...cougar.
I had an interesting conversation with a friend this weekend regarding the definition of a cougar. She thought she wasn't, and I thought she was and had just stalked and pounced on her first prey. For those of you who do not know, a cougar is not just a wild cat. It is also the term used for a woman who dates much younger men. The definition of "much younger," though, is debatable. In general, I think anything > a 10-year age gap is Big Cat Exhibit territory. However, let's say it's a 30-something woman. In that case, I think that anything > a 5-year age gap is cougar-like. The rationale is that men typically take much longer to mature emotionally, especially when they've just reached adulthood. Therefore, a 30-year old woman dating, let's say, a 23-year old man would be dating someone not 7 years younger, but maybe closer to maybe 10 to 15 years younger than her emotional age. That's just enough of an age gap to make most people cringe, so that to me equals cougar.
Now, there's nothing wrong with dating a "much younger" guy, but it does leave a girl potentially open for boatloads of ridicule and a broken heart. So, with that in mind, I can only advise my friend to stick to dating guys her own age, but if she does feel the need for younger game, that she at least sound a warning and make sure that both sides know what they're getting into.
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