There, the “dirty rich old man” is being exploited for his money, while the “gold-digging bimbo” is being exploited for her traditionally-attractive looks as a “trophy wife”. However, even straight relationships can be “ looked down on” if there is a big age difference between the partners. We know that, despite marriage equality, gay relationships do not have the social validation in lots of ways that heterosexual couples do, which is why heterosexual privilege in society is a real thing.
The other question that’s also common is about how to handle an age difference in a relationship.Īge differences in gay relationships add another layer of potential stigma to gay relationships. Among these are questions about gay relationship situational difficulties that have to do with where and how we live, such as my previous article on gay men coping with a long-distance relationships. As a very long-term (28 years) specialist in therapy for gay men, I’m asked often for gay men’s relationship advice, especially how to overcome some of the most common and classic challenges in gay relationships.
