Lamenting Man's Love Of Younger Women, A Form Of Self-Flattery Not Only Born In Evolutionary Science

Illustration by Mona Chalabi. Source: “Dataclysm” by Christian Rudder.

Mona Chalabi's 'I Want My 2.3 Bonus Years' op-ed for Sunday's New York Times is a bit tongue in cheek. Chalabi reflects on not being a fun first date, being a woman wanting a husband and family. The man who shrugs off commitment, even though he has a few gray hairs, strikes her as "wild arrogance."

This arrogance has, as I see it, two main causes — one, a belief that their spermatozoa are good for a very long time, indeed, and two, a belief that they could get a younger woman if they wanted to. Let me examine the evidence for each of those male beliefs; fertility first.

With that introduction, Chalabi delivers the message: Your sperm is not immortal. In fact, even though male sperm do decline in vitality with age, all the studies of age-driven female fertility do not control for the age of the male. NOW THAT IS RESEARCH BIAS!!!!

Agreeing that most research on OkCupid's dating site confirms that men are communicating with younger women, the question is how much younger. Men actually flatter themselves that even at age 50 -- and not being wealthy -- they can have a 25-year-old partner if they choose. This male preference for younger women definitely impacts the pool of men available to Chalabi herself. 

There are no answers to Chalabi's lament. But these sometimes fatal flaws in the assumptions of evolutionary science -- one's that don't account for human vanity and ego needs -- have her stewing mightily in this Times essay.