More power to the older women snagging themselves younger men.

And really, what's the big deal? 

My dating experiences in Philadelphia haven't been too successful (hence my writing the SINGLES Guide), and many of my friends are in the same boat.  I'm the youngest in one circle of friends, and while some friends hold out for the low/mid-thirties guys to smarten up and start dating them, a few have gone hunting and snagged themselves guys in their mid-twenties.  And kudos to them--as long as they leave some single guys for me in that age pool.

While there is the age-old argument that women mature faster than men, and my friends bemoan about thirty-somethings acting like immature frat boys, I've seen the older woman/younger man relationship sometimes work BETTER than an older man/younger woman or same age pairing.  Some of these younger guys have their lives together and want to be settled in a serious relationship.  And many of my girlfriends are looking for exactly that--hence the success of the cougarific relationships some of my friends have.  On the flipside, the friends that are just casually dating tend to go for the younger guys who just want to have fun.  Also a sucessful outcome (until one person decides they want to settle down--but that's for another column on another day).

Point is, a relationship works if both people are invested and want to make it work, whether it's a younger guy and older girl, two guys, two girls, an older guy and younger girl, or two people of the same age.  Dating in this city is hard enough.  The more restrictions you put on a guy/girl, the more single you are making yourself because you will NEVER meet someone who fits all that criteria.  Leave the checklist at home and just enjoy yourself when you go out.  Ladies, if a nice guy mans up and asks you to dinner, just say yes.  As long as he's old enough to order a drink at the bar and avoids the fast food joints, go with it.  And dudes, if a hot girl comes up and starts chatting with you and you find out that she's older, just go with it!  Chances are that if she looks young for her age, she'll keep looking young for her age throughout adulthood. 

And is anyone else addicted to the trainwreck that is The Cougar on vh1?  I can't stop myself from watching it.  Check it out if you haven't.