"In The Second Sex, first published in France in 1949, Simone de Beauvoir had written of the older woman who pursues 'fresh flesh' because young men are the 'only ones' she can hope will feel desire for a 'maternal mistress.' The woman does so, too, to combat the anxiety of aging, felt by 'the one whose life is already finished, even though death is not imminent.'"
"The Post article could be read as celebrating female empowerment; in assessing recent films portraying the older-woman, younger-man dynamic, it described them as 'a far cry from the caricatures of predatory cougars from the past.' But its defaulting to the cougar label—lazy and male-gaze-y—connoting something predatory, reducing women to figures of curiosity (at best) or desperation (at worst)—nonetheless implied judgment."
Stereotypes surrounding older women dating younger men have persisted since the mid-20th century, often depicting them as predatory or desperate. Simone de Beauvoir's insights from 1949 still resonate today, as seen in the media's treatment of high-profile relationships like Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher. Recent portrayals in film and television, however, indicate a shift towards more complex representations of these dynamics, moving away from derogatory labels and towards a celebration of female empowerment and agency in May-December romances.
Read at The Atlantic
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