Next Stop, Cougar Town!

I look young for my age but I don’t always see it as the wonderful thing everyone else thinks it is. I will appreciate my youthful looks when I’m 50 and I finally look 30, but for now I find it frustrating to have to constantly prove  myself to people; whether it’s the sales assistant at my local Tesco (who is usually younger than me) or the doorman at a nightclub, I am repeatedly having to whip out ID to prove that I am an adult.  Sometimes would be flattering but all of the time feels insulting. I often find myself wanting to scream “FOR PETE’S SAKE, I AM A GROWN-UP – WITH A MORTGAGE AND EVERYTHING!”.

Another downside is that I tend to attract younger men. I know it’s not necessarily a bad thing but considering the fact I’ve never experienced a long term relationship, there’s a chance this may not necessarily be a good thing either. I don’t often attract older men (which is why I was so excited about dating Older Guy last summer) and to prove this theory, the only guys who hit on me while I was in New York were guys who were at least ten years younger than me. When I mentioned on Twitter and on my Facebook page that I was asked out by a 25 year old cutie-pie, the responses went a little something like this…

Yay, Cougars!

“….and the problem is?”

“Nothing wrong with going after the pups.”

“I”ve dated up to 13 years older…so why discriminate against someone younger. Why discriminate against someone younger. If someone is lacking in the mental faculties their age will make little difference. Age doesn’t equate to maturity.”

“10 years is fine! Especially if he is cute ;)”

Eat Your Heart Out, Courteney Cox!

Cougarism seems to be all the rage these days doesn’t it? I can’t read a magazine or a newspaper without seeing an article referring to it. Even this morning’s London Metro had an article saying that TV shows such as Sex And The City and Cougar Town are inspiring older women to buy more sexy underwear. The survey was done by Debenhams lingerie dept (blatant PR story) but you get the point, Cougars are obviously cool!

Courteney Cox plays 'hot mama' Jules on Living TV's Cougar Town

Cougar, for those who don’t know, is a slang word for women of an older age (ahem) who likes to pursue younger men (Other popular terms – cradle snatcher, cradle robber) aand thanks to shows like Cougar Town (starring Courteney Cox) and high profile celebs Demi Moore, Halle Berry, Madonna and Sam Taylor-Wood with a penchant for younger men, the word ‘Cougar’ has now gone mainstream.

The reason this is on my mind at the mo I because I look way younger than my 33 years and I tend to attract younger men. Prime example, I’ve been on PlentyOfFish.com for nearly 4 weeks now and other than a near miss with ‘MR PAYG’, the first guy to official ask me out on a date is a 25 year old. That’s 8 years my junior! Whenever I join dating sites I specify that I’m looking to meet guys between the age of 30- 38yrs old so to say I was a bit skeptical would be an understatement. Also my little brother is 25 in November, so it just seems a bit wrong! But with it constantly being drummed into my head that younger guys can be good for you, I figure why the hell not just go with the flow? I mean, he’s cute, he spells properly (I’ve developed major online dating spelling ‘OCD’ btw) and he’s approached me in a more polite and confident way than any of the 30-something guys I’ve been talking to. So yes, it is official peeps, I am going on a date with a 25 year old guy.

I’m in good company it seems, there are are even dating websites that specialise in catering for Cougars and their ‘young meat’ fetishes. There’s ToyBoy.com, CougarDate.co.uk and DateACougar as well. Yes, my dears, these sites are actually for real!

These days it’s all the rage and there’s no shame in it either! Why not, older men have been picking up younger girls since the beginning of time and nobody bats an eyelid. Sugar Daddies aren’t ashamed, in fact, don’t they boast about their ‘catch’ to their friends. I think that us women should do the same thing. We still got it going on, ladies! Hooray to Cougar Power!

Celebrity Cougars

Demi Moore looking blissfully happy with her hubby Ashton Kutcher

– Demi Moore, 47 – married to Ashton Kutcher, 32

– Courtney Cox, 45 – married to David Arquette, 38

– Halle Berry, 43 – in a relationship with Gabriel Aubry, 34

– Madonna, 52 – on/off relationship with Jesus Luz, 23

– Sam Taylor-Wood, 43 – engaged to Aaron Johnson, 19

– Eva Longoria Parker, 35 – married to Tony Parker, 27

– Elizabeth Taylor, 78 – engaged to Jason Winters, 49 (GO LIZ!!)