I felt as if I were reading a horoscope or something written to stretch and cover all kinds of age differences. Eveything but the truth that is. A man who lives with his parents into his 30ies is the same category as a man who has moved out in his teens. This is categorized as having parent problems.

Ten years is not a tremendous difference in age. I have friends (women) who have married men 19 to 25 years their senior. That is a generational difference. Hard one to bridge. You don't share the same songs, the same dance steps growing up, the same values even.

There is also the demographics of the baby boom. When I was young, all my friends were younger than me. There were so many more of the boomers than us born just before the boom. I always dated men from 2 to 10 years younger than I was, for they were abundant whereas men a few years older than me were scarce to non existent. The preceding generation had antiquated ideas about a woman's role. They were the "while you were up, get me a Grant's dear" generation. I could not relate to them whereas the younger men were a lot more like me.

YAAAAAAAAAAWN.

I'm really hot and men like to sleep with me. Once it was older men, now it's younger, which means it's basically been the same age range my whole life. I think this is significant and if you don't, well, I've got a book contract and you don't.

>>Shorter Ann Marlowe

I'm really hot and men like to sleep with me. Once it was older men, now it's younger, which means it's basically been the same age range my whole life. I think this is significant and if you don't, well, I've got a book contract and you don't.

-- softdog>>

yeah, thanks softdog. I can cut it every further (I can name that tune in 3 notes):

"memememememememememememe"

Guess that covers it.

Salon's gone as mainstream as Madison Avenue (Sex Sells) and that's not a cheery thought.

BTW, I'm not a paying subscriber. Used to be, before I got laid off. I still forward links to Salon articles I respect everywhere. And who knows how many of my friends and acquaintances do subscribe?

I wish Salon had more respect for readers' protests about dull thinking and dull writing. Whether those readers are employed and have spare money for subscriptions, or simply loyal and persistent...despite the editorial deafness.

It's nice to learn from this author that all of my intergenerational romances with women and men are about my yearning and search for "traditional, intact society." Thanks! Here I thought it was about the pleasures of the flesh and mind; hot, willing partners; playing with power dynamics; and the kick of flaunting cultural taboos. But no, I guess it's just because there is a high divorce rate after all.

But when the author idealizes the "patriarchal moorings" of "traditional societies [where] age and gender roles are well-defined, and children and parents of whatever ages live together...in relative harmony," she should exclude from her argument those societies which have institutionalized arranged marriage, polygamy, dowry, incest, prostitution, or any of the dozen other little ways older men have had their ways with younger women over the years. What I think she'll find is that sex and romance between the differently aged has always been around. What's new today is that the younger partners may enter into it as willing equals - or perhaps superiors.

You may have been hot at one time. Now you are not. You are past your expiration date. If indeed you weren't so self-absorbed perhaps men would continue to find you interesting and wish to be with you on many levels rather than treat you as a "booty call", which is what you have become (if you weren't already that when in your 20's), and relegated you (when you started with younger men) to "cougar" status. Remember, women in this plane are merely a easy target for young men (such as myself) to get sex without much effort or work on our part and be able to toss you around like a rag doll and leave before the sun comes up the next day. We only have sex with you because it is easy, not because you are hot. The girls our age are hot, you are not. Something to think about.

And she does not pass for being hot. I am confused as to where she received this information? Who told she was or did she delude herself?

Was this originally an article for Cosmo? Or maybe Jane? Please stop running this dreck, I can't take the pain!

I see that Marlowe is also the author of a memoir about heroin addiction. As we should have learned by now from the James Frey, there's one thing to keep in mind when reading a memoir written by an addict: addicts always lie.

So you're having sex with girls and bragging about it! No wonder you think a woman has passed her expiration date, for there is always younger flesh for you to get off on. Wait until their parents get a hold of your perverted little ass.

Ordinarily I would agree with the criticism of the self-centered confessional style of writing that occasionally seems to obscure the better aspects of Salon like drifting snow. I even think that the criticism of Marlowe's article for addressing as radical a topic that certainly is nothing new (even in the recent past: my parents and many of my friends' parents and grandparents paired intergenerationally, often with the woman being the senior member of the match).

However, I would like to add to the general sniping that I found Marlowe's writing style engaging enough to accomodate these shortcomings. She has a dreamy, fluid prose that makes for pleasant rumination on the topic at hand. Not saying that I would rush out to buy the book, but it was a decent excerpt to run in Salon.

And a brief note to the other letter writers: while I realize this is a public forum, you are most definitely at liberty to ignore individuals who post utterly riduculous invective. Doing so tends to elevate the discourse by a modest degree.