In some Capitol Hill offices, dating the office intern is against the rules. There are no rules, however, about dating an intern from another office.

Male aides and lobbyists take a more lenient attitude toward female interns than do their female counterparts, but in a frat-boy way. Many say they’ll date them but won’t consider them serious girlfriend material. If male staffers date them at all, they do so quietly for fear of the ridicule they are sure to receive from colleagues.

Some offices have policies that aides are not to spend any time with interns during nonbusiness hours. “Alcohol and interns and staffers don’t mix very well,” said a male Democratic aide.

Dating an intern from another office, he says, is possible but still taboo. “People [would be] like, ‘You’re doing what?’” It would look bad and people would give you s- - - about it.”

He said female aides detest the idea of male friends’ dating interns “because they wish they were younger, like all women do in general. They are not getting the attention they usually get. They take the men away that they want to date.”

One GOP lobbyist worried that his comments made him sound like a predatory old man: “Every guy in Washington, especially young professionals, looks forward to intern season. It is the highlight of the summer, and many guys plan their week’s social events based on which bars interns are known to frequent based on that night’s drink specials.

“I don’t know if I would date one at my age. I would entertain the thought of spending time with them. There are also far too many to limit yourself to dating one.”

But it’s not just the youthfulness of the summer intern that bothers older female staffers. “‘Oh my god’ still has the tendency to annoy the more serious female staffers,” a longtime Democratic male aide said.

In the late ’90s, before even arriving to the Hill, the aide recalls getting a phone call from a prospective co-worker who told him to expect lots of “hot girls in short skirts” during the summer intern season.

Despite the stigma and rules, another Democratic aide said that male staffers do take advantage of interns: “The interns are here just for the summer. They are going to be gone soon, and you can get away with dating them and then they will leave. The guys can take advantage of that and not have any commitment.”

The advantages of dating an intern? “Dating a younger person is seen as more fun, going out more, willing to try new things, more things,” he said. “I don’t necessarily agree with that. I’m just giving you the jerky-guy point of view.”

Male interns are considered a nonentity when it comes to dating older women on Capitol Hill. “Part of it is male interns get a fair share of the female interns their own age,” he said. “It’s a fun summer relationship.”

Betsy Rothstein