Ok, so I recently watched an episode of The Cougar reality TV show. If you are not familiar with the show, the Cougar is about a 40-year-old woman , Stacy, "dating" 20 men under the age of 30 to see if she can find "love." During the promos and first episode, TV Land introduced it as the show that will shake up the reality TV show industry and shatter stereotypes.
Now lets explore the reality dating show genre a bit further. Particularly stars of two of the industry's biggest franchises: Flavor Flav and Bret Michaels.
Both of these men are in their mid to late forties, hell they had full-fledged careers when I was a kid. And yet, the "dates" or contestants or however you want to look at it, for the most part are in their early 20's with maybe handful in their 30s. Are they called letches and dirty old men? No. The subject of age never comes up.
Eryka
And while that very well may be the case, I found the show to be the exact opposite! First, the show is reallllly boring. Second, it doesn't live up to the opening monologue delivered by the caricature known as Vivica Fox. Ms. Fox suggested that times have changed and it is ok for women to date younger men. Ok, then why:
A: Is Stacy is called a Cougar ( aka - a woman who dates men who are much to young for her)
B: In the promos she is referred to as a Sexy Older Woman
C: In the first episode her age or the age of her suitors mentioned every five minutes
Now lets explore the reality dating show genre a bit further. Particularly stars of two of the industry's biggest franchises: Flavor Flav and Bret Michaels. 
Both of these men are in their mid to late forties, hell they had full-fledged careers when I was a kid. And yet, the "dates" or contestants or however you want to look at it, for the most part are in their early 20's with maybe handful in their 30s. Are they called letches and dirty old men? No. The subject of age never comes up. They are never referred to as aging musicians looking to hit on women who wouldn't really give them the time of day in "real life" So how innovative is this show? How many stereotypes is it shattering or is it really reinforcing them??
But the kicker for me is how Stacy eliminates the guys that don't satisfy her cougary cravings. It is called the "kiss off.' If she likes them Stacy kisses the guy on the lips. If not, they get the cheek. So I just watched this woman, Stacy, the Cougar, kiss like 15 guys on the lips.
Ewwwww!!!
TV Land needs to go home and do this one over, because it misses the mark. And FYI, just saying it shatters stereotypes doesn't make it so.
Eryka
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