Google says no to Cougars
Google Tells Sites for ‘Cougars’ to Go Prowl Elsewhere
United Artists
By SARAH KERSHAW
Published: May 14, 2010
IF you’re a woman who would like to date younger men, you can find lots of articles about these relationships by doing a Google search.
But as a woman looking for a man, you might be a little confused by the advertisements that accompany these articles. One promises to help you find sexy Latin women, and another, hot Latvian ladies. But there are no links to the growing number of “cougar” dating sites, matching older women with younger men, on content sites that show up in a Google search. Google has recently deemed those dating sites “nonfamily safe,” and therefore its ads for such sites containing the word “cougar” will not be allowed on so-called content pages.
The Google advertising system has two components: one for ads that appear next to search results, and one for its content network. For a company like CougarLife.com, now banned from the content network, that means its ads will no longer appear on more than 6,700 Web sites, including Ask.com, YouTube and MySpace, which accounted for 60 percent of its traffic, said Thomas Koshy, vice president for marketing at CougarLife, a Toronto-based site that says it has a half-million members, men and women.
Google continues to allow similar advertising for the many sites that match older men and younger women, like DateAMillionaire.com, which assures its clients they can meet “sugar babies.”
So cougars and cubs are out, but sugar daddies and sugar babies are in.
Blurbs and “sponsored links,” which typically pop up on the right side of the screen, for dating sites like CougarLife.com and other “nonfamily” sites (one screams “Date a hot cheating wife!”) will still appear along with a list of search results.
Google, which has more than a million advertisers, would not comment on why sugar-daddy sites are still considered family safe, but cougar sites are not. The company’s decision, made public this week by CougarLife.com, has rankled not only advertisers but women who have embraced the cougar concept as a symbol of empowerment, of older women bucking dating stereotypes.
Many feminists still take issue with the word “cougar” because it may conjure the image of a predatory, aggressive older woman on the hunt for a boy toy. And plenty of cougar dating Web sites are salacious, as are other dating sites.
With television shows like “Cougar Town,” many movie plots based on these May-December romances (not always portraying cougars in a positive light) and a steady stream of tabloid reports on the comings and goings of celebrities like Demi Moore, the concept has taken hold in pop culture.
But that’s a far cry from a societal stamp of approval. Experts on female sexuality and women’s history say Google’s decision provides a glimpse into a pervasive discomfort with older women as sexually active players on the dating scene.
“It’s relatively new that women have felt O.K. to be sexual and be attractive and continue to be alive in that way as they aged,” said Lonnie Barbach, a psychologist in San Francisco who specializes in female sexuality and relationships. “It’s always been an acceptable part of culture for men to be sexual at all ages and all levels.”
Last week, CougarLife.com, which was paying Google $100,000 a month to manage its advertising and place it on content pages, was notified by the company that its ads, which had been appearing since October, would no longer be accepted.
Google confirmed that “cougar” would now automatically place a site into the adult category, but would not say which other words would do that.
“We can’t comment on specific advertisers, but our policy is that adult dating ads are classified as nonfamily-safe, meaning that they will not show on the Google Content Network,” the company said in an e-mail message.
When notified by Google of the decision, CougarLife proposed substituting a different ad for the ones that were running, picturing older women and younger men together. Cougarlife said it would use an image of the company’s president, Claudia Opdenkelder, 39, without a man in the picture (she lives with her 25-year-old boyfriend).
But the advertising department was told in an e-mail message from its Google representative that “the policy is focused particularly around the concept of ‘cougar dating’ as a whole,” and asked if the company would be open to changing “the ‘cougar’ theme/language specifically (including the domain if necessary).” CougarLife forwarded the e-mail messages to The New York Times. Google would not comment on the messages but did confirm that they were consistent with the new policy on cougar sites.
“It’s just wrong all around,” Ms. Opdenkelder said. “It’s age and gender discrimination. It’s just about older, successful, independent, strong women who enjoy someone that’s younger. Some of the men sites, they are borderline prostitution, and Google has no problem having them advertise.” CougarLife said it was considering filing a discrimination complaint with a Canadian agency that oversees equality issues between private parties, and was looking into possible legal recourse in the United States.
CougarLife.com is owned by Avid Life Media, which also owns ArrangementSeekers.com, which describes itself as “the original Sugar Daddy service catering to ambitious and attractive girls seeking successful and generous benefactors to fulfill their lifestyle needs!”
Avid Life Media executives said that while some specific advertisements for the ArrangementSeekers site had been rejected, the ads were evaluated on a case-by-case basis and the site was still advertising with Google.
Mr. Koshy of CougarLife.com said his site was, however, continuing to advertise on Facebook, spending $100,000 monthly. Facebook, he said, had objected to some specific content of proposed ads but had not objected to the cougar concept.
A Facebook spokeswoman said there was no “broad ban on ‘cougar ads,’ ” but that any advertisement’s “image and language cannot be overtly provocative or sexual.” In the messages to CougarLife, Google said it might revisit the new policy. But for now, the cougars would be confined.
True love is love... although sometimes love is just love.
As i said. I dislike it. but im not against it.
those people find their happiness in that way... although, it is considerable and odd manner.
and oh
Except the article I was talking about.. the Granny-Grandson romantic and relationship.
I would never believe a 20s guy say he love her 70 year old grandmother in a romantic and sexual manner. so as with the grandmother.
They are just both sick...
Okay?
That's what my book said.. Same thing...
