By Chris Raposa
For Weekly Surge

Mrs. Robinson has finally come of age. Older women are hooking up with younger men in growing numbers, and it's not just a Hollywood thing or the fantasies of Penthouse Forum letters.

For decades, the norm in American society has been the same: older men with younger women were looked at as cool and trendy. The question we've all heard a thousand times is, "why is it that if an older man dates a younger woman it's cool, but if an older woman dates a younger man, it's creepy?"

In our day in age, the tables are turning. A new era is upon us, the era of the cougar.

Women are finally realizing what men have understood for centuries. Sex with someone young and exciting gives you a dangerous-in-a-good-way feeling. Oh, the sex is great too. After divorcing some jackass who cheated with his young secretary, many women now accept and embrace the new era where it's not only socially acceptable to date younger men, it's also hip and fashionable. A young, good looking man on your arm is now as desirable as a Gucci purse in the accessory department. Think Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher or Eva Longoria and Tony Parker.

If you don't know the term yet, listen closely and get used to it. A cougar is defined by the Urban Dictionary as "an older woman who frequents clubs in order to score with a much younger man. The cougar can be anyone from an overly surgically altered wind tunnel victim, to an absolute sad and bloated old horn-meister, to a real hottie or MILF. Cougars are gaining in popularity - particularly the true hotties - as young men find not only a sexual high, but many times a chick with her shit together."

In fact, TIME Magazine recently deemed cougar as the new no. 1 buzzword in the American lexicon.

There are many different terms and labels used to describe cougars. Generally, they are attractive women between 35 and 55-years-old who prefer the role of hunter as opposed to being the hunted and usually prey on younger men younger than the age of 25. They are also referred to as MILFs and GILFs. The upside for many of the men that cougars prey upon is the fact that, for the most part, they are attractive older women who have their own money and aren't looking for anything serious. To put it another way, there are no strings attached.

This not-so-elusive creature is responsible for sexing up young men all over the Grand Strand. The long running social comment in American culture has been that it's not fair that men hit their sexual prime at 18 and women hit their prime at 37. All cougars do is even the sexual playing field so that both she and her prey walk away from a sexual experience with an ear-to-ear smile.

Cougars are found in every area of the world, but in an early retirement community and tourist area such as Myrtle Beach, cougars run rampant like predators hunting in packs along the Serengeti. To truly study the cougar is an entertaining yet daunting task. We set out to the most fertile cougar hunting grounds along the Grand Strand to observe their common traits and even put them in controlled experimental settings to see how they hunt and catch their young and virile prey.

For the sake of anonymity and due to the fact that many of the women we will discuss are local business professionals, the last names of the cougars mentioned in this story are omitted. A person's sex life is a personal issue and we were fortunate to have these women speak to us with honesty and complete candor.

Everyone we talked to said 2001 Nightclub in the Lake Arrowhead area of Myrtle Beach was going to be the cougar hot spot, but during my hunt, I found that the south side of the Strand is the best area to view cougars in their natural environment. Let's face it; there seems to be more hot retired women on the south side of the beach, many from higher income brackets as well. The Marlin and Johnny's Sports Bar - Nite Life in Garden City Beach are prime hunting spots. Johnny's is also the place I found and tagged a new breed, the elusive Red Cougar. They are similar to other cougars, but in more of a redneck, honky tonk kind of way. They enjoy NASCAR, Gamecock football and Travis Tritt. They are wild, loud, and walk into a bar shouting, "I'm gonna get me some ass tonight!" If the cougar picked you up while line-dancing to a live country band, you were the prey of the Red Cougar.

While studying the mating rituals of the Red Cougar at Johnny's, I ran into Daniel, a 24-year-old who is on a two month leave from his Army tour of duty in Iraq. In the past three weeks, Daniel has been hunted and eaten alive by four separate cougars. "Myrtle Beach is great! I love hooking up with older women, and there's so many down here, it's like a cougar buffet," said Daniel. Last week, Daniel was taken home to a mansion-size home by a divorced, 42-year-old cougar that was on the hunt at The Dead Dog Saloon in Murrells Inlet. "She was drop dead gorgeous, drove a 2008 Mercedes, and fucked like a wild animal. After we were done, I laid back to catch my breath and she was like, 'What do you think you're doing?' I told her I was tired and she was like, 'Oh no sweetie, it's time for you to go.' She called me a cab and sent me on my way. It was hilarious because the whole cab ride back to my car, I was like, man, I just got chewed up and spit out like a used piece of meat. It was so awesome."

I put my feelers out all over the beach and at 11 p.m. on a recent Tuesday, a bartender called me from Remedies Bar and Grill with the urgent statement, "I've got a cougar prowling right next to me." By the time I got there, the cougar who we'll call Candy had already talked a 22-year-old college guy into giving her his hemp necklace and was working on her fourth free drink bought by said young man. Candy was told to expect me, and was ready to be interviewed, so she told her new boy toy to hang out with his buddies and we began discussing her cougar qualities. Candy is a beautiful 42-year-old divorcee who now resides in Surfside Beach but originally hails from South Boston, Mass. She has a killer body, long blonde hair and a sexual appetite for young meat that would make R. Kelly blush. Since she moved here last year, Candy had hooked up with seven younger men ranging from 27 on the high end to a 19-year-old on the low end. We had to ask her, was the guy even out of high school? Candy laughed and replied, "Of course he was. I'm almost positive." When we asked Candy why she liked younger men, she explained that, "They are just incredible. Guys my age have wives or ex-wives or a bunch of kids. They just have tons and tons of baggage, but not with younger guys. All they want to do is party and have sex. And they can go longer in bed than any guy my age. They're just so anxious and appreciative. Young guys are like cute little pets. Every woman should get one."

