This HuffPost Canada page is maintained as part of an online archive.

Men Of All Ages Prefer Women In Their Mid-20s: Study

As Men Get Older, Their Preferred Partners Stay The Same Age
BEVERLY HILLS, CA - AUGUST 07: Playboy founder Hugh Hefner (L) and TV personality Crystal Harris attend the Beverly Hills City Council and Playboy Enterprises, Inc.'s celebration of the return of Playboy headquarters to Beverly Hills on August 7, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)
Getty Images
BEVERLY HILLS, CA - AUGUST 07: Playboy founder Hugh Hefner (L) and TV personality Crystal Harris attend the Beverly Hills City Council and Playboy Enterprises, Inc.'s celebration of the return of Playboy headquarters to Beverly Hills on August 7, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)

In the film "Dazed and Confused," Matthew McConaughey's character Wooderson said, "That's what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age."

And a study out of Finland suggests he's not alone in preferring women of a certain age.

A survey of over 12,000 Finns by psychology researchers at Åbo Akademi University in Turku, Finland has found that men prefer women in their 20s, no matter how old they were.

And the reason, the study suggested, is that women at this age are considered the most fertile.

"This means that in our evolutionary past, men who have had sex with women in their mid-20s have had more offspring than other men," the release said.

But the study didn't just make findings about men. It also said that females, on average, prefer older and same-aged male partners.

Researcher Jan Antfolk said this was because older men are more likely to provide financial stability than younger ones -- a conclusion is contradicted by data gleaned from a U.S. dating site last year.

Are You Interested found that its female users were more likely to engage with younger men. They were, in fact, twice as likely to respond to male users who were two years their junior as they were to men who were two years older.

The older women were, the more likely they were to respond to younger guys.

Those statistics were released amid data showing that women don't have to depend on men for financial stability.

A study reported by The Atlantic earlier this year also found that romantic partnering has more to do with "matched virtues" than finances.

Sociologist Elizabeth McClintock noted that financially successful women often end up with financially successful men, and that, similarly, attractive women also partner with attractive men.

But ultimately, when it comes to finding sexual partners, women have the upper hand: the Finnish study said they're more likely to mate with their ideal partners than men are.

Follow Us On Twitter

ALSO ON HUFFPOST:

DO: Make It A Landscape Shot

Online Dating Profile Pictures

Close
This HuffPost Canada page is maintained as part of an online archive. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.