... To make a specific point though I would say that inequality (whether monetary, or related to age, rank, social standing, etc.) between lovers is always potentially problematic. But to each his own -what works for some might not work for others and vice versa.
...As I said in an older post, if the situation was really one of love and based on a healthy relationship, we wouldn't read "daddy/boy relationships" anywhere. We'd talk about relationships between human individuals, because people would understand that older doesn't equate wiser, nor does it equate mature. Older people can still learn from younger people and they will once they understand their life is not as perfect as they are brought to think by false ideologies that older men know more about love, devotion and all that crap.
I guess that my first comment is that "daddy" and "boy" are more sexual roles than actual relationship. And age is not necessarily the determining factor in who plays what role. Of course, from the outside many will look at any intergenerational gay relationship and assume it's a daddy/boy thing. But that isn't necessarily the case.
Yes, an age difference can be problematic as Putin points out, but not any more so than a nationality, race, or class difference. But I think where any of these cross cultural relationships work is where the difference is also part of the force that binds them together. For example, if I love France and it's language and culture, the fact that I am American and a potential mate is French is not a negative - it's a positive.
Also I agree with both Putin and Nilstreet, for a relationship to last the learning has to go both ways. I used to have a much younger partner, and I learned a tremendous amount from him, not the least of which was how to really love without holding pieces of myself away. He was also interested in the music and culture that I grew up with, and I got to see the world in a new way through his eyes. But isn't that really true of all good relationships? We are all different, and we have to be willing to see and learn from the other's point of view.