Junior High And Mighty

I'm a 23-year-old guy dating a beautiful and exciting 33-year-old woman. Because she's older than everybody in my circle, my buddies have taken to calling her "Mom" (though not to her face) and ripping on me for dating her. She really is fantastic, but I have to admit this is having an impact on me -- making me both angry at my friends and embarrassed that she and I stick out for the age difference.

--Peer-Pressured

Ten years seems like a big deal now, but when you're 139, she won't even be 150 yet. It's understandable that you're feeling all woundy from these razzings, but being male is about being a competitor -- ultimately for women -- down to the smallest scale. As one sperm taunted the other, "You swim like you expect to end up in an old tube sock." The power of your buddies' mockery isn't surprising, considering the finding by UCLA's Matthew Lieberman and Naomi Eisenberger that our brains react to social pain in much the same way they do to physical pain. This makes sense, as we are a social species and, early on, our survival may have depended on what other people thought of us. But there's being aware of people's remarks and there's letting them drive you like a joystick. Also, the way to pretty much ensure that guys keep ripping on you is showing that you're vulnerable to it, like by dumping your hot mama girlfriend so you don't stick out from the pack. Remember, "age is just a number" -- like zero, the amount of sex many of them are having and would probably like to see you having, too.