Dear Lola,
I’m an attractive woman in her late thirties who has been getting a lot of unwanted attention from men 15 to 20 years older. I have tried saying politely, “Thank you for your attention, but I’m looking for someone my own age.” This invariably throws the older man into a petulant fit, at which point I get called “shallow,” or worse. Can you suggest another response that won’t hurt the man’s ego? And why do men approach much younger women, anyway? The men I’ve asked say that age isn’t an issue — but if that were true, I think I’d be having more conversations with men my own age.