Michelle Pfeiffer insists she is not a cougar, but I think she is. When she was asked what appealed to her most about her latest movie role "Cheri" here's what she had to day. "My character was elegant, incredibly sophisticated, a shrewd businesswoman, and above all else, she was really a moral person". Ok, Michelle that's what it means to be a cougar.
"Cheri" is centered around an older woman-younger man relationship in France's Belle Epoque. Today, 34% of women over 40 are dating younger men. It appears that these liasons, dangerous or not, aren't going away anytime soon. Do the outdated double standards still cloud these relationships? You bet, but you can't let the narrow minds of the misinformed infringe on your happiness.
After the screening last night, I was part of a lively panel discussion. Joni Evans of WowOWow.com and Thelma Adams of U.S. Weekly talked about today's woman over 40 and we got lots of great feedback from the audience. We all agreed that age doesn't matter when it comes to affairs of the heart. But, there are still those in Michelle's camp that want to change the term "cougar" because it implies we are predators on the prowl for younger men.
Here's what I have to say about that. It's ridiculous. The younger men are beating a path to our doors, not the other way around. Why is that so hard to imagine? I think women have to become much more comfortable with who they are what makes them happy. Movies about strong, independent and sexy women are more important now than ever. We have to keep the dicussion about women and aging in the forefront.
We have come a long way baby – but not nearly far enough. We can't stop the hands of time but we can certainly change how we approach the aging process. Real Cougars believe that the juiciest parts of their lives are yet to come.
