not to hop in on the Hottest Discourse but:
age gaps arenāt inherently bad between adults, but they are incredibly suspect in instances where one party has significantly more agency and experience due to their age. a thirty year old dating a forty year old, for instance, isnāt all that big a deal. but an eighteen year old should be VERY suspicious of a thirty year old wanting to get with them. theyāve had twelve years to establish themselves as an adult. an eighteen year old has had maybe a few months to do so.
iām saying this as a person who briefly dated a thirty year old at age 19 (it wasnāt good lol), and also as a person with happily married parents who have a 12 year age gap. the difference is that my mom was in her thirties when she met my dad; sheād had plenty of time to find a career and a name for herself in the world.
stay safe, love urself, try to make good decisions but donāt beat yourself up if youāve ever been the victim of an unbalanced or abusive relationship
Notice how often itās a much older man with a young woman, even in all their āhealthyā examples šø āļø
