Cougar – Is Cougar an Offensive Word?
The word cougar has multiple meanings that we will discuss later in the article. However, the two most common meanings of Cougar are a Wildcat or a Puma native to America and an older woman who likes being in sexual relationships with a younger man.
What is Cougar?
Even though Cougar has multiple meanings however the most common use of this word is for women who are in their 40s seeking a sexual relationship with men who are at least 10 years younger than them, the term is very controversial and empowering at the same time.
In the beginning, when the term started in Canada, people used to say it to women who were in their 50s dating men in their 20s or 30s; however, now it has become a generic term used for different situations.
The term has become so common that people call women celebrities cougar like Sandra Bullock, Mariah Carey, and Madonna only because of their relationship history.
History of Term Cougar
The term cougar for the wild cats in America was first used in 1774. However, the slang cougar for women compared to the predatory feline nature started in Canada in 2001. The slang started after a famous Vancouver love affair between a woman in her 40s and a young man in his 20s.
The term cougar became even more popular after ‘Cougar: A Guide for Older Women Dating Younger Men’, written by a self-proclaimed cougar Valerie Gibson. After that, Hollywood went crazy and started making movies and TV shows where middle-aged women ran after sex and love with younger counterparts, whether Courtney Cox in Cougar Town or Samantha Jones in Sex and the City.
Is Cougar a Bad Word?
Now let’s talk about the fact that Google is a bad word or derogatory. Even though the term is insulting and sexist, some women do not find it harmful. Women who are at a mature age and earn good do not get affected by terms like Cougar if they are dating a young person.
Some women think of it to be very positive and take it in a sexy way because they’re compared to a sexy wildcat even at a mature age. In simple words, women who don’t get offended by Cougar take it as a compliment, like being called hot for their age.
However, many women think it’s a derogatory term created by men to age shame women who like dating younger men. And it’s true because there is no such term for old men who enjoy sexual relationships with young girls.
Interesting Facts About Cougar
- Do you know there is a whole website dedicated for older single women to date young single men by the name ‘CougarLife?’ even though it stirred controversy multiple times, it is still working.
- The rate of marriages where women were 5-10 years older than men doubled from the 1960s to 2007.
- Women say that younger men don’t have that much emotional baggage compared to older men; that’s why they like dating them.
- The wild cat/ cougar, the fourth largest cat, has more than 40 names, and it is also the animal that holds a Guinness World Record for the highest names.