T H E_.H O T_.S P O T Erotic wasteland By Susie Bright With bad sex at home and pseudosex on TV, America is one frustrated nation (03/05/99)   How-to, why-not and what-for -- find it all at barnesandnoble.com Search by:  Keyword Title Author     R E C E N T L Y Will the real Jeff Stryker please rise? By Jeff Stryker Jeff Stryker on Jeff Stryker: My doppelganger is a sex god (03/18/99) Enchanted forest By Reed Hearne A man takes us behind the tropical bushes into the land of gay cruising, where two worlds coexist without ever touching (03/11/99) Rub me tender By Jon Bowen A reformed frotteurist explores the roots of his long-lost fetish (03/04/99) Doctor's orders By Janelle Brown In the wake of a new Alabama law declaring vibrators illegal, a provocative new book, "The Technology of Orgasm," sheds light on the perversely puritanical evolution of the feminine joystick (02/25/99) Dr. Block's little house of sexual horrors By Carol Lloyd A grotesque L.A. event proves that when it comes to being unsexy, it's really hard to beat sex (02/18/99) - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Urge archives - - - - - - - - - -		Why is it taboo for women to date younger men? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - BY GENTRY LANE My last boyfriend had a paunch, a hairline deep in recession and a penis the exact size and shape of a golf pencil. He was jaded, insensitive and emotionally immature. But I cherished him as if he were made of gold. Why? Because he was available. As the dating pool evaporates before my very eyes, I've watched my criteria for potential datables wax and wane as well. Initially, I was searching for my sensitive soul mate. But I found myself settling for anyone with a steady job and at least two out of three forms of insurance (life, medical, car). I have a rich and fulfilling life, so why do I keep dating losers? Because when the nights are cold and I'm home alone, cuddling up with my pride doesn't cut it. A woman has needs. Rumor has it that women reach the apex of their sexual prime around age 35, with things picking up a few years before. This theory may be linked to a hormonal rush that women experience about the same time. It's a primal urge and last-ditch attempt at reproduction. Hormonal sabotage, one could say. My biological clock must be digital, because I have yet to hear the ticking. My loins may be screaming "procreate," but by the time the message gets to my brain, it's been watered down to a mere "copulate." I just moved to France, and in the month prior to quitting the United States, I had a little hedonistic fun-fest. Among other atrocities I gleefully committed, I had an affair with a 22-year-old lad (eight years my junior). Nice and discreet, the romance was surprisingly satisfying. Plus he's Tallulah Bankhead's grandnephew, so at least he hails from scandalous stock. I was impressed with my conquest and wanted to brag to my friends about his virility, stamina and Calvin Klein underwear ad-worthy abs. But I hesitated. Why subject myself to judgment and the potential humiliation of being labeled a cradle robber? It was a casual fling, I told myself. Certainly not a predicament I would repeat. I wouldn't date a 22-year-old, even when I was 22. There is an unwritten rule that women subconsciously memorize and strive for: Suitors are supposed to be three to five years older. What mystery advantage men gain in a three-to-five-year age difference is beyond me. The technical number of years is actually arbitrary, but the rule is set in stone: older man, younger woman. N E X T+P A G E | Why can't women date down?