Men get less picky over the age of a sexual partner the older they get - but both sexes actually prefer older partners as they mature
- Women were found to prefer slightly older men, but interested in narrower range
- Men found to be interested in both younger and older women as they age
- But, their sexual activity actually reflects their own age, the researchers say
It’s been thought that men and women develop vastly different sexual preferences as they age, with women alone being more interested in an older partner.
In a new study, however, researchers found that this isn’t entirely true.
While men are more likely to maintain an interest in younger individuals as they get older, as suspected, researchers found that the difference is much smaller than previously believed.
The new analysis revealed men’s preferred age range widens over time, and they too consider sex with a partner their age or older – and are more likely to act on it than with a younger interest.
It’s been thought that men and women develop vastly different sexual preferences as they age, with women alone being more interested in an older partner. In a new study, however, researchers found that this isn’t entirely true. A stock image is pictured
In the new study, published in the journal Evolutionary Psychology, researchers conducted an online survey among people aged 18-49 living in Finland.
There was a total of 2,676 individuals in the final sample, which included responses from homosexual, bisexual, and heterosexual participants.
‘We expected to find patterns similar to previous studies showing that women’s youngest and oldest considered sex partners are strongly associated with their own age,’ the authors explain in the paper.
‘For men, however, we expected that only the oldest considered age would be strongly associated with their own age, but that the youngest considered age would show a weaker association with their own age.’
The researchers found that the suspicions were only partly true.
Throughout their lives, men and women are typically interested in partners close to their own age, according to the study.
Women were found to prefer slightly older men, but were interested in a much narrower age range then male participants were.
And while men may be interested in both younger and older women, their sexual activity actually reflects their own age, the researchers say.
Throughout their lives, men and women are typically interested in partners close to their own age, according to the study. Women were found to prefer slightly older men, but were interested in a much narrower age range then male participants were. Stock image
The age limits observed in the survey were similar across all of the sexual orientations included in the study, within both sexes.
But, homosexual men were found to be more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to turn a preference for a younger partner into actual sexual behaviour.
‘The results of this study indicate that men’s and women’s sexual age preferences develop differently,’ the authors wrote.
‘As women grow older, age limits regarding both younger and older sex partners follow their own aging.
‘As men grow older, they become interested in older individuals but maintain an interest in younger individuals.’
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