Demi Moore may be a beacon of light for aging cougars on the cusp of sexual worthlessness who want to crow triumphantly about all the boy toys pursuing them, but the facts are, as is usual when discussing the functioning of the dating market, quite a bit more depressing than what passes for reality in their fevered imaginations.
British psychologists said that the phenomenon of the “cougar” – older women on the prowl for younger men – does not actually exist in the real world.
They studied a number of online dating sites and found that men and women are still rather traditional when it comes to searching for their ideal partner.
Women generally seek an older and, therefore hopefully, wealthier man whereas men desire a young and attractive female, and often prefer a much younger partner as they themselves age.
The findings, published in the journal Evolution and Human Behaviour, disputes the phenomenon popularised in TV shows and movies like “Cougar Town” starring Courteney Cox and “Sex and the City” of women aged over 40 seeking “cubs”.
Many cougars have argued that since they are modern women with financial independence, they are free to pursue younger men for their looks alone. But this runs into two problems that are perfectly predicted by evolutionary psychologists; one, younger men don’t want them, and two, cougars, no matter their own economic independence, remain more attracted to older men with means, just as they did when they were younger and poorer. It seems the hindbrain which governs our sexual impulses is largely impervious to cultural shifts in mating market variables.
He said it was a commonly held assumption that with the advent of female financial independence, women were now free to target men of any age group, as securing financial security from older, wealthier males was no longer a priority.
“The transference of female desire from relatively older men to relatively younger men, it has been argued, is reflected by the growth of the toy boy phenomenon,” he said.
“The results of our research challenges these assumptions. Although there was some cultural variation in extremes, the results showed clearly that women across all age groups and cultures, targeted males either their own age or older.”
Some things never change. What about men?
Dr Dunn said a strikingly different pattern of age preferences was evident in men.
Younger men, aged 20 to 25, either targeted females their own age or marginally younger.
But as males aged, they clearly expressed a preference for women increasingly younger than themselves, with this pattern also being cross-culturally consistent.
“These findings are clearly supportive of evolutionary theory,” Dr Dunn added.
“A wide variety of evidence has shown that women, when considering a potential long-term partner, focus more than males on cues indicative of wealth and status and these logically accumulate with age.
“Males conversely focus more intently on physical attractiveness cues and these are clearly correlated with the years of maximum fertility.”
This should highlight just how quickly and radically women lose sexual value as they hit their 30s. The rare gem is Monica Bellucci who can still look bangable at age 40. Most women look like this at 40:
If you really want to get under a cougar’s skin, tell her the truth: she is the sexual equivalent of a nerdy, socially inept beta male. When she has hit the wall and no men but the lowliest degenerates would try to fuck her, she has become what she loathes the most — the omega male.
Cougars on the prowl? No. More like cougars settling down for a long winter’s nap.
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