In today’s society, there are many different types of relationships – same-sex couples, interracial couples, and couples with an age gap. Most people tend to assume that romantic partners are close in age; however, there are a number of couples with a large age gap. In Western societies, these relationships, commonly known as “May-December romances,” are often occur between older males and younger females, though the reverse can occur as well (i.e., a relationship between older females and younger males). There is, however, a double standard that is seen in age-gap couples. Typically, older men and younger women couples are regarded as more conventional, whereas younger men and older women couples are considered more unorthodox. We expect men …show more content…
Traditionally, the media tells us that men are supposed to go to work whereas women stay home in order to cook, clean, and watch children. Television shows, such as I Love Lucy and George Lopez, often depict female characters as the person in charge of taking care of the housework and children while male characters went to work. By enforcing these gender roles, women believe that they should stay home and thus, be more inclined to look for men who could provide for them (these men typically being older). Men, also believing these gender roles, will look for a domestic partner. Younger women and older men would pair together because this arrangement is consistent with the traditional provider-homemaker arrangement. These gender roles help create the double standard in age-gap relationships. Couples who do not follow the traditional roles (e.g., older women and younger males in a relationship) are seen as unusual. People think that they are in the relationship because they have something to gain.
Similar to the evolutionary perspective, this framework also does not take into account same-sex couples. If the two parties are of the same sex, it seems that gender roles may not be able to explain why there are age gaps in