Most people know what the pop-culture term “Cougar” refers to when talking about a woman. It is usually defined a woman, over the age of 40 (sometimes 30 based on other peoples definitions), who enjoys dating younger men. The TV show “Cougar Town” is a show about a group of older divorced women who lead the cougar life. One woman lives with her 18 year old son, and dates guys his age.

So, does this fictional TV show really portray real world interests?

There was recently a study done by the University of Wales Institute, on this intriguing topic. It was done using several dating websites to determine if older women were in fact significantly interested in younger men. The study found that women in general do not strive to lead the cougar life. Instead, they prefer to date men who are older than themselves. On top of this, they also found that men typically enjoy dating women who are younger than themselves.

This doesn’t mean that older women don’t enjoy being “Cougars” once in a while. However, in general, they still prefer older men. Sorry Guys.