controversial, it is really a great benefit young women can gain from an older partner.  As it is mentioned earlier, the healthiest and most successful man are able to attract younger mates, definitely the old men can really provide women a better future because of the financial security they can offer, which the younger men cannot.

Timothy Scheiman wrote an article called, “Try Dating Older Men - They Have A Lot to Offer” which provides some of the many benefits a young woman can gain if she is in a MDR.

According to Scheiman, “Not always but older men tend to be more secure financially. They have just had a longer time to work on it. Older men usually have a better work ethic than some younger men.” (http://voices.yahoo.com/try-dating-older-men-they-lot-offer-481261.html?cat=41)

2.      Matured Relationship

Most of the time women seem to be more mature than men. However, we all know that the older you are, the more experiences you have. Therefore, the older your partner, the more knowledgeable and experienced he is. He has already gone through different experiences in life; good or bad. Older men are matured enough in their actions and decisions, as well as in relationships.

There is an article in thetruthfulman.wordpress.com entitled, “Benefits to Dating an Older Guy”. In this article, maturity is included and highlighted here is the talk about family. It is stated in this article that women are more matured than men, and old men are also mature. In some ways, the two parties might have a common goal. Having a family is a big idea to look forward in such relationship and that is the essence of having an older man a partner, he is ready enough to build his own family. Unlike the younger man, an older one is more capable of being a father to suture children.

According to this article, “when you find an older man, you are finding someone who just might be your equal in maturity. You both might have similar goals in the relationship, and by that time in a man’s life he’s probably got similar goals as far as a family goes too. Your pretty boy college boyfriend might not want kids because he’s afraid it’ll cut into his fun with his buddies, while an older man is ready for kids and could actually end up being a father who actually participates in raising the kids.” (http://thetruthfulman.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/benefits-to-dating-an-older-guy/)

3.      Mapped Future

Since older men are already matured, their goals in life comes along with it. It is very beneficial to a younger woman because the man she in relationship with has a goal in life. This is a certainty that the younger woman’s future is secured.

Grace Angel wrote an entry called, “Benefits to Dating an Older Man”. This article mainly talks about, like the other articles, the benefits of being in a MDR to younger women. It is said in this article that women’s future are secured with an older men because these men are has his wants and goals in life that he wanted to achieve.

According to Angel, “Older men also have a clear idea of what they want in life. This is very beneficial to a younger woman because the man she is with has clear career and family goals lined up. Men over the age of thirty are statistically almost fifty percent less likely to leave their marriage and children. This is very beneficial for any woman younger than he is because she will have the security of knowing that he is around to stay for good.” (http://www.relating360.com/index.php/benefits-to-dating-an-older-man-3-13687/)

4.      Responsible

What most women tend to look for in their potential life partner is the characteristic of being a responsible guy, and that is older men have as an advantage. Since older men, as it is mentioned earlier, are matured enough in decisions and actions, then we can say that they are responsible.

In the same article, Angel said, “Older men are less to likely party or drink because they already have their party days behind them. This makes men older than the woman they date seem more responsible. Responsibility is a major turn on for most women. Women need the emotional and mental security of a guy who is stable enough not to party every night and be there for his family.”

Being with an older partner, women’s future is sure to be in good hands. They are financially guaranteed to be secured, they will not get hurt because older partners are more responsible with their actions, as well as decisions. With this in mind, younger women will be comfortable ending up with an older life partner. Talking about money, it is not really a big deal if the old man you are dating is rich enough and capable of providing the younger woman’s needs. Despite of the fact that women in such relationship is usually belittled because of the capability of the older man to provide, being with an older men is really beneficial in many ways, from financially to emotionally.

CHAPTER 3

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY

This paper attempted to discover and explain the benefits of a May-December relationship.

The research design used in this study is the descriptive method wherein data from documents, articles, and other research papers found in the internet were used to answer the research question posed. These are the findings resulted from the research:

1.      May-December relationships are discriminated by people who are unaware of its beneficial contributions to both participants. But there are actually benefits that a May-December relationship can offer that normal relationships cannot provide.

2.      Old men are not after the pleasure and sex that younger women can give. Instead, they are after the youthful presence of their partners that make them feel young as well and the new experiences and ideas young women can give.

3.      Younger women are not directly eyeing older men just for money. These women are looking for a life partner who are matured enough to handle a serious relationship and a man who can provide a good future for her. Younger women are after a man who is responsible enough in his decisions and actions and the one who has a certain goal in life.

