Northern Ireland is going wild over a real life reenactment of the 1968 film, The Graduate; a 58 year old Mrs. Robinson, a member of Parliament and wife of Peter Robinson (Northern Ireland's government leader) has been having an affair with a 19-year-old stud. While this may be in poor taste for a career in public service, this kind of relationship is nothing new. The problem is how society views such a seemingly backwards situation. Older men, particularly politicians, have affairs with younger women all the time. Look at Hugh Hefner. No one seems to care when he picks up a new 19-year-old Playmate. But, when the situation is reversed, people can't seem to understand how a woman of this age could do such a thing.
This article appears in Jan 6-12, 2010.