Wikipedia stuff...

The "never date anyone under half your age plus seven" rule is a rule of thumb sometimes used to prejudge whether an age difference is socially acceptable.[62][63][64] Although the origin of the rule is unclear, it is sometimes considered to have French origin.[62]

In earlier sources, the rule had a different interpretation than in contemporary culture, as it was understood as a formula to calculate ideal age for the bride, instead of a lower limit for the suitable age. Max O'Rell's Her Royal Highness Woman from 1901 gives the rule in the format "A man should marry a woman half his age, plus seven."[65] Similar interpretation is also present in the 1951 play The Moon Is Blue by F. Hugh Herbert.[66]

The half-your-age-plus seven rule also appears in John Fox, Jr.'s The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come in 1903,[67] in American newspapers in 1931, attributed to Maurice Chevalier,[68] and in The Autobiography of Malcolm X.[69]

In modern times, this rule has been criticised as being more accurate for men than women, and for allowing a greater maximum age for a woman's partner later in her life than is actually socially acceptable.[70]


Peace,

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