Jezebel: Cougars

School Can't Call Its Team the Cougars Because It's Offensive to Older Ladies

Cassie Murdoch — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:05:00 EST

Changing the names of high school sports teams to be less offensive to certain groups—like Native Americans, for instance—is nothing new, but now a school board in Utah has taken it to a whole new level. A high school is opening in 2013 in the town of Draper, Utah, and they wanted to call their team the Cougars. The school board said they couldn't, however, because they worried the name might be offensive to middle-aged women. Jeeze, get your minds out of the gutter, school board members. And is the term cougar even offensive? There are certainly worse names to call a girl—and a team. More »

Tedious Professor Proves That Younger Men Do Sometimes Date Older Women & Cougars Are A Real Thing, Dammit

Doug Barry — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST

Despite the fact that a network television show and a dating site exist in testament to the non-mythological nature of cougars, Dalhousie University professor Marina Adshade still let her douchey male friend insist over dinner that the only men she, a well-educated, gainfully employed, forty-something woman, could hope to attract with her desiccated uterus were men who could take her to a matinee on their senior discounts. More »

New Zealand Police Agree To Take Down Creepy Cougars Ad

Margaret Hartmann — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 11:23:00 EST

New Zealand police are pulling print and online ads that read, "We've got a lot in common with cougars. We like 'em young too." Apparently police were hoping to catch the attention of young people with the hottest slang term of 2008. A rep for the marketing company behind the ads explained, "police had failed to see how the ad could be negatively perceived." More »

Study Says Cougars Aren't Real

Katy Kelleher — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:30:00 EDT

A psychology researcher from the University of Wales Institute recently conducted a study on what women want and shockingly, it's not younger men. After examining 22,400 ads on dating websites, he concluded that women really want older men.

The Magazine That Refused To Put Kim Cattrall On Its Cover

Jenna Sauers — Thu, 20 May 2010 17:20:00 EDT

Earlier today, we learned that Kim Cattrall nixed a hackneyed cover-photo concept involving posing with a cougar — and that the magazine, which the actress calls "a significant magazine for women over 40," nixed her cover in response. More »

Google CEO Eric Schmidt Thinks Women Should Only Date Older Men

Megan Carpentier — Sat, 15 May 2010 12:45:00 EDT

Eric Schmidt has very strict restrictions on the advertisements he'll allow on Google: he'll help women find a sugar daddies, men find sugar babies and anyone find sexy foreign women. He will not, however, help you find a younger man. More »

Younger Husbands Shorten Womens' Lives

Anna North — Wed, 12 May 2010 09:30:00 EDT

A younger wife tends to raise her husband's life expectancy. But a new study shows that, for women, the opposite is the case — perhaps because of "cougar" stigma. More »

Naomi Opens Up To Oprah; "Cougars" Drive Sales Of Lingerie

Jenna Sauers — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:40:00 EDT

Naomi Campbell taped an episode of Oprah. It must be tremendously comforting to be able to confess one's blood-diamond-mongering sins with warlords to Oprah's stern-but-spiritual countenance. Oprah also extracted from Campbell a pledge to stop throwing phones. [WWD]

WTF Moment On Daytime TV

Tracie Egan Morrissey — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 12:30:00 EDT

Today, Rico Rodriguez—the 11-year-old star of Modern Family—was on The View, where things got kinda weird after guest co-host Joan Rivers said to him, "You love to fool around with the older ladies. You're a big flirt." More »

Do Not Want: "A Lover's Guide To Older Women."

Sadie Stein — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:30:00 EST

And in the next few paragraphs, you will read a reference to, and I quote, "glamorous French cougars dans les rues." More »

Vodka Is For Cougars; Will Renew Your Masculinity

Irin Carmon — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:40:00 EST

The overlords of advertising seem confused on a very important point: should vodka be girly or manly? Or is it the realm of that strange and exotic creature, the cougar? Millions of dollars hang in the balance. More »

Hello, Dolly

Anna Holmes — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:50:00 EST

[Culver City, January 27. Image via INF]

So Much For The Cougar Meme Dying With The Decade...

