Sarah Harte: Dating as a woman in your 50s comes with an obvious contradiction

Men can get older without their sexuality becoming a joke, but women are not afforded the same luxury, writes Sarah Harte

Helen Mirren at the 'Mobland' season two world premiere in London earlier this month. 'A fine-looking woman', according to a male friend of Sarah Harte's.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man must be in want of a younger, nubile girlfriend. I’m paraphrasing Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice and Sean Thomas, the Spectator journalist, in a kind of mash-up.

Because suddenly dating as an older person seems to be a thing. And in a recent article, Thomas opined that, after a female friend suggested he date women of his own age, "lust can’t be lectured". Thomas was just being forthright about his tastes, but honestly, I laughed out loud.