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  1. These little pretentious

    These little pretentious queens posting on here crack me up about older men and their so-called predatory behavior.  As if they're any different than younger guys cruising the bars and hitting on everything that moves.   I'm in my 40s, and while I don't go out that much, when I do, I get hit on more by 20-somethings than I did when I was in my 20s.  And it's not because I'm rich, because I'm not.  If you really feel that threatened by an older guy, and want to be an a** about it, you should be thankful anyone wants anything to do with you in the first place.

  2. [-]



    Wait … another thirty years of life, love and loss, will teach them that older men, with their greater life experience, and the sensitivity that grows out of it, are sexier than some twenty-something ever will be … leave tha bland, muscle and money, comic-book movie, clothing and video game obsessed generation to each other.
    By the way … I'm 71 and still get hit on over the net by young men .. fortunately I prefer my fat, old, intellectually fascinating and sensuous boyfriend, (soon to. be Hubby).
    To be fair, a proportion of those young men do not fall into the group that was described in the opinion piece … they are thoughtful, cultured engaged and not at all like the bimbos described, which gives room for optimism.

  3. To the gay millennials who

    To the gay millennials who have no clue of what life was like in the 70s and 80s. Coming out of the closet then meant humiliation, scorn and even physical harm. As difficult as this was, we had to identify as gay men and women to begin “normalizing” those in our communities.  Before we came out, heterosexuals saw us as the other, evil side.  Only after we began to emerge did they begin to see us as their sons/daughters, brothers/sister, uncle/aunts, and other loved ones in their community.  Our courage to openly identify in the 70s and 80s, at great personal risk, was revolutionary for gay rights and deserves respect laid the groundwork for the rights you enjoy today. 

    To the older gay population, please don’t be hypocritical, when you were the same age as these millennials, you no doubt, also engaged in the same behaviors.  I don’t recall my peers in their teens and twenties very welcoming to anyone over the age of 30. Many will claim to be an exception to this ageism but I hope you can honestly assess your own biases when we were young. 

    • I came out in 1983.  We didn

      I came out in 1983.  We didn’t have the luxury of ageism because everyone around us was dying.  Young and old it made no difference.  We were far too busy caring for the sick, raising money and praying for a cure to engage in things that petty and worthless.  I was diagnosed in 1987.  I lost nearly all of my friends.  Boys in their 20’s to my mentors 40 and up.  I got lucky but millions did not.  For anyone to say we were possessed of ludicrous petty ageism in those times is wholly without merit.  We were scared, under assault, persecuted, discriminated against and reviled.  Parents were disowning sick children, and worse often refused to claim their bodies. We huddled together without thought for age or looks or anything else because we only had each other.  Kids today haven’t a clue what those days were like, nor do they comprehend or respect the unity it invoked which in turn spurred voices and activism that gave them the rights and privileges they take for granted now.  I’m long past the age of gay invisibility now and it doesn’t bother me.  In large part the youth of today are far too self-obsessed, vapid, insipid and ungrateful to waste my time knowing them.  

      • Your bitter evaluation of the

        Your bitter evaluation of the younger generation only exposes your true sentiments: you are angry, condescending, self-aggrandizing, patronizing, and jealous of the success of younger people because they got it but you never have. As long as you continue to see yourself and your generation as the victim of the system and continue to harbor the delusional view that somehow the achievements of younger generation are to your credit, your life will be filled with misery and resentment. 

        • Yawn   Such drivel. We were

          Yawn   Such drivel. We were victims of a viscous disease and heinous discrimination.  In the face of which WE, not you, fought back and WON!  You enjoy the fruits of those labors in the rights you enjoy today.  I don’t however expect thanks from your ilk.  There is no hope for you.  You’ve done nothing and won’t.  It’s obvious your incapable.  Now be gone angry little boy.  You have no powers here.  

        • “you are angry, condescending

          "you are angry, condescending, self-aggrandizing, patronizing, and jealous"

          This coming from some pseudo-intellectual twat.   Like anyone from the older generation is going to cast aside everything they know, and have learned and experienced because some nitwit twink, whose only frame of reference about LGBT history is probably YouTube, thinks he knows everything,  And trust me, sweetie.  NO ONE is jealous of you.

