The online Urban Dictionary defines a cougar as: An older woman who frequents clubs in order to score with a much younger man.
This to me seems to be a role reversal of the male goings on during the late Victorian/Edwardian social clubs in the heart of London. In such clubs men of wealth and means would cavort with young ladies. The difference being that they had to be kept behind closed doors - the men still had to keep some air of respectability. Today’s cougar however doesn’t need to stay behind closed doors. There are web sites where they can chat with one another, special Happy Hours at restaurants and bars, and even I suspect Cougar Cruises on many bays throughout the United States.
Now being a curious individual, always wanting to know more about the changing world around me, I wanted to find out more about this rising fad of sorts sweeping the nation and the talk show circuits. And after scanning the various web sites that cater to this growing group of female predators, for isn’t that what a cougar is really? And watching the various talk shows excerpts on www.hulu.com where known cougars were paid money to go on national television- specifically during the time period where would-be cougars are likely to be watching, to gain tips on how to become one, I have made the following observations.
Firstly, not all older women can be cougars, judging from the media and television anyway, only those that have money and are still reasonably attractive. However, as we have learned with men, loads of money cancels out looks 85% of the time. This is not to say that an unattractive older woman cannot be a cougar, it just means the type of younger male she will attract will not be Johnny Depp, more like Barney Rubble.
Now I did not come to this observation from a male chauvinistic perspective, this is from my extensive research, and watching those in the know; Oprah, Tyra, Maury and of course the true leaders of American morals - The View. From these I have learned that the conventions of the past are gone – no more hiding your desires in the backrooms, NO MORE! Get it out in the open where you can brag to your girlfriends that you are better than they are! But remember, men must still keep it in the backrooms because it is perverted and ugly when they do it.
Another point I was curious about concerns the age group of the perspective male consort. As we see in the news, having relations with males of the age from 16 to 13 years is illegal – spelled statutory rape, and would only land you on the cover of newspapers, MTV, VH1, TMZ, and paid offers of appearances on any of the shows listed above from my research. So therefore the conclusion to be drawn is that the proposed male must be of legal age and preferably with some facial hair. True that our Edwardian males would align themselves with ladies of 17 years, but those were also ladies who had no money and had many suitors, young and old, to pay for their lodgings. The play by Alexander Dumas Files “Lady of Camille” is a shining example of this sort of thing. The term for these ladies was courtesans.
Then I was struck by a thought, wasn’t there a name for men who dallied with women of a mature nature, and often were paid for their time with gifts and trinkets? I believe the term was gigolo. A gigolo is a male who wished to live a carefree life without any true means of support except for that of an older woman who had more money than he had. All he had to do was to be seen with her, make her feel young, and perform certain services – and yes, I mean that kind too. The point being that this man was looked down upon by society as being nothing more than a male prostitute. But with the new approved vogue of cougar-mania, this man now is no longer a cheap, ugly male hook…, sorry, gold digger, but a sympathetic male who sees a need within a certain sect of society and fills it, (see the perform part again if you missed it).
In conclusion, my hope is that with this new social double standard of the cougar-mania, and the world embracing this step backwards, and will allow the men who have long hidden their needs, can finally come out of the backrooms with THEIR sensitive young female consorts and march blissfully forward hand in hand into the new age of media moral approval and paid talk show profits.
Now if you’ll excuse me – Desperate Housewives is on.