Being a man, but not 45-55 just yet, I understand what may be going on.

As men, statistically speaking, we mature later in life. That is not always the case though, just in general. Women tend to know what they want, and where they are going at a much earlier age. Given this age difference in a focus on life, men tend to get lost in thought and are more likely to readress their lives after 45.

With this, comes an interesting fact. We start thinking back to when we were younger, and the fun we did have or could have had. By the age of 45, most men are starting to think about their mortality. It concerns us a great deal. The realization that we are in the preverbial "over the hill", brings about a desire to fight the facts of life. Men tend to go after younger women. Not only to feel younger themselves, but in a way of saying that they are not too old. By younger, I mean 10 plus years younger than them. Our constant need to feel attractive and dominant drives this.

Now on the other spectrum, younger men go after older women. Why you ask? Simple. We are born of women. From the day we are born, we seek the affection and approval of a woman (our mother). Till the day we die, we will actually NEED that affection and approval from a woman. Since it is burned into us as children to seek the approval and appreciation of an older woman, we tend to do just that. Add in the fact that we typically mature later in life, and you have men 30-45 going after women older than themselves. Not to mention that typically, a woman 30 to 45 tends to be more focused on where she is going, and NOT on her man (which turns into a whole huge misunderstanding between genders, with the men screaming "what about me?", and women screaming "sh! t or get off the pot, cuz im fighting to get us somewhere, and your afraid im not here for you"). We gravitate towards an older woman who has it all together because she focused early in life, and has the time now.

This is not always the case. Just a typical idea. There are a lot of men who are MUCH more comfortable with women their age. Trouble is, that those men are secure with themselves, and typically are in what they concider a happy marriage. Though, I am sure that not all of them are in a relationship. Which means that there are guys out there looking for women their own age 45-55.

Curious question. There is a catch to that question, which could throw a wrench in the whole idea of asking the question in the first place.

To ask if your apoealing or not, is to ask if each individual on an individual basis, if they find you of interest visually. As the old saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

There is also something else to concider here. Quite often people do not pass judgement in this aspect because they do not know you on a personal basis. This is due to a decision on such a subject involving the person you are inside, which a picture does not show.

I get you though. As men, we need to feel acceptable if not also interesting to a woman. It is always good to be told, by a woman, that your attractive. Just dont be surprised if not many reply. Been down this road in the past.