Toshiro GreyHawk
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Posted - 2008.05.31 12:29:00 -
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Edited by: Toshiro GreyHawk on 31/05/2008 12:30:28
(That link doesn't produce anything but a message from Wikipedia that they can't find it).
I've heard a lot of inaccurate descriptions of mid life crisis (mostly made by women making fun of the men going through it).
1) Male Menopause. No - no such thing. You ladies get that one all to yourselves. Women go through various stages of their lives, Childhood when the world is a wonder, young adulthood when they can have children but it's not such a good idea, their prime child bearing years where if they are going to have children this is the time to do it, post prime child bearing years when they might still be able to have children but it is no longer such a good idea and finally post child bearing years when they can no longer have children.
Men don't go through that. There is one change in a man's life and it only effects his attitude to one thing. Puberty. Before Puberty girls are a nuisance. After puberty they are much more interesting. The same little kid that is playing with his monster trucks in the back yard - owns a real truck as a young man. He may have to trade it in on a mini van once he gets married and has kids - but he still wants that truck and some guys do manage to keep them. Also there's no natural cut and dried end to a males ability to father children. His reproductive abilities decline gradually as he gets older but that's about it and it's not that uncommon for a 70 year old man to be able to father a child if he can get some woman young enough to have one to go along with it. Tony Randal is who I have in mind here.
So, Male Menopause is just wishful thinking on the part of women whose misery wants company.
2) "He's trying to recapture his youth". No not that either.
As to poor men going through mid life crisis, I'm sure it happens but they just don't have the financial means to make any one notice.
For the guys who do have some money, what's going on is that he's come to the realization that there are certain things he's only got so many years left to do. Once you get into middle age you really start to feel the limitations of your years. You first start having trouble doing all those things you did in your twenties when you get into your thirties but here, it's just that you can't do things as well as you did them before. Once you start getting into your fifties you start running into things you can't do at all any more.
So, you have men in their late forties and early fifties who have put off a lot of things they would have liked to do or enjoyed doing in the past. They got married, had kids, bought a house, had pets, etc., etc. and that took up all their time, money and energy for a good 20 years.
Now, here in middle age, the kids are grown, the house is substantially paid off, he may or may not still have a wife and - his career has progressed to the point where he is now in his prime earning years. Thus, unless it's all going for alimony, he's got money and time on his hands.
Couple that with the realization that he will soon no longer be able to do or at least enjoy the doing of many of the things he's wanted to do all his life - and you have some guy going out and getting those things done while he still can.
The fancy sports car he buys may have been something he's wanted since he was 7 years old and only now does he actually have the money to buy one.
Going out and chasing young girls - well if he's ever going to do it again - he'd better do it now. Young girls might find a fit, healthy fifty year old with money to spend on ski trips to aspen a fun guy to hang out with. Once he reaches sixty ... not so much.
So, the guy starts trying to get back into shape after all those years of just pushing a pencil and sitting in a swivel chair.
It isn't that the person has changed. They're still the same person they always were. They're just trying to get some things done they've always wanted to do while they still can.
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