Cougars R Us
I am a young woman. Just putting a tippy toe into my prime. I still keep up with the scene. I shop at Forever 21. I follow the college radio charts as the ones that count.
Music has always been one of my life cornerstones. Although there is a little something missing for me of late.
“I swear, they’re twelve.”
My friend and I watch the band, Artic Monkeys, bounce across the stage.
“I think they may be thirteen,” I muse. “I can’t be attracted to that.”
She raises an eyebrow at me and grins lasciviously, “Welcome to Dirty Old Lady Town, population: you.”
With this new crop of hipster kid bands I suddenly find myself in “old enough to be their mother” territory. When did that happen? Not so long ago I looked up to the hot boys in the band and wished I was old enough to date them. My attraction to, say, Simon Le Bon is a key part of why I loved Duran Duran.
Then for a long time, you had to be at least as old as me to be in a band. Any musician was fair game for a celeb crush. Now, out of the blue, I’ve strayed into the older woman territory. Just like that.
“Now you’re a cougar,” my friend laughs. “You know, and older chick who preys on young boys.”
“No, I’m not!” I squeal. My friend’s bemused stare brings me down to earth. I reconsider. “Well they are nice and…energetic, the younguns.”
Still, I like to think of myself as being the young crowd. Not as hunting them. But sometimes it just sneaks right up on you.
I met a guy at a bar recently. A lawyer. He asked me out and though I had the nagging sense he was a good bit younger than me, I reasoned: he’s a lawyer, law school takes a few years, how young can he be?
We went on our date and all was well. He seemed worldly enough. Then he mentioned his MySpace page and I thought we might be straying into dangerous territory. Later he dropped me home and I couldn’t resist. I made like the kids do and checked his MySpace page.
While I couldn’t actually be his mother: seriously too young for me. Seriously.
So I guess all that’s left is for me to accept my cougarness as the next stage in my personal evolution. I am a Leo after all. Relating to myself as another kind of big cat isn’t such a stretch. It fits. I just didn’t think it would happen so suddenly.
As my friend and I applaud the Artic Monkeys’ closing number, I think of the bar manager down the street from me with the liver spots and the miniskirt. I always thought of her age-inappropriate clothing as laughable. I guess it’s time I ask her where she shops.
Music has always been one of my life cornerstones. Although there is a little something missing for me of late.
“I swear, they’re twelve.”
My friend and I watch the band, Artic Monkeys, bounce across the stage.
“I think they may be thirteen,” I muse. “I can’t be attracted to that.”
She raises an eyebrow at me and grins lasciviously, “Welcome to Dirty Old Lady Town, population: you.”
With this new crop of hipster kid bands I suddenly find myself in “old enough to be their mother” territory. When did that happen? Not so long ago I looked up to the hot boys in the band and wished I was old enough to date them. My attraction to, say, Simon Le Bon is a key part of why I loved Duran Duran.
Then for a long time, you had to be at least as old as me to be in a band. Any musician was fair game for a celeb crush. Now, out of the blue, I’ve strayed into the older woman territory. Just like that.
“Now you’re a cougar,” my friend laughs. “You know, and older chick who preys on young boys.”
“No, I’m not!” I squeal. My friend’s bemused stare brings me down to earth. I reconsider. “Well they are nice and…energetic, the younguns.”
Still, I like to think of myself as being the young crowd. Not as hunting them. But sometimes it just sneaks right up on you.
I met a guy at a bar recently. A lawyer. He asked me out and though I had the nagging sense he was a good bit younger than me, I reasoned: he’s a lawyer, law school takes a few years, how young can he be?
We went on our date and all was well. He seemed worldly enough. Then he mentioned his MySpace page and I thought we might be straying into dangerous territory. Later he dropped me home and I couldn’t resist. I made like the kids do and checked his MySpace page.
While I couldn’t actually be his mother: seriously too young for me. Seriously.
So I guess all that’s left is for me to accept my cougarness as the next stage in my personal evolution. I am a Leo after all. Relating to myself as another kind of big cat isn’t such a stretch. It fits. I just didn’t think it would happen so suddenly.
As my friend and I applaud the Artic Monkeys’ closing number, I think of the bar manager down the street from me with the liver spots and the miniskirt. I always thought of her age-inappropriate clothing as laughable. I guess it’s time I ask her where she shops.
posted by Heidi at 7:39 AM
6 Comments:
I have four words of advice for you my cougar friend: go to film school. The other MFAs are no fun, but the undergrads are frankly yowsa. They know you are older but they honestly don't know how old because they haven't learned to think that high.
Ah those sweet impressionable minds!
It really gets crazy at this point. Now - not that I'm looking at any of those "kids" in anything other than a scientific way - seeing as how I'm married and all... but what the hell happened? I feel like I was 20 a couple weeks ago and woke up and I'm pushing 40. I don't feel 40. I don't think I look 40... yet... but still... it's here. Inside - I feel like a kid - and I think like a kid... until I take the time to talk to a kid... and then I start to feel really really old... cause those kids ain't too swift... got a lot of life to left to live before they should be opening their young naive mouthes spouting all manner of nonsense...
I still can't figure out what happened. The industry keeps you young on the inside... but we all are heading down the inevitable road towards middle age... begrudgingly...
I am still just amazed by how quickly it happens. I swear we were 20 yesterday. Some days I still feel just that stupid!
Grrr-rowrrrr!
I'm a 40yo Cougar & proud of it! The Yahoo & CNN websites have had front page articles on this growing tend. Admit it, Ladies, we are cutting edge! We are as chic as Demi Moore. I always date men who are at least 8-10 yrs younger than me & I love it! They have more energy; have alot less baggage (in every department!); no jaded bitterness; listen to hip music; and are rarely a problem in bed. It's awesome and I'm not going to stop being a cougar, that is until a "cougar-bait" is cool/hip enough to tie me down! COUGARS RULE!!!!!.... -CD
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