There are no good old days. That's not to say people didn't have their share of fun and laughter but any attempt to idealize another time period does not do the people who lived thru it any favors. Duke Ellington once wrote a song entitled "Things Ain't What They Used To Be". For countless mature women who lived thru those times in our culture, the reply is probably a resounding "Hooray!"

It was not an easy world back then for women particularly those who had no desire to have their destiny pre ordained. They did what they wanted to do and in far too many occurrences bared the full brunt of society's disapproval.

That was then. This is now. There can be no question that things have improved for the better for women although there is still a ways to go. One of those is the older woman younger man relationship. It still has not been fully embraced like its counterpart older men younger women and as such still has to deal with a lot of misconceptions along with trivial questions which should have dealt with years ago.

For example should an older woman tell a younger guy her age? Some of this is a holdover from another era but it still causes quite a bit of awkwardness and uncertainty.

You do not have to go around carrying a banner with your birth date on it. But if the subject does come up between you and an younger guy then the answer is yes for a couple of reasons

1. Honesty

If you want to build a relationship any relationship the last thing you want to do is start it with a lie. You may think its trivial matter to shave a few years off here and there but it says in essence that you don't believe this guy will keep being interested if he knows how old you are. The fact that he approached you and continues to try and connect with you says he is interested.

However he may not be anymore if he finds out you lied to him. He may figure that if you are lying about that then what else are you not telling the truth about?

2. Impressive

Upon first glance he thinks you are hot. As he gets closer he realizes he was wrong. You are not hot you are thermo nuclear. Yowza!

Telling him your age is going to astound him even more. A beautiful attractive mature woman who obviously takes pride in her appearance and does a fantastic job taking care of herself. How can he not be impressed?

3. Unashamed

There is no turning back the clock or sitting around and wishing you could be twenty one again. Those days are gone. Telling him your age means you have confidence in who you are. You are telling him in point blank here you are, take it or leave it. If he has a problem with that then that's his problem not yours. However you can take it to the bank that many young guys will have no trouble at all.

Having said this, in some ways the old adage still applies that it is up to a lady's discretion to decide whether she wants to reveal her age. That goes for younger and older women. It may seem like one of those old fashioned ideas that represent a long departed era but for many women it is not.

What it does not mean however is hiding how old you are out of embarrassment or fear or anything else that gets you to question yourself. You've earned who you are. The fact that a younger man finds you attractive and interesting means he agrees.