The Science of Cougars

Posted on: 2010-09-03 08:12:28

If you're old enough to remember Dustin Hoffman as the young man in 1967's "The Graduate" being seduced by Anne Bancroft's Mrs. Robinson, then you're probably old enough now to be a cougar yourself. We've all heard about the female in our modern culture, quaintly referred to as a "Cougar." The term is applied to a woman in the fall or winter of her life who prefers to date --- and presumably have sex with --- men in the spring of their lives. While the term cougar implies predatory behavior and some women have trouble with that prejorative, the trend has become so commonplace that it has spawned a TV series called "Cougar Town."

Now researchers have focussed their lens on the phenomenon and unveiled some biological and social forces that make today's "Mrs. Robinson" common place.



A recent study published in the Journal of Health Psychology, found that the old fashioned view of menopause as a time of waning sexual energy isn't true for all women. And that far more influential on sexual behavior than hormonal changes are social and psychological factors. In other words, even if a woman's sex-hormone levels decline with menopause, her sexual desire may not be affected if she feels youthful and fit and lives in a permissive environment with opportunities to meet younger (or older) men.

In fact, just before she hits full-on menopause, a woman's sex drive may get a boost. In a paper published in Personality and Individual Differences by...

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