Sir, - The novelist Maggie Gee says in her interview with Maureen Paton (Features, June 30th) that "Thirty-something women are separating sex and love, giving men up as partners, and just having sex with them in the way men have traditionally done, like relieving an itch"'. She also says: "And today's twenty-something women actually seem to want men around, so maybe things are changing."
As a single, thirty-something woman, I was somewhat peeved by her statements. In my twenties I wanted to have a man around and I would still love to have a man around, but I can't seem to find any who want to stay! However, there are plenty of men available for one-night stands.
Twenty-something women are less likely than thirty-something women to have had bad experiences with men. The luckier ones get married in their twenties. Those of us who remain single into our thirties are forced to take a harder look at relationships, some of us compromising our emotional needs so that our physical needs can be temporarily satisfied. However, I would guess that most thirty-something women, whether they admit it or not, would like to have a man around if there were any men available. - Yours, etc.,
By Maire Nic Ghabhainn,
Rathmines, Dublin 6.