Panthers and Manthers

I’ve noticed something about myself over the years. I attract older men. Now, this doesn’t mean I go looking for older men. Right now, I’m definitely not looking for any one. Most of the people that I’m closest to in general are older than me. My two closest friends are closer to my mother’s age. I’m very tight with my mother. My ex husband is seven years older than me. My first lover after my divorce was 23 years older than me. It’s a strange phenomenon about my life.

I started thinking about it the other day and asked one of my dear friends (who happens to be exactly six days older than my mother) a question. Oh the things I start…

“So, an older woman who goes after younger guys is a cougar, right? What do you think they call a younger woman who dates older men?” I asked.

“Other than a grave robber, you mean?” Yes, there’s a reason we’re friends. She gets on to me every time I connect in any way with an older man. She tells me to leave them for her and the other older women of the world.

“Jesus! Yes!” I turned pink. “I am NOT a grave robber!! And I only ask you because you keep useless trivia in your head.”

She didn’t know so she Googled “opposite of cougar” and good old Urban Dictionary came to the rescue.

I learned two new terms that day: manther and panther.

Manther is a man who is attracted to younger women.

Panther is a woman attracted to older men.

I’m a freaking panther, y’all. Not on purpose, not by design, I promise. I don’t have an innate desire to gather older men to me. That being said, there is a lot to learn from older men.

I think that I attract older men because I scare away the men my own age. Or maybe it’s my submissive personality. Or maybe it’s something else altogether. But we have a new word in our vocabulary in the office – manther. Everyone liked that one more than panther and so when they see me, they just say, “Manther.”

They even decked my office out in sticky notes.

My candy bowl – “Manther chow”

My phone – “Manther hotline”

My jacket – “Manther cape”

If they had access to my car, I probably would have seen it labelled “Manther Mobile.”