i haven't had a lover older than i am since i was married, i don't think... and the ages of my lovers vary from 4 to 29 years younger... but it occurs to me that whats different about me also is that my lovers are often from different cultures...

for instance, when i lived in thailand, i had a boyfriend from west africa who was 20 years younger.. he wanted to get married, and when i asked what his mother would think about that, he said he thought she'd have no problem at all, like it was a non-issue... i didn't know if that was because in his culture, it didnt' matter, or if my being an american just trumped any issue with ages.

now, i'm in the early stages with a new thai lover, who i haven't spent all that much time with... i spend a few months there a year, and while i have great thai friends, this is my first experience with a thai lover -- he is a magical man, totally my type, and pursued me with very strong intention... he's 37, and i told him i'm much older (totally willing to say how much if he asked) and he said age is no problem at all, so we didn't talk numbers, because it didnt' seem important. later, though, when i told him my daughter is almost 30, i felt him recoil a bit, and told me he thought i was 40... and i realized that culturally, me being older might be more of an issue for him than it would be for me.

i'm curious what other people's experiences are with relationships with people from different cultures, and what the view about age differences are. do you see any difference depending on someone's culture, family background, race, religion, anything that you can put your finger on?