When they say you have "Daddy issues"

I have been reading a lot online about younger women having daddy issues when falling in love with an older man and I wanted to set the record straight. As a writer that tends to pair a younger woman with an older man in their late forties or fifties in my romance novels, I thought this would be an excellent topic to bring up in this blog.

Let's start from the beginning, where I will be as blunt as ever.  I like older men. They could easily be twenty years older me and I will still be lusting after them. It's been this way since I was sixteen years old, and over a decade later it still hasn't changed. God, there is something about them. No, this isn't some illusive fantasy. There is something about the way they carry themselves. Their confidence and protective nature. The way they walk and dress themselves. They lived long enough to feel comfortable in their own skin, and don't give two shits what anyone else thinks about them. They have a secure job, somewhat established, and when it is time to look for a woman they have a good idea of what they want.

The thing about older men is they age like wine. Their body fills out, and they no longer have those thin, lanky looking body that they tend to sport in their teenage years. Facial hair starts to become thicker, their face begin to have lines and more defined features. The baby face is gone, and lo and behold they have this sexy looking face that is too hard to resist. I haven't even mentioned the greys yet, though I have found that is either a hit or miss for some women. Perhaps it is a preference, but the touch of grey in their facial hair and heaven forbid a streak of silver decorating their temples will always be a weakness.

Now as you can imagine school was a bore, it was more interesting to look at the teachers or professor than it was my own classmates. Boys my age did nothing but chase after girls their age for sex, and don't get me wrong for I know the older ones will do that too. The difference is the older men take their time doing it. They like to do the things the old-fashioned way, maybe because they have so much experience dating over the years that it is almost second-nature now.

Over the years I have thankfully discovered that I am not the only one sexually attracted to older men. Unfortunately, we are type cast as women that have "Daddy issues." The women I have met that prefer older men do not have issues with their fathers. Many of them, including myself have a relatively good relationship with them, and believe it or not we do not have the "Lolitia" complex either. This issue can be easily be resolved when you look at it from a new perspective, and that is maturity level. It is well know that men mature a lot slower than women. This is fairly evident for anyone that has ever went to school. While the girl is busy learning the alphabet and spelling out her name. it is the boy that is using lego to build a structure. Fast-forward a few years later while a student is learning about geometry with her classmates, it is usually the boy that is busy playing with their toy action figure that they brought from home. Girls have a longer attention span for the most part and extraordinary patience. For men these things come with time, and that means later in their adolescence. Therefore, when it comes time for a young teenage girl to develop a crush on someone it might not always be a boy, but a man that is ten or maybe even twenty years their senior. This is a common issue, something I have discovered when discussing the prevalent term of "Daddy issues" online. Fortunately, we women have learned to claimed this term as our own. We accept it, love it, and will gladly call our man "Daddy" if you'd let us. For some of us it is a kink, and for others it is just their thing. We like older men. We want to feel protected, loved, and cherished by them. If they happened to be older, it will undoubtedly cause some problems in our relationship, but one thing is certain- love is love, and whoever you are attracted to should not be an issue. As long as it's a healthy relationship where both partners respect each other, age should not matter.

For those women that have been perceived differently because they have a thing for older men, I would encourage you to pay the "haters" no mind. Society would like us to ideally be with a man two to three years older than us, but the thing is we cannot let society determine the perfect age for us to be matched too. At some point we have to make a decision that is best for us. We have to follow our heart (and our head) and decide whether this person is best for us. It won't be all rainbows and sunshine when dating an older man, but if they make you feel happy, worshipped, and loved then I say go for it! Go pursue that man of your dreams! People will talk, but if your friends and family truly love you, they will understand your decision to date a man that is significantly older then you. Remember, it has nothing to do with "Daddy issues," it is about following your own heart.