Do you like your partners to be older than you or are you a bit of a chicken hawk? Does age matter in a relationship? How do you find partners when the scene is geared towards the younger crowd? We went and asked a handful of GaydarNation users: young, old or about the same - what do you prefer?

“When I was young I was on the lookout for an older woman because I wanted an experienced lover. My first girlfriend, when I was 17, was ten years older than me. She was my first serious lesbian relationship and I was really into her because she seemed like the height of sophistication. I thought I'd be with her forever but she dumped me for another 17 year-old a few years later. In retrospect I think she was insecure and couldn't handle a relationship of equal partners. Even though I was really hurt at the time I don't regret the experience because she was part of my "lesbian education," if such a thing exists.”
Kay, 31, London

“I prefer younger partners because they make me feel young too. With a relationship history like mine it's easy to be cynical, and I find having a younger partner keeps me optimistic and active. I'm not talking about cradle-snatching, just those who are about ten years younger than me.”
Howard, 41, Norwich

“Things change so quickly these days, I prefer a partner who can share my cultural references so it's important to me that we're about the same age. A while back I was seeing this guy who was a lot older than me and he'd never even heard of The Human League! We couldn't agree on anything, so he had to go!”
Robert, 32, Edinburgh

“It's important to me that my partners are at least the same age as me, if not older. This is because I've always been considered old for my age and I value my maturity. It's hard to find women like me because the lesbian scene where I live is geared towards the younger crowd and I often feel like a dinosaur amongst them. Boozing and dancing every weekend is okay if you've got the stamina for it, but my days of raving are long gone.”
Helen, 27, Oxford

“Age is all in the mind! I've been 29 years young for the past couple of decades and I still love to bop the night away at G.A.Y. I don't really care about how old my partners are, what's more important is if they can make me laugh and whether or not they have good manners. Just because I've got a few grey hairs doesn't mean that I'm ready for the old people's home.”
Ted, '29', Bedford

“Oh, I love older women, they're my favourite definitely. There's something really sexy about laughter lines and the odd grey hair. I'm into that whole Mrs Robinson thing! Older women know who they are and what they want, and they usually have a bit of cash to splash on cocktails and glamorous nights out. They're less inhibited in bed too. I'd choose an older woman over my young student friends any day.”
Charlie, 21, London

"I always prefer my partners to be older than i am. I am a 19 year old law student, and find that most of me peers just don't have the understanding or respect to deal with the fact that i am bisexual. Younger men and women see the opposite sex as a threat, whereas older partners are generally more understanding and can tolerate and enjoy it. Plus, older partners are generally better in bed."
K

"Does age matter? Well, Sir Ian McKellen is the hottest guy I've ever seen - especially in that tux! Mrrr! And I would pay good money for David Bowie and Robert Smith from The Cure to make out. How's that for an answer?"
Dave,21

"Age shouldn't matter, but it just goes to show how 'shallow' we are as a community as you are written off once you hit 35. I know several of my friends who lie about their age on Gaydar, and I'm seriously considering knocking a few years off my real age of 39. The first thing people read on a Gaydar profile is the age, and as soon as they see it's over 35, they aren't interested in finding out if you're a nice guy etc. Personally throughout my gay life I've always been attracted to guys of around my own age group, which was fine when I was in my 20's, but now I'm in my late 30's it's really difficult, as everyone else seems to want 'younger guys'.
Ian, 29, from the message boards
 
"Does age matter? No. I was with my previous partner, of my age, for 22 years until he died. I have been with my present partner for 3 years with an age difference of 38 years. We are very happy. With my experience I feel I can say age doesn't matter. Maybe I am very lucky!"
Jon, from the message boards

“At 23, I am of the opinion that age does matter - but this statement does not focus on negative issues. I cannot think of anything more appealing than a intelligent, confident 30+ man who can accommodate interesting conversation. The younger members of our community may have the youthful good looks, even accompanied by intelligence and a great personality; but I feel that it’s the older guys that have the profound desirability and sex appeal that in youth we are yet to possess. 
Will, from the message boards 
 
  
"Age does matter in negative and positive way. My theory is as gay people don't tend to have the opportunity to build long term relationships - it is seldom that we would grow  old with someone - it is harder for us to appreciate people older than us, or indeed people of our own age because we still looking for that dream boy we never had when we were 18.  I have had a bf older than me and I have had a bf younger than me; my conclusion is age doesn't make people more mature or more loyal in a relationship. Old and ugly guys can play around just as much if not more so than a young cute guy.

We want to know what you think. Are you man or women enough to drop us a reply? Contact us at editor@gaydarnation.com, and we'll print a selection of them in the next column.