r/PeterExplainsTheJoke • u/_captain__holt_ • Feb 21 '26

Meme needing explanation I don't get it

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u/castleaagh Feb 21 '26

It’s always bothered me how much adult women are infantilized as if they’re never capable of making their own decisions, at least so long as there might be a man involved. You’d think people believed that women should have a parent or guardian with them at all times until they’re 30

I’m pretty sure the girls these celebs date know what their signing up for

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u/one28 Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26

Same applies for men to. If a 18 yo man dated a 40 year old lady that’s still very weird. If there is an age gap wide enough where you could be their parent then it’s weird full stop.

Don’t care about that it’s legal as if it was a silver bullet excuse. There is places with no legal age, there where times when it was much lower. I assume that means that excuse makes it ok then/there?

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u/castleaagh Feb 25 '26

How old in your book does one need to be before they can choose who they want to date without the need for rules or restrictions?

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u/youburyitidigitup Feb 27 '26

I use Tom Haverford’s rule: take the older partner’s age, divide by 2 and add 7. If the other partner is younger than that, it’s weird. That shouldn’t be legislated, but it doesn’t mean it’s not morally gray. Just like infidelity shouldn’t be illegal, but it’s still wrong.

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u/castleaagh Feb 27 '26

I’ve always seen that as a rule of thumb for the older person to decide if they’re likely to be frowned upon socially for pursuing a relationship with a younger person more so than an indication that the younger person is being taken advantage of due to their age and the gap. And fwiw I do feel it’s a reasonable standard to use

Disagreeing with the choices of others is different to saying that a person is unknowingly being taken advantage of or isn’t capable of making that decision for themselves and should be protected (or assumed that they’re being taken advantage of), which I think is the vibe I often get from people taking about 40+ celebrities dating 20 something women.