[krapp]

Legally, no.

Socially, though, yes. The generally accepted limit on age differential in romantic relationships is ten years - 50 year olds shouldn't date younger than 40, 40 than 30, etc. While it's perfectly legal and possible to have a healthy relationship with a wider age gap, it's not socially acceptable.

[sneak]

This is just bigotry by another name. Once someone is a legal, competent adult, it's not really anyone else's place to tell them who they should or should not find happiness with, provided the relationship is entirely consensual and non-coercive.

We should not tolerate bigotry or label consensual adult relationships "generally accepted" or "not socially acceptable". That's the kind of nonsense we need to leave in the past where it belongs.

[StavrosK]

Sure, but it doesn't make you a pedophile, and having sex with a 40 year old when you're 60 isn't the same as having sex with a 10 year old when you're 30.

[krapp]

True, but when one of the parties appears obviously young and the other not, people tend to get creeped out by it just the same, and in kind of the same way. As sexual taboos go it's not the worst and the stigma isn't always fair but it is what it is.

I attribute a lot of that to the increasing youth-orientation of modern culture, since "May-September" relationships have been common throughout history, although legitimate concerns about abusive power dynamics and exploitation do sometimes arise in the modern context.