Throughout the past year or so, using the term 'cougar' to describe older women who date or pick up much younger men has become so commonplace that it makes me sick to my stomach. Popular celebrity cougars include Sharon Stone, Demi Moore, Madonna, Kim Cattrall, Barbara Hershey, and many others.

Demi Moore is the original "Cougar"

The term was originally used to refer to a woman who, after reaching a certain age, becomes a conniving, desperate and manipulative animal in search of male flesh. A cougar will do anything to sleep with a younger boy toy and her self-esteem is strictly determined by her ability to sleep with younger men.


I am definitely not a left-wing male feminist, but can easily see the double standards that the “cougar” craze perpetuates. Men have been dating much younger women for centuries. As a matter of fact, it is still considered cool for an older man to leave his older wife for a much younger woman.

Paul McCartney, Hugh Hefner, Bruce Willis, and many others have been praised for “getting younger chicks.” While it has become more trendy for older women to date much younger men, many still consider it a taboo. But even if the barriers have been broken down for older woman, why name them after a predatory animal?


This double standard is often perpetuated by a mainstream media that is extremely liberal. In fact, many of the mainstream writers who perpetuate the cougar double standard are women themselves.

Whether they are fascinated or disgusted with older women dating much younger men, the fact that they single out these women and give them a derogatory name is offensive. Why aren’t today’s so-called “feminists” speaking out more about this issue?