  4. As a gay man who came out at

    As a gay man who came out at age 50, i have gotten those why are you here at your age looks .it doesn't bother me at all. Its expected of you to want a younger guy, but that's not always the case. I have 2 children and besides, why would a man of any age want to pay for sex with a younger boy who thinks he's all that, but is really only a 3 on a scale of 10, 10 being the best.

    Young men today are selfish, arangant and like their str8 counterparts  want everything for nothing.

    • Agreed. And they will cede

      Agreed. And they will cede the rights so many fought and died for in their laziness and arrogance.  

  5. CastleSF seems to be one of

    CastleSF seems to be one of the hateful youth.  Not many see older men as  he does,  thank goodness however its castleSF and those like him that fail entirely too understand what older people went through so he could spout his hateful speech.  

  6. Do we need to respect older

    Do we need to respect older queer individuals and recognize their fight for equality? Absolutely.

    Do we need to be forced to have sex with people our parents age? No.

    You can respect people without desiring them sexually. I'm 23. I wouldn't want to sleep with someone who is 43, just as they wouldn't want to sleep with someone who is 63. It's natural to want to date close to your age. When someone old enough to be my parent approaches me in a sexual or romantic context, there are power factors at play that I don't want to participate in. When I'm 43, I won't be approaching people 20 years younger than me because it isn't fair to them.

    Would we write a piece telling younger women that they're "age shaming" when they don't want to entertain men several years their senior? No? Then it's not okay to do with men either.

    • Tom Daley is 23 and DLB is 43

      Tom Daley is 23 and DLB is 43, so some young men do like older men. I think a lot of age shaming is due to insecurity. Older men who go to bars to pick up younger men are probably trying to prove to themselves they still have it. Likewise, there are young guys who are certain every older man lusts for them and there’s a good chance they’re not. In Boston we have a great place that is a bar/restaurant, all ages, all ethnicities, lots of people having a great time. It is more a date destination or a place for friends, but there is none of the nonsense of the bar scene.

    • Agreed. I’ll go even farther:

      Agreed. I'll go even farther: it's  okay not to even want to talk to someone. I think the point of this article is that we should respect one another without being patronizing or belittling.

      Back in the day, I learned the first reaction to have whenever anyone — old or young — hit on me: to admire his taste in men. That first reaction has stood me in good stead even now when guys searching for a daddy and who could pass as my grandson hit on me.

    • Mmmmhm. Imma look for you in

      Mmmmhm. Imma look for you in 20 years and see who you’re tryin to get with… same story, different cast.

    • Just wait!  I guarantee you

      Just wait!  I guarantee you will change your tune.

      I am 64 and prefer men my age, yet I am amazed at how many young men in their 20s desire me and find me "hot!"  I am flattered and yes, sometimes I take them home and teach them a thing or two! LOL

    • The article wasn’t

      The article wasn't necessarily all about wanting to have sex with older guys.  That being said, from my experience, guys like you who say they only want to be sexually involved with people around their age, grow up to be 30-, 40-, 50-something who still only want to sleep with guys your age.

    • “I’m 23. I wouldn’t want to

      "I'm 23. I wouldn't want to sleep with someone who is 43."


      Here's a newsflash.  Not all 43 year-olds want to get with you.  It's not all about you, dear.  And your time is coming.  Wait until about 5 years from now, when you're going to be told you're "too old" from someone.  It does happen and it will happen.

    • What is unfair about a older

      What is unfair about a older guy hitting on a younger guy?  That doesn't even make sense.  Had it not been for older guys hitting on me when I was in my twenties, I would have probably never got laid.  I met a lot of really great, not to mention hot guys in their 30s and 40s when I was about your age.  They were really the only guys who would talk to me.  Most of the guys around my age at that time would just stand against the wall and stare and hiss at each other (now they just stare at their smartphones).