Sadie Stein — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:30:00 EST

Although according to Time's "brief history of the cougar," they're as old as human history itself. That's right, not "older woman and younger men," but "cougars." Including, wait for it, "Cougar the Great" (pictured.) [Time] More »

And If You're A Thundercat, You're Cheetara

Hortense Smith — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 16:35:00 EST

Know your dumbass cat-status, ladies: "If you're in your thirties, you're a puma. If you're in your forties and fifties, you're a cougar. And if you're in your sixties, you're a panther." And if you're sane, you're a *headdesk.* [TimesOnline] More »

Great Dates In History

Sadie Stein — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:40:00 EST

The world's first "cougar cruise" sets sail from San Diego today. The three-day event, which advertised that a cougar "knows exactly what she wants ... (and) what she doesn't want is children, cohabitation or commitment," was a sellout. [USAToday] More »

Man Vs. Wild (Woman): Intrepid Explorer Exposes Dangerous "Cheetahs"

Anna North — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST

Explorers on the dark continent of dating have long known the dangers of the fearsome cougar. But a new menace lurks in the shadows: the cheetah. Luckily, one man has the balls to take this beast on. More »

“...I Had More Sex When I Was Reading Twilight Than In The Entire Few Months Before”

Sadie Stein — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:20:00 EST

Twilight Than In The Entire Few Months Before”" alt="Click here to read “...I Had More Sex When I Was Reading Twilight Than In The Entire Few Months Before”" src="http://cache.jezebel.com/assets/images/39/2009/11/twilight091123_560.jpg"/>

It's the love that dare not speak its name: middle-aged women who are obsessed with Twilight. More »

The Cougar Cough-Drop: Surprisingly Icky

Sadie Stein — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST

A bizarre, cougar-themed Halls ad is pissing people off and weirding others out: More »

10 Things You May Have Missed On TV This Week

Tracie Egan Morrissey — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST

In this week's compilation of pop culture crap we've got women with acrylic toenails, Kirstie Alley remembering her coke days, and Mary Hart, who still hates Jon Gosselin. More »

WTF Moment On Late-Night TV

Anna Holmes — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:30:00 EDT

10:28pm, EST. NBC. More »

OMG: Shocking Truths About Older Women & Younger Men Revealed!

Dodai Stewart — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT

A study published in the Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy focused on couples in which the wife is at least 10 years older. Guess what? People in these relationships don't think of them as weird! More »

Frances Cobain Lashes Out At Ali Lohan; Brad & Jen's "Secret" Meeting

Dodai Stewart — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EDT

Frances Bean Cobain has written an open letter to Ali Lohan. Would you like to know what it says? Here goes — and consider it to be [sic]-filled:

Courteney Cox Doesn't Know If "Cougar" Is A Compliment

Dodai Stewart — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:20:00 EDT

While promoting her craptastically crappy new show Cougar Town, Courteney Cox was on with Jimmy Kimmel last night and said a bunch of crappy crap about older women. More »

"It Was Hard For Me At First To Find Words For Why I Hated — Simply Hated — Cougar Town"

Dodai Stewart — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:40:00 EDT

Cougar Town"" href="http://jezebel.com/5367886/it-was-hard-for-me-at-first-to-find-words-for-why-i-hated---simply-hated---cougar-town" class="pp_image"> Cougar Town"" alt="Click here to read "It Was Hard For Me At First To Find Words For Why I Hated — Simply Hated — Cougar Town"" src="http://cache.jezebel.com/assets/images/39/2009/09/cougartown092509.jpg"/>

"It's girls-gone-wild feminism for 40-somethings. It's ridiculous and belittling and it stinks of another round of backlash… All the most cartoonish aspects of boorish middle-aged masculinity… [Courteney Cox's character is] so very pitiful." — Judith Warner. We suspected. [NY Times] More »

"This Whole Business Of Calling Yourself Cougars? It Needs To Stop. Now."

Dodai Stewart — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:20:00 EDT

Monica Hesse, Ellen McCarthy: "The way to embrace the concept of an older woman dating a younger man is not to give it a name that sounds… conjured up during a marketing meeting for cheap 1970s cologne." Agreed. [WaPo] More »

Cougar Town "About As Subtle As A Kick To The Groin"

Margaret Hartmann — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:20:00 EDT

Cougar Town "About As Subtle As A Kick To The Groin"" alt="Click here to read Cougar Town "About As Subtle As A Kick To The Groin"" src="http://cache.jezebel.com/assets/images/39/2009/09/custom_1253535820797_cougar-town-pic.jpg"/>

From Variety's review: "OK, so maybe Cox's character, Jules, hasn't gotten laid in awhile, but the notion that she'd be off-putting to men hardly matches her trainer-toned body and proves more laughable, unfortunately, than anything in [the script]." [Variety] More »

Sad-Sack Or Cougar: The Only Choices!

