What's Up With This 'Cougar' Craze?

Suddenly, it has become vogue to be a Cougar. But what is a Cougar anyway? Lithe, supple, felines. Not a bad reference for an older woman-younger man relationship, right? Look deeper. We're talking alpha predator here folks. When I think of Cougars, muscles, sharp claws and deadly fangs, come to mind. I’m a Nat Geo, and Discovery Channel junkie. I remember seeing shows like ‘I Survived’ that depict simulations of people being attacked by Mountain Lions (Cougars). Believe me folks, when I tell you that it wasn’t pretty. The big cat’s attempts to eviscerate the tender mid-section, crack the skull with powerful jaws, or biting the throat to suffocate their prey (in these cases people), did not give me a warm and fuzzy, isn’t she a beauty, kind of response.




Rather, I imagined myself in that position-on my stomach, trying to protect my face and neck, thinking I’m about to die, and wondering if help will arrive in time. This is a very scary scenario, people. So when I see commercials and print and media references to women as Cougars, I’m wondering what the bleep are they saying here? Are they ignorant of the meaning behind this term, or is the reference designed to evoke a latent, visceral, response in men subliminally? This label was likely created by a man with the intent of denigrating older women who like younger men-- in the now. I would argue too, that the subliminal effect would be to demonize such women in the minds of men-- in the future, after the brain processes the term and properly associates it with power and the violence.



The cable TV series ‘Ad Men’ provides a glimpse into the world of marketing and advertising. Very smart people are paid very handsome sums to come up with campaigns that have a subliminal effect. Ads that subtly take effect are highly prized in the commercial as well as the political arena. Such ads work without us realizing that we are being sold something. The movie ‘Inception’ has as its premise, the placing of a kernel of an idea into a victim’s brain. The purpose is to have this kernel accepted as a self originated concept, rather than as the external plant of someone else. If the brain is able to determine its foreign nature, the concept will not grow to fruition-at least that is the premise of the movie. The take-home point here is that Trojan Horses can be implanted like a virus, in our heads as well as in our computers.



To my mind, the use of the moniker Cougars for older women who date younger men is unnecessary, un-flattering, un-savory, and sexist. After all, men have going after much younger women/ladies/girls since like, forever. Yet no such derogatory term has been associated with men of this ilk. There is a reason that this is so, like there is a reason that the reverse relates only to women. My question is, why haven’t women objected to this terms’ use? Where are all the feminine activists and advocates on this topic? Have women in general fallen victim to the intent of this campaign? Have women only looked at the warm-fuzzy images of young kittens or the lithe and slender representations of big cats? Wake up ladies, you’ve been bamboozled. By the way, what do we call similarly minded men? We simply call them Men!