Danny Davids's Blog

Danny Davids

Cougars Prove Female Mid-Life Crisis Phenomenon Exists!

ABC has launched a new sitcom this season called "Cougar Town."  I'd never watch the thing; based on the previews I already know the content isn't anything I would be interested in.  But I am so glad the network has chosen to air this comedy.  For me, it provides further validation of something I've believed in for years:  Men are not the only sex that suffer from mid-life crisis!

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, "cougars" are older women (usually over 40) who go after younger men (usually under 30).  The phenomenon has been gaining media attention in the past few years.  Several movies have been made where the subject has been discussed at length.  Earlier this year Barbie's 50th birthday celebration included a fashion show where women half a century old wore clothing that Barbie herself would blush to be seen in if she weren't made entirely of gravity-defying plastic.  The first-ever "Miss Cougar USA" was crowned this year in California.  Television shows like "Glee" have touched on the issue, but "Cougar Town" is the first series built entirely around the concept.

There are some who pooh-pooh the idea that this is anything more than media hype.  It's sluffed off by many as simply another male fantasy.  The phenomenon, they insist, doesn't really exist.

I disagree.  And every other man out there should do the same.

The various media outlets claim that all they do is report the news.  They're not selective in what is presented, or the light in which it's reported; they simply report what people want to see.  We know better:  It's all about the money and what sells.  If television, newspapers, and the Internet are reporting on this phenomenon, it's not because it's hype, but that it make those outlets money.

The male fantasy issue is interesting.  I wonder how many 20-something men would say that they find women in their moms' peer group attractive.  Maybe a particular individual here or there, but not as an entire group.  Given the choice between, say, Courtney Cox (who stars in the "Cougar Town" series) and a young, flirty, attractive female in their own age group, would a young guy really choose the older option?  I know sometimes guys think with the wrong head, but please...not all the time!

When a man in his 40s or 50s wears his shirts unbuttoned to his navel, sports 40 pounds of gold chain around his neck, drives an expensive high-powered sports car (usually a two-seater convertible), and carries a pretty young girl on each arm, people scoff, call the man a pervert, and make other crude comments about his inability to grow up and be a man.  When a woman in the same age group wears a dress with the front cut down to her navel, the hemline of her skirt barely covers her undergarments (if she's even wearing any), deploys more makeup than the entire cosmetic counter at a major department store, giggles and flirts and acts like someone half her age, and chases after virile young men who could be her sons, people say she's just trying to recover some of her youth.  (But the young men she's going after are seen as opportunistic oversexed beasts who are using this woman's vulnerability and need to be loved to their advantage.)

What's the point of this discussion?  It's not to take to task society's view of May-December romances (and I'm not going to bring up those that involve minors--totally different topic altogether).  It's to point out that just like a man, a woman reaches a point in her life where she comprehends her mortality and wonders if she still has "what it takes" to maintain a relationship with a young, attractive person of the opposite sex.  She does what she needs to make herself look younger (clothing, makeup, plastic surgery) and goes out on the prowl to see if those younger guys are still attracted to her.  It's really nothing different than what a male peer would do.  And it does happen!

So the next time I overhear some woman voicing her irritation with yet another male trying to act half his age, I'm going to look her in the eye and ask, "What about cougars?"  And then walk away, whistling happily.

How a Random Act of Kindness Changed My Day

Principal in Utah Apologizes for Showing Children Obama's "I Pledge" Video

Thanks to a public school principal in Utah, a video released in January supporting Barack Obama is resurfacing again as opponents claim more proof of our President's anti-American agenda.

Produced by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions, the video shows celebrities from film and television, sports, the arts, and other areas pledging to do their part to change the world.  Many of the suggestions are decent ones.  "I pledge to smile more...to laugh more...to love more."  "I pledge to be a great mother...to be a great father."  "I pledge to always represent my country with pride, dignity, and honesty."  Particularly noteworthy is Jason Bateman's promise to help the environment; his method will be "to flush only after a deuce and never after a single" (a little TMI there, Jase...and I won't be using the facilities immediately after you do).  There are promises to volunteer, to fight for worthy causes, and to support our children and seniors.  The vignettes are meant to be heartwarming and inspirational, and most of the ideas proposed are not bad in and of themselves.

It appears there are two issues with the video.  The first is that some of the causes these celebrities pledge to support, like stem cell research, are "hot button" issues that already cause concern among a significant portion of the American population.  The second is two statements made towards the end of the video.  The first is issued by Anthony Kiedis of the band Red Hot Chili Peppers.  As he kisses his tattooed biceps, he says, "I pledge to be of service [kiss] to Barack Obama [kiss]."  Later as Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher stand side by side, they say, "I pledge to be a servant to our president and all mankind."  It's the idea promoted in this video that the people of the United States should pledge to be a servant to the President, rather than the President being the servant of the people, that has opponents so upset.

The video was brought back into the spotlight after the principal of Eagle Bay Elementary School in Farmington, Utah, showed it during a student assembly without first obtaining parental consent.  Gayle Ruzicka, president of the conservative Utah Eagle Forum, states the video is left-wing propaganda and political in nature.  "If parents want their children to learn about those things and do them in the home, wonderful, fine, but it's not the place of the school to show a one-sided propaganda piece to children without parents knowing about it."  The principal has apologized for the incident, and has ditched plans to show the video to parents at the school's "Back to School" night, feeling it might be too controversial.

The video, which can still be seen on YouTube, has generated a wide range of responses from viewers.  One poster writes, "I pledge to not stop here, but to continue to engage the community in making my community, this state, this nation and this world a better, more beautiful place."  Another comments, "I pledge to keep treating the President of the United States of America as the public servant that he is supposed to be.  I pledge to attempt to correct anyone who thinks that we owe some allegiance to Barack Obama the man, rather than the country he is supposed to represent."  Another posted, "JFK didn't say, 'Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for John F. Kennedy.' "

• Previous Posts:

• Cougars Prove Female Mid-Life Crisis Phenomenon Exists!
• How a Random Act of Kindness Changed My Day
• Principal in Utah Apologizes for Showing Children Obama's "I Pledge" Video
• Tax Evaders, Beware! Agents Using MySpace, Facebook to Hunt You Down!
• UK Public Service Announcement Video on Texting While Driving Graphic, Gory, and Necessary
• Going Green? Why Not Go All the Way?
• How to Validate Yourself as a Writer on the Internet
• First Wedding Dance, Now Divorce Dance! Video Spoofs "Jill and Kevin" Wedding Dance Video

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