Sadie Stein — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:20:00 EDT

"If it feels as if the remarriage odds are bad for a woman in her 50s, they are." So claims the Times piece "In Her 50s, Looking for Love." Clearly, these women haven't seen Cougar Town! More »

No One Harmed At Cougar Convention

Dodai Stewart — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:30:00 EDT

It's tough being critical of the Bay Area Cougar Convention, when, from the looks of the photographic evidence, everyone had a fantastic time. But there's still a problem: More »

Candace Bushnell Asks "Why Was I Labeled A Cougar?"

Margaret Hartmann — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:30:00 EDT

"How come every time women manage to break out of traditional roles, someone... tries to ruin it with a derogatory label?... My husband is 10 years younger, but we've been married for seven years... he's 40, ferchrist's sake." [N.Y. Post] More »

Cougars, Pumas, MILFs, And....TWITs?

Hortense Smith — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 15:30:00 EDT

Oh, dear. I'm not sure why the world feels that women need to place themselves into stupidly named sociological gangs in order to justify their existence. We have the Cougars, the MILFS, the Pumas, and now, the tragically dubbed TWITs. More »

Real World: Cancun Premiere: Hooters, Cougars, And Slut Shaming, Oh My!

Tracie Egan Morrissey — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:00:00 EDT

Real World: Cancun Premiere: Hooters, Cougars, And Slut Shaming, Oh My!" alt="Click here to read Real World: Cancun Premiere: Hooters, Cougars, And Slut Shaming, Oh My!" src="http://cache.jezebel.com/assets/images/39/2009/06/rw62509_jez_512K.flv.jpg"/>

On last night's premiere of The Real World: Cancun, we learned that two of the eight roommates are career Hooters girls. Also: People still think that boys who sleep around are cool and the girls they sleep with are sluts. More »

Notable/Quotable

Dodai Stewart — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:40:00 EDT

"There's this tremendous pressure off [after age 50] – you deserve to have a wrinkle, you deserve to have a little pooch on your tummy." And! "I so hate the term cougar!" — Michelle Pfeiffer, to In Style. [Just Jared] More »

10 Things You May Have Missed On TV This Week

Tracie Egan Morrissey — Fri, 29 May 2009 16:00:00 EDT

Many weeks, we come across stupid stuff on TV that might fall through the cracks. In Mixed Bag, we collect those odds and ends, for a multimedia compilation of pop culture crap. More »

Me-Ouch! Sarah Haskins Gets Catty About TV Cougars

Dodai Stewart — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:20:00 EDT

Thank the cat goddess Bast that Sarah Haskins watched the crappy TVLand reality series The Cougar, because we'd never know some dude actually said of another contestant, "He thinks he's so cool because he has a job." More »

5 Reasons Why Courteney Cox's Cougar Town Looks Awful

Dodai Stewart — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:00:00 EDT

Cougar Town Looks Awful" alt="Click here to read 5 Reasons Why Courteney Cox's Cougar Town Looks Awful" src="http://cache.jezebel.com/assets/images/39/2012/01/small_2e16c7a1991ae8c2af61ff5a5f4168fa.png"/>

It'd be great to see vibrant older women with active sex lives on TV; but from the looks of two (admittedly short) clips (embedded after the jump), Cougar Town is going about it all wrong. More »

Cougar Fight: Kathie Lee Gets In Vivica's Face

Dodai Stewart — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:30:00 EDT

While on the Today show promoting her new series The Cougar, Vivica A. Fox had a heated confrontation with Kathie Lee Gifford… over Zac Efron. KLG actually got in Ms. Fox's face! More »

How Do We Survive The Cougar Attack?

Dodai Stewart — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:00:00 EDT

Salon's Rebecca Traister hates the word "cougar," when it applies to older women dating younger men. She writes: More »

No, Actually, This Is A Cougar

Anna Holmes — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:10:00 EDT

This Is A Cougar" alt="Click here to read No, Actually, This Is A Cougar" src="http://cache.jezebel.com/assets/images/39/2009/04/cougar041409.jpg"/>

[Vallejo, California; April, 2007. Image via Getty]

What Would You Do If Your Friend Was Marrying "Mr. Wrong"?

Margaret Hartmann — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:20:00 EST

This week the pseudo-journalistic ABC News series What Would You Do investigates whether a group of middle-aged women would tell their friend not to marry a man young enough to be her son. More »

Dear Jennifer Aniston: Enough Already

Jessica G. — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST

Heeey Jen. How are you? You okay? Feeling weird? You've been acting bonkers! According to GQ you're trying to take back control of your own media narrative. Too bad you look desperate. More »