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Lisa's Adventures in Cougarland
Posted by Lisa
on
5:21 AM
I recently started dating someone *slightly* younger than me, and all of sudden everyone I knew was tossing around the "C" word. No, not the horrible slang word for female genitalia, the other "C" word. Cougar. And that got me thinking, what is the exact definition of cougar? Is it just an older woman who dates a younger man, or are there specific requirements for the usage of the word. And after a bit of research (thank you UrbanDictionary.com!) I discovered that it is even more complicated than I thought.
What I now know is there actually exists a progression of terms that leads up to the big "C", each with it's own strict requirements. While I did find variations of definitions for each term, the following seem to be the most agreed up.
1. Puma: A Puma is generally defined as a woman not quite old enough to be a cougar (usually in her late twenties to early thirties) but still likes to date younger men. This is what one would refer to as the Pre-Cougar stage .
2. Cougar Kitten/Cougar in Training(CIT): A woman in her early to mid-thirties who is just entering the cougar lifestyle. She is less aggressive and slightly more innocent in her approach than the more seasoned, experienced Cougar.
3. Cheetah: A woman in her mid-thirties who is too old/experienced to be a CIT, but still too young/inexperienced to be a full-fledged cougar.
4, Cougar: A woman in her mid-thirties to mid-forties who tends to date men considerably younger (8 years or more seemed to be the agreed upon number). Cougars are becoming more popular as they tend to have their shit together and don't play silly mind games like their younger counterparts.
5. Mountain Lion: A woman 50+ who still thinks she's a cougar. Generally not quite as popular.
As I mentioned, there are multiple variations on the definitions of these terms, and there are quite a few others as well, including one for men who like to date younger women (Manther). While all this information was highly amusing to me, it also made me realize that we seem to really put too much emphasis on age. I mean obviously there are certain times where it should be an issue, such as when one of the people involved is a minor, but once you're past a certain point in life, isn't age really just a number? And if you connect with someone should you really let something arbitrary like a number get in your way? I think these days it's hard to find someone you can really feel comfortable being yourself around, and if you are able to find someone who doesn't mind that you're clumsy, that you sometimes speak without thinking, that your a little bit nerdy and most importantly, someone who will watch Glee with you, should something silly like a 10 year age difference get in the way? I don't think so.
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What I now know is there actually exists a progression of terms that leads up to the big "C", each with it's own strict requirements. While I did find variations of definitions for each term, the following seem to be the most agreed up.
1. Puma: A Puma is generally defined as a woman not quite old enough to be a cougar (usually in her late twenties to early thirties) but still likes to date younger men. This is what one would refer to as the Pre-Cougar stage .
2. Cougar Kitten/Cougar in Training(CIT): A woman in her early to mid-thirties who is just entering the cougar lifestyle. She is less aggressive and slightly more innocent in her approach than the more seasoned, experienced Cougar.
3. Cheetah: A woman in her mid-thirties who is too old/experienced to be a CIT, but still too young/inexperienced to be a full-fledged cougar.
4, Cougar: A woman in her mid-thirties to mid-forties who tends to date men considerably younger (8 years or more seemed to be the agreed upon number). Cougars are becoming more popular as they tend to have their shit together and don't play silly mind games like their younger counterparts.
5. Mountain Lion: A woman 50+ who still thinks she's a cougar. Generally not quite as popular.
As I mentioned, there are multiple variations on the definitions of these terms, and there are quite a few others as well, including one for men who like to date younger women (Manther). While all this information was highly amusing to me, it also made me realize that we seem to really put too much emphasis on age. I mean obviously there are certain times where it should be an issue, such as when one of the people involved is a minor, but once you're past a certain point in life, isn't age really just a number? And if you connect with someone should you really let something arbitrary like a number get in your way? I think these days it's hard to find someone you can really feel comfortable being yourself around, and if you are able to find someone who doesn't mind that you're clumsy, that you sometimes speak without thinking, that your a little bit nerdy and most importantly, someone who will watch Glee with you, should something silly like a 10 year age difference get in the way? I don't think so.
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