Enlighten me again...
I know that pedophilia is just a type of chronophilia/paraphilia.
Now tell me where did my words went wrong?
It is already not proper to label a woman of a certain age "cougar".
The rest, ah well, I am not even commenting on the obvious. Especially not here.
...and makes your soul lighter...
Sometimes crying is good, helps clean your eyes :)
WK: too late. I'm already crying.
Khawaga: I can't be specific here, this is QL :P
WK: I'm hurt
No Khawaga, nobody in particular ;)
There is an old dictum. A young man always has to learn the niceties and the art of -- from an older woman.
Personally I prefer men slightly younger to me. I dated guys who were older then me and found they had far too much baggage.
Do you have a specific woman in mind?
Well yes Khawaga, you are right.. I do love all women but let's just say that given a choice between a 20 year old and one slightly older than me then I will prefer someone a few years older than me.
WK, don't lie......it should be " WK loves all women irrespective of their age"
WK: Older women? And younger women... and women your age... be honest. You don't discriminate!
I love older women :(
Actually it is a bit hypocritical and I didn't expect Google of all companies to be biased like this.
Arrey baba same thing re... older woman = tiger/ jaguar na? lol!!!
Damn u Colt...:(
u told me a lie abt cougar u duffer....:)
Love is love, who are we to judge. As long as both parties consent I see no issues with it.
Pedophilia is when an adult or older adolescent (say 16 and older) experiences a sexual preference for prepubescent children.
Cougar is older women who prefer younger men (not children)
Hope you're enlightened now!
Olive:
of course I disagree..
Im not against it.. but i dislike the idea.
an old man marrying a woman who's age is decades away from him.. for me that is sick.
same thing goes vice versa,
Colt45:
enlighten me.
It's all about LOVE..... or lust... tsk tsk... who cares, as long as both are HAPPY and content!
Its all about love, but some times one should also look at the consequences of having an age difference. Yet to meet an old women in my life..:)
Cougars and pedophiles are not the same!
So you disagree with men marrying younger women?
well then.. good luck on your endeavor.
but for me cougars and all kinds of pedos are just eww.
somehow i find it sick.
I remember reading an article once.. about a granny married a 20s by age guy... and they both claim they love each other..
and to make the story more sick.. the young man is her own grandson.
Same same :-))
sounds fishy !!
Heard abt Jaguars though ?:(
Cougars bole to tiger re ;-)
wat do u mean by Cougars ?
I say.... SHOW YOURSELVES... :-P
Sorry sepsep I'm not willing to sit back and be treated as second best. Women have the same rights as men, plain and simple.
There are lots of cougars roaming the wilds of QL...those 66 and over.....
UK, Flan, Darude, WK, Arien, Rizks us single guys have to be careful of these wild cats of QL
Olive....
What can we do..
The world is created and meant not to be fair for everyone.
somehow it's like asking why was I born cute and you are not.
it's something like that.
its just a sample anyway.. im not cute at all.
but its so true...
nothing's fair.
I am with you on this one. Are older women not people who need love too?
WTF ever, I say COUGARS rock!!! :-D
Me likes cougars :-(((
May be it makes some business sense to them which has been conveyed differently.
The purpose of the sites is to find relationships, I'm sure many of them won't last, but that's not the point flor, the point is the hypocrisy.
FS, it saddens me to see it still happening in the West in this day and age.
Funnily enough the add on this thread now is to "Find your Russian Beauty"
Olive...this world is sexist...even though ppl from west try to debate otherwise:)
Soniya..:) not a bad idea..
cougars and your views about "disposable" relationship,Olive? I think these dating sites will end up in "disposable" relationship? Including the Men dating sites!
I doubt there's to many women here in Qatar who do use the site FS, as it's a Canadian site. (Even though there's plenty of Cougars in this country :P) But I just find it interesting that, even on this site we get the ads for dating sites for men but they're taking issue on one's for women. Shows how behind the even the West still is with viewing women as equal.
FS, yes i agreed with u..But i really get violent whenever i see ne injustice to the women..lolzz..So just thought better not to discuss on this..Or y don't v write a letter to the google officials regarding their partial attitude?? what say???
Yes v can..infact y not..i being a woman myself couldn't digest this news and has no words to say further..i can only use some abusive words for these hypocrites..lolzzz
Soniya, most of the topics discussed here are like that! We are not posting here to get an official response...
I don’t even know what that site is...so I didn’t bother to comment... those who use it might have their say on this...
So what? We can't discuss it?
yes i did find it hypocritical..But mere raising voice over here won't give ne solution..do u think our discussion would make GOOGLE people to allow dating sites for older women too??? answer is NO...
You don't find it a little hypocritical soniya that google is still allowing dating sites for men but not for women?
interesting!
Lots of people meet their mates online. I see no issues with it. I just dislike the hypocrisy here, why let older men seek younger women but not vice versa?
ok..so whats the issue?? let google to do their jobs..Older women will find some other way to date young men..lol
Better ban all dating sites.....virtual world is not a place to look for real partners whatever the age be.
Olive Madam. you could have just briefed it out so that it won't be boring to read.
Anyways. I say no to Cougars too. and no to Sugar Daddies.
The issue Drmana is that they are banning dating sites that have older women looking for younger men, but they are leaving all the dating sites with older men looking for younger women.
It was too long for me to read and understand but from whatever I understand, this is good. I am against the idea of any type of dating websites :-)