Present wrote:A younger man would be like 22 or something and barely out of university? Ciyaal
Tbh, our dhaqan is harsh when it comes to this; I know a girl who married someone about 3-5 years younger his family was upset and tried to sabotage the wedding...but it all worked out alhamdulilah.
It's harsh indeed. Thankfully, the Somali culture isn't alone on this one.
With regards to the study: if this study examined "short-to-medium-term relationships" while excluding "marriage relationships" then I can totally see why a younger man would be interested in a slightly older woman, and why an older woman would be interested in a younger man. When we're not talking long-term relationships, all things matter very little except the physical.
Generally speaking, men prefer younger women and women prefer older men. But on too many occasions, I've seen 30-40+ folks (men and women) behave and think like grade school children. On the flip side, I've come across kids just out of high school that exude maturity and wisdom. We've all come across these phenomena at one time or another. Maturity, wisdom, and a good heart are so important to me, so on the rare occasion that a woman combines these three traits, I've got no qualms about breaking with our cultural norm, she can be years older than me. Somali women are gorgeous and tend to age well anyway. But all things being equal, I prefer a younger woman, as do most men. And most women prefer older men.