Masuk Free Press

There is a trope that keeps making a resurgence no matter how problematic it may be, and that trope is the age gap romance. From Pretty Woman in 1990 to the television series Pretty Little Liars in the 2010s to the 2018 film Call Me by Your Name, it just does not seem to die. While it looks slightly different with each resurgence, tailored to fit the times, this trope still remains alive and kicking.

In a modern society that is so self conscious about anything that might appear vaguely controversial, why has this trope persisted?

An age gap relationship is referred to within the media as consisting of a couple with ten or more years between their ages. Most of the time, as can be seen above, this is where most movies or shows place the age difference between a leading couple. They might go a few years over to push the boundaries, but overall there is no age gap that would enable one party in the relationship to be the parent of another.

That, or writers are sure to include another source of conflict that makes an age gap pale in comparison, such as the case in the aforementioned Pretty Little Liars, where one of the show’s main couples is made up of an underage girl and her teacher. 

One major reason why it does not strike enough people as being strange is due to the fact that these age gap couples are made up of a man who is older than his female partner. Given that men have historically gotten married at an older age on average to younger women, it does not set off blaring alarm bells on anyone’s radar.

Yet this is only talking about the film industry. The issue is compounded by far when looking into literature.

Since the 100 year age difference in Twilight in 2005, age gaps in books have only gotten worse. Most prominently, they are characterized by immortal men thousands of years old and an 18 year old girl. But fear not! He looks like he is 20 and she is technically legal.

Consider any book by the popular author Sarah J. Maas. In every single one of her novels, just about all of the couples featured are ones with ages separated by millenia. These geriatric men who should be more interested in women whose brains have at least finished developing, without fail, will fall in love with comparatively very young girls.

Even on the surface this is strange. There is no way to rationalize a relationship between a child and someone who could have not only been their parent, but would have been considered ancient even to their grandparents. It simply does not make sense.

But that does not mean anything to the modern media. Without fail, this trend will fight to keep itself alive even as time tries to kill it. Who knows what it will disguise itself with next.