Thursday, 28 January 2010 11:43 am
(no subject)
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deckardcanineThe other day, I read an advice column in which a woman asked how to deal with friends who think she's a cougar. What neither she nor the columnist brought up was that they had a rather broad concept of cougardom: he's 29 and she's 38.
Now, I realize that the half-your-age-plus-seven rule of thumb has limits severe enough to make it a joke, at least at the extremes. I realize that the creepiness factor has to do less with numerical age and more with some combination of looks and behavior (you wouldn't guess from observing my sister and her boyfriend that they're 25 and 44). But it's hard for me to imagine how that woman could pass for a cougar, even if he's a babyfaced slacker manchild.
Now, I realize that the half-your-age-plus-seven rule of thumb has limits severe enough to make it a joke, at least at the extremes. I realize that the creepiness factor has to do less with numerical age and more with some combination of looks and behavior (you wouldn't guess from observing my sister and her boyfriend that they're 25 and 44). But it's hard for me to imagine how that woman could pass for a cougar, even if he's a babyfaced slacker manchild.