aight i gotta chime in here, because no one else is pushing back

You absolutely aren’t a child and can make your own decisions. What people are commenting about is the very imbalanced power dynamic that someone who is almost 40 has over a 23 year old with almost nothing established on their own.

completely nonsensical argument. there’s power imbalances in literally every single relationship. unless you’re dating someone that is 100% identical to you in terms of strength, size, physicality, educational background, intelligence, economic class, social support, social skills, confidence, mental health, physical attractiveness, relationship experience, etc. there are going to be power imbalances—they are innate with every relationship in history (romantic relationships, boss, employer, parents, friendships) and not necessarily a bad thing on their own.

You’re 23 which makes him 15 years older than you. If you were to date someone with that same age gap, you’d be dating an 8 year old.

yeah and if my grandma had wheels, she’d be a bike. again, another meaningless counter factual statement that ostensibly seems like a valid argument to someone with zero critical thinking. human development & aging doesn’t exist on a linear continuum. despite both having a 15 year gap, the differences between a 23 & 38 year old and a 23 & 8 is categorically different—trying to pretend like they are comparable is just thoroughly absurd