Predatory behaviour?
If a person says they are waiting for someone they see as a potential partner to be older before starting their relationship, would you say this is predatory behaviour?
Sex/gender doesn’t matter. Both are legally able to engage in sexual conduct but the age gap is 16 years and the younger of the pair is barely legal to drink alcohol.
This is not to ask about opinions on gap relationships. This is just to ask whether you’d class this as predatory or not.
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maybe some grooming going on too
Waiting until someone is legal to date is 100% predatory and as Chardonnay said, it could class as grooming too
Trump spoke like this
Coming from a UK perspective we can drink from 18 and considered an adult then as well so 21 is fully an adult. It's just gross from an age gap perspective
It's predatory behavior. They're admitting the younger person's youth and inexperience is a concern but they are already a target. Being legal at 16 or 18 doesn't matter. A lot of things were once legal that shouldn't have been and some laws are still not designed to protect the most vulnerable people in our society. They're designed for our governments to exploit them or for predators to thrive. There's a reason this person is targeting someone who doesn't have the same life experiences. How long are they "waiting"?
Not really. In order to be classed as *predatory* behaviour there needs to be manipulation and deception with the intention to cause harm or commit boundary violations. Intention is the key word.
Unless there is harm or the oldest is exploiting a vulnerability of the youngest to abuse them, it is not grooming either.
To be classed as a vulnerable adult, you need to posses a series of characteristics. Age alone doesn't make you vulnerable.
I would say no matter what if someone is waiting for another to be older to date then thats predatory. or icky at the very least in this specific case.
Sometimes it's simply letting the younger person experience life more. The older person wants to give them time to learn things like managing finances, maybe living independently for the first time, etc.
Sometimes it's also predatory 🤷🏼♀️
Think a lot of context may be missing here but this alone isn’t alarming. Phrasing was an odd choice but if there is other behaviour that is concerning, then I’d pay attention to all of it tbh. Bad people wouldn’t bother acknowledging the experience gap and take advantage anyway.
A predator likely wouldn’t care about the current age gap and would proceed anyway.
No it really depends because at any age someone could pray on you or be a bad person so I feel like it’s character I met my fiancé in 2022 when I was 20 and he was 50 and the rest is history he’s a really nice guy and it was all consensual (and no I don’t have daddy issues )😭
Theirs young rapist and predator’s and I personally know a few so it’s not an age thing more of character. And not all young ppl inexperienced at 20 I was the bread winner in my family and traveled so many states that I don’t even wanna travel states I wanna go to country’s so it’s really about character
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