The kids factor is the important one. If a man is looking to meet someone to have kids, then age is important in his decision. If the woman does not want kids and is clear about it, then age is irrevelevant. If a woman looks 32, then she is.

I'll throw in more of my data, to further ruin your assumptions.

I already explained above why I open my matching to men 15 years older (actually, 17 for good measure). On the bottom range I specify 15 years younger, but I have never gotten a communication request here, or on Match, from anyone more than 7 years younger.

When I was on Match, I didn't specify a height, profession, degree or income requirement. (I also don't set those as priorities on eHarmony.) That prompted one man to tell me that not only did I seem like a scammer because he thought I was not posting true pictures of myself (he thought they were of a much younger woman), but that I was looking for any man, ANY man because I had no standards, and thus could not have the background I described. What I explained was that I look at the total person and there was little in the way of objective stats I would rule out without knowing someone.

I am 5'7", slender, fit looking, well dressed, have nice head of hair and all my teeth, am told I am anything from pretty to drop dead gorgeous, have an advanced degree, am articulate and sophisticated and well traveled and self-made, and in addition to what I think are interesting hobbies, am loving and devoted to family and friends. I do not have a string of divorces or 8 children needing support. Am I perfect? No. Am I great? I think so. Since I was 25 I have had serious relationships with men who ranged from 5'4 to 6'10"; were skinny to overweight; had educations ranging from advanced degrees to high school diplomas only; were from never married to twice divorced with kids; and were from 3 years younger to 18 years older. I also dated a paraplegic, which shouldn't be a big deal but most people know wouldn't. What they all had in common was that they were smart and interesting and dynamic. Historically I am a very, very high earner and three of my last four boyfriends made less than I did. The first man I lived with made a third what I did, and I paid two thirds of the rent and split our other bills up the line. I have been taking a sabbatical from my primary career to help see a family member through a medical crisis at the cost of a significant income drop, but even so I have offered to pay half or more of the tab on every date I have been on this year even though they all have been with men whose incomes are higher, even when the date was at their invitation and locale was their choice. (Ironically, despite my income history and future potential, based upon what I have read on other threads and here about men's income requirements, some might decide that for now I don't make enough to suit them.) When they haven't let me pay, I do the inviting on the next date and take care of the bill (or at least try to).

I haven't made my choices of men or adopted these behaviors because I am desperate. I do what I do because I think it is right and decent and it is genuinely who I am. There are women with values. None of my grandparents had careers commensurate with their intelligence and skills, and my grandfather in particular had to drop out of college during the Depression and worked a menial job the rest of his life. I was raised to see people as more than a wallet or a job or a list on a piece of paper. I have had relatives with disabilities, and I similarly know how much more they are than a body. What I expect from a man no matter what his stats is honesty, kindness, attentiveness and the display of sufficient interest, thoughtfulness and manners that he ask well in advance for a date, take the initiative to call and/or email (I always respond promptly), hold my door and not order his food before I finish reading the menu, and the other things I hope are not too much to expect in this cynical era of dating.

I don't think I am alone in my ways (I know lots of similarly minded women), so I wonder when gathering data whether some people's attentions are drawn only to those people and profiles that fit their pre-existing negative expectations of what women (or men) are like. Or maybe women like me don't count as date-worthy because there are things about us that don't fit other things you are looking for, even though we defy your negative expectations (no matter the age we are the wrong racial/ethnic background, have non-life threatening medical issues, are too "independent" or "high achieving" -- especially for those who admit they tend to dominate women, don't have long blond hair, can't ski, or who knows what else you want; I also read on another thread that most people wouldn't date someone who lived with family, without bothering to find out why. Ridiculous, I think). In other words, maybe the problem is that some men only notice and are attracted to shallow, money-hungry women.