      Now I am in my late 40s.  My husband is 17 years younger than me,  We met 5 years ago.  And guess what:  I didn't pursue him—he pursued me (and before you say he was probably looking for a sugar daddy, he actually makes more than I do).  I was at first uncomfortable about the age difference (mostly due to the insecurity young guys like you have given me about being older), and wanted to end it.  Thankfully he didn't care about the age difference; he didn't even ask how old I was when we met.  So if you think it's really unfair to him that I'm with him, I would love to see you tell him that.

  7. Anyone who thinks that we

    Anyone who thinks that we older gay man are hitting on them because we're at the same bar as they are and/or are trying to converse with them: don't flatter yourself.

    Our main reasons for going to bars are to socialize, to listen to music, to enjoy the eye candy, and/or to enjoy a few (hopefully, well-made) drinks. Candidly, I don't care what people who don't know me think about me. That's how I made it this far with disapproving heteros and it's how I react to gay youngsters who think/say that I'm old and gross without knowing what I've done with my life.

    • Wh do you think you are that

      Wh do you think you are that you can speak for all old gay guys at the bar? You may go there to enjoy yourselves but plenty of them go to a bar to terrorize or seduce young men. Often they don't take a polite no for an answer because they know that if they are persistent, some inexperienced young men will fall for their tricks. 

      • I am better qualified to

        I am better qualified to speak for the vast majority of us old farts than you are; that's who I am.

      • “but plenty of them go to a

        "but plenty of them go to a bar to terrorize or seduce young men."

        You sound a bit terrorizing yourself.  Quite a mental case, you are

  8. The author in his delusional

    The author in his delusional state of mind keeps saying that all the progress has been made because of the older gays. Yes there is progress but it has happened in spite of the old gays not because of them. This idea of "gay elders" and their deserving better dating chances is wholly repugnant. 

    • Have you ever heard of

      Have you ever heard of Stonewall? Harvey Milk? While I would agree not every gay man over 40 was in the forefront or made history, to say progress happened in spite of them is ridiculous. 

      • Maybe the progress could be

        Maybe the progress could be attributed to a very small number of older gays but the old guy you spot that is still hanging out at the bar is not one of them.

        • Have you surveyed gay bars

          Have you surveyed gay bars across the country and asked all patrons over 45 what they did to support gay rights, or if their actions did thwart them? If you asked in Massachusetts, you do realize that the safe school program is over twenty years old and those who proposed it are in their 60’s and 70’s, and the same holds true for the marriage pioneers, and most of the young people in a Boston gay bar would have been in elementary school when it passed? 

          • A small number of gay patrons

            A small number of gay patrons at gay bars may have supported some gay rights. Big deal? So now they deserve special treatments? My point is that everyone deserves our basic respect but the old gay guys are not "elders". They are no more or no less wiser than the younger generation.

  9. If a middle aged straight man

    If a middle aged straight man was hitting on young girls in a bar, would we feel the same way? Probably not. While many couples meet in bars, most of the gay couples I know where there is a significant age gap did not meet in bars. They share a common interest and the relationship develops. Also, just because a man is middle aged does not mean he is has wealth of knowledge and wisdom about being gay and the battle for gay rights. If the scene from Will and Grace happened at a museum, library or maybe a Starbucks, that would be one thing, but a bar? I love to share back in the days stories and hear them too, but in a bar? As a history teacher I can tell you, many young people today are more historically literate than the previous generation. Add to this, lots of people like to say they were there in the battle for gay rights, AIDS awareness, etc. Those of us who were there remember smaller numbers and leaders speaking about apathy. 

  10. Isn’t it homophobic

    Isn't it homophobic stigmatising a whole type of people of age shaming older men? It is just an episode of a sitcom; not real life. You don't know every homosexual man on this Earth and their way of thinking.

    Stop assuming homosexual people form an illusionary community when most don't know each other. One thing is sharing the opinion of fighting homophobia, but that doesn't mean younger ones owe older ones dating chances.

    And it is not like young heterosexual people don't exclude older heterosexual people.






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