CONCLUSION

Based on the findings of this study, the following conclusions are drawn:

1.      May-December relationship is the relationship between two people who has a significant difference in age which results to misconceptions and negative perceptions of other people.

2.      May-December relationships, despite of the misconceptions and negative perceptions about it, have many benefits to provide to both participants involve in it.

3.      Older men benefit from May-December relationships in many ways, namely: health –offers a longer life to live, sex and intimacy, improving social life, and boosting self-confidence.

4.      Young women are showered with benefits from a May-December relationship in terms of financial security, matured relationship, secured future, and partner’s responsibility.

RECOMMENDATIONS

After drawing the conclusions of the study, the researcher hereby make the following suggestions/recommendations:

1.      Old men should choose younger partners because it will really be beneficial for them in many ways.

2.      Young women should be careful in choosing their partners in life; for they do not know if their partner’s intention to them is good or not. Do not be blinded by the benefits, specifically money, old men can provide.

3.      Both old men and young women, specifically those who are looking for someone to be their life partner, should choose the person they really want to be with regardless of their age and status. They should choose partners to whom they will be benefitted and at the same time, beneficial.

4.      Both old men and young women should do something to change other people’s misconception about them when they are in a May-December relationship.

5.      Scholars and future researchers should design a research that will help people be more open about accepting new ideas like May-December relationship. The researcher recommends to future researchers to study deeper about the different benefits a May-December relationship can give. Use this study as a basis for a more concrete study in the future relevant to the same topic as this study.

References:

A.    Electronic Media

Angel, G. (2010, April 29). Benefits to Dating an Older Man. Retrieved from Relating 360: http://www.relating360.com/index.php/benefits-to-dating-an-older-man-3-13687/

Benefits to Dating an Older Guy. (n.d.). Retrieved from thetruthfulman: http://thetruthfulman.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/benefits-to-dating-an-older-guy/

Bruns, D. J. (2011, January 6). The May-December Romance. Retrieved from Psychology Today: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/repairing-relationships/201101/the-may-december-romance

Crossman, A. (2012, July 18). Sociological Definition of the Week: Taboo. Retrieved from About.com: http://sociology.about.com/b/2012/07/18/sociological-definition-of-the-week-taboo.htm

Dillon, R. (2012, November 21). Defending a May-December relationship from the critics. Retrieved from news.com.au: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/older-man-younger-woman-myths/story-fnet0gly-1226520980583

Emisar, O. (2010, June 4). Benefits of Dating a Younger Woman Dating Younger Women Younger Women Dating Older Men. Retrieved from Relating 360: http://www.relating360.com/index.php/benefits-of-dating-a-younger-woman-dating-younger-women-younger-women-dating-older-men-12404/

Gold digger. (n.d.). Retrieved from Merriam-Webster: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gold%20digger

Mark, E. (2013, November 29). Are May December Relationships a Taboo? Retrieved from JolietPatch: http://joliet.patch.com/groups/its-all-about-love-and-relationships/p/are-may-december-relationships-a-taboo

May December Relationship. (n.d.). Retrieved from Urban Dictionary: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=May-December%20relationship

Misconception. (n.d.). Retrieved from Oxford Dictionaries: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/misconception

Perception. (n.d.). Retrieved from Merriam-Webster: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perception

Rafi, S. (2014, January 1). The Pros and Cons of a May-December Love Affair. Retrieved from Thinking Made Easy: http://abcthesis.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-pros-and-cons-of-may-december-love.html?detail=yes

Scheiman, T. (2007, Aug 8). Try Dating Older Men - They Have A Lot to Offer. Retrieved from Yahoo! Voices: http://voices.yahoo.com/try-dating-older-men-they-lot-offer-481261.html?cat=41

Social norm. (n.d.). Retrieved from Encyclopedia Britannica: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/social+norm

Social order. (n.d.). Retrieved from Merriam-Webster: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20order

Vercillo, K. (2012, October 20). The May-December Romance. Retrieved from HubPages: http://kathrynvercillo.hubpages.com/hub/The-May-December-Romance

Wardrop, M. (2009, June 2). Men 'live longer' if they marry a younger woman. Retrieved from The Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/active/mens-health/5426895/Men-live-longer-if-they-marry-a-younger-woman.html#disqus_thread