Bernice & Jaylen; Joie & Trevon; Kim & Pete: Is The Age Gap Taboo Sexist?

Source: Gilbert Carrasquillo / Getty
 
There’s an interesting thing happening in the dating world at the moment, or rather something that’s been going on for quite some time now on the low and finally becoming a bit more accepted. Or has it?
We’re talking about decade-plus age gaps in relationships, and you’d be surprised (or not!) at the amount of older Millennials tapping into the dating pool of legal Gen Zers for more than just advice on TikTok dances. In the entertainment industry, we’ve seen it occur across the spectrum: R. Kelly infamously took things the illegal route, Marques Houston rode the line of barely legal much to the public’s chagrin and even Nia Long raised a few eyebrows when she went viral earlier this year after it was revealed she had a 30-year-old, mother-approved boyfriend as a teenager.
In each of those situations, the picture is painted as an older man using his seniority to manipulate and, in some cases, groom an impressionable young woman into a sexual relationship. Legal or not, the man is always seen as the one with the power, whereas the woman barely has an identity throughout it all. In Long’s case, you can argue that she was both consenting and in control given her age. However, what if the roles are reversed and the woman is older of the two? Does the stigma still, well, sing?
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Most recently, veteran hip-hop model Bernice Burgos made headlines during her 43rd birthday week after it was rumored that her Boston b’day celebration was linked to 26-year-old Celtics shooting guard and rumored boyfriend Jaylen Brown. Their alleged union has been buzzing for close to a year now, being somewhat confirmed back in February when a “bae pic” was accidentally leaked by the photographer.
Staying in the sports world, 24-year-old Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs brought attention to his dating life after being spotted very publicly on many occasions over the past few months loving on Bow Wow’s 34-year-old ex-girl Joie Chavis —  just two years ago she was seen smooching on fiftysomething music mogul Diddy, but that just brings us back to square one. Whew!
Given the gender politics of it all, the question becomes simple: in age gap relationships, are women who date younger men treated differently?
 
 
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While the former two relationships are still on the rumor mill, we’ve see the cougar complex in PDA-approved relationships as well. 48-year-old socialite Larsa Pippin’s relationship with Marcus Jordan, the 32-year-old son of her ex-husband’s world-renowned mortal enemy, moved into marriage talk status not too long ago. Reality TV star Nikki Mudarris, also 32, surprised pretty much everyone a few days ago with a full maternity shoot alongside soon-to-be-baller-babby-daddy LiAngelo Ball, age 24.
A-listers aren’t exempt, either! During the highly-publicized 9-month relationship of Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson (seen above), it rarely if ever was brought up that she was 41 and he was 28. In the same breath, Hollywood icon Leonardo Dicaprio literally has girlfriend charts made about him. Them again, that’s probably more or less benefitting his own aging memory.
It seems the only exception has been none other than hip-hop’s royal couple, Jay-Z and Beyoncé. Looking back now after three kids, a multibillion-dollar empire and just as many fans across the world between the two of them, should judgement have been reserved for 32-year-old Jigga when he, as he told Vanity Fair in 2013, started “just beginning to try to date” a then-19-year-old baby Bey?
 
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