The Cougar convention is coming (pun intended)

Here’s an interesting e-mail I received about a convention in August:

Cougars from throughout America are invited to compete for the title of Miss Cougar America at America’s first-ever National Single Cougars Convention, Friday, August 28, 2009, at Dinah’s Garden Hotel, 4261 El Camino Real, Palo Alto CA. Cubs (younger men) in attendance will decide who wins the contest. Adults of all ages are welcome.

Francesca Gentille and Tahil Gesyuk, her much younger romantic partner (14 years difference), will deliver the Keynote Address: “Cougar-Luscious: Irresistible Dating & Relating for Older Women and Younger Men.” Ms. Gentille is the award winning co-author of The Marriage of Sex & Spirit and popular internet radio host of Sex: Tantra & Kama Sutra. “I find that I am more luscious as I age. In my 30s I was a Health Educator; in my 40’s I began to teach and perform Sacred Sensual Dance; now in my 50’s, I am launching The Sacred Courtesan School of Feminine Mystique & Power. I receive many more compliments and enticing offers from men today than I ever did in her 20’s. My motto is ‘The riper the berry, the sweeter the juice’.”

Tahil Gesyuk , co-director of The Integrative Arts Institute, became a massage therapist at 14, and a yoga therapist at 17. By the time he was 19 he owned his own center and was studying acupuncture. His first long-term beloved was 35 when he was 18. He has always adored and appreciated older women for their wisdom, power, and passion. “Now In my late 30’s,” says Mr. Gesyuk, “I am launching Daka University: Empowering Masculine Spirit – Decoding the Female Sex. My motto is ‘Life is about growth & discovery at every age’.”

The National Single Cougars Convention is based on Valerie Gibson’s Cougar: A Guide for Older Women Dating Younger Men. According to Ms. Gibson, “a cougar is the new breed of single, older woman—confident, sophisticated, desirable, and sexy. She knows exactly what she wants. What she wants is younger men and lots of great sex. What she doesn’t want is children, cohabitation, or commitment.”

“Age discrimination is perhaps the most pervasive prejudice in American Society,” says Rich Gosse, Producer of the convention. “Older women, in particular, are victimized by our youth-oriented society. They are regarded as ‘non-sexy’. Supposedly every American male is only attracted to nubile 20 year olds found in the centerfolds of men’s magazines. The truth is that there are millions of American men who find older women attractive, and we will prove it at the National Single Cougars Convention!”

This article appears in Jul 7-14, 2009.