After speaking with Candy, I went to The Marlin in Garden City Beach. After explaining my cougar hunt to the manager and bartender, they both laughed and immediately walked me over to the bar's über cougar, Joyce, for proper introductions. Joyce is a local artist who paints amazing, giant wall murals for many local businesses including one on the back of the band stage at The Marlin. This little 5-foot-4-inch ball of fire was dressed in a sequined backless blue top with black hot pants. Joyce is 71-years-old and she's dating a 43-year-old man. She also looks great for her age and has the fire and sex drive of women half her age (if they're lucky). Technically, her boy-toy was not in the cougar hunting age limitations, but given her age, I'd have to say she is queen of the local cougar circuit. "He's not the youngest guy I've been with by far," said Joyce. "I like younger men, because age means nothing. It doesn't matter how old a guy is because I've never met a man who could keep up with me in bed. The one I'm with now is always worn out by my sexual appetite." With that, Joyce gave me a big kiss, a wink, and was back out on the dance floor dancing and hunting for new prey.

So we had been to a few local bars that have traditionally older crowds. Now it was time to hit the high-end places, and what better place to start than Myrtle Beach's sleek, new bar, The Buddha Lounge. Let me start by saying, I've worked at the Buddha Lounge as a deejay many times and from first-hand experience, it's always got the hottest women and girls dressed to kill. If you pick up a cougar at this place, we're talking "Real Housewives of Orange County" hot. The best night to get this chance is College Night on Thursdays. There are not only rich hot cougars hunting college boys, but also wealthy older men looking for the cougar's arch rivals, the kitten. I sat down with Buddha Lounge General Manager Naor Cohen for a club manager's perspective on cougars. Naor said, "The cougars that come here are very successful both in business and in their hunting styles. They range from real estate moguls to wealthy widows and divorcees and are drop dead gorgeous." Buddha Lounge waiter Andrew Raak told me that he's been hit on many nights by the hot older women that frequent the bar. "It's a real chill atmosphere that creates a great comfort zone for everyone to talk and meet new people," he said.

Finally, I heard K-Rae's Pub near the Garden City Pier had been having some cougar sightings, so with paper, pen and beer in hand, I continued on my pilgrimage and I was not disappointed. As I spoke with the bartender about my need for interviewing more cougars, she simply pointed to the hot blonde sitting to my immediate right. "Hi, I'm Tina,'' she said smiling. Tina is 39-years-old and hot as the sun. She has a great body, blonde hair, blue eyes and full sexy lips. Tina has been down here for a couple of years after leaving New York City, and has a penchant for getting it on with younger guys. "I don't know if I consider myself a cougar, but the guy I'm seeing now is 24, so I guess you could say I am. I just don't like to be categorized,'' said Tina. "It's just that after dating older guys, then comparing them to younger ones, there's no competition. A younger guy has stamina and a way better body than a guy my age. A man in his 40s will finish up, roll over and fall asleep whereas a younger guy wants to go a few more times. They just satisfy more of my needs." After a few more beers, Tina went on to say that since moving to the beach, she's dated younger men exclusively, the youngest being 22.

It was now time to use my controlled experiment subject. Nick Demarcos is a 24-year- old local deejay and waiter. When I first met him, long before this story was being written, Demarcos was at Bully's at Barefoot Landing, mugging it up with a 37-year-old cougar. "Man, I get picked up by cougars all the time,'' he said. So we decided to throw him into the cougar hunting grounds of The Liberty Tap Room and 2001 Nightclub on a recent Friday night. Unfortunately, the Taproom - which usually draws throngs of cougars on Little Black Dress Night - was an unexpected disappointment. On a Friday night, there were no cougars to be found. What we found there were hot young ladies and older couples, but no cougars, sorry.

Finally, we took a trek to the supposed cougar Mecca...2001. Once we got in the front door, I told the manager about our quest for cougars on the hunt. "You've come to the right place," he said. The place is like "Sex in the City" meets "The Golden Girls." As we walked through the beach music area, we saw no young guys. It was mostly older couples shagging to beach music. As we entered the back area that is a dance club with a deejay, the picture shifted. In a room filled with older women, young men were strewn about. Were they prey or predators? There is no way to miss the fact that 2001 caters to an older demographic. So why were they there? Simply put, I'll tag them as Granny Chasers: young men who put themselves in the line of fire in an older setting. In the late 80s and early 90s, they were called gigolos, now they're just horny young guys who like older women.

The weird thing about 2001 was the fact that nobody, cougars or their prey, would talk about their sexual interests. It's a speakeasy situation. You know it's happening, you see it happening, but nobody would acknowledge it.

The only people who would talk to me were 24-year-old bartender Craig Matney and a 35-year-old waitress named Alexis. "You have no idea what goes on here. It's ridiculous. As a bartender, you get to see things outside the box. As the night goes on and the drinks get stouter, you see standards drop quickly. You look around and are like, 'Oh my god, he's going home with her. It's insane and hilarious'' he said. Matney went on to say, "I've had a few cougars pick me up. The best was two sisters from New Jersey. On a scale of one to 10, they were both 13s. I don't know what to say, but I learned some shit that night I never even thought about before. They come back every four months or so and it's sick."

Waitress Alexis is a hot, 35-year-old who doesn't prey on young men, but isn't afraid to experiment. "The youngest guy I've hooked up with in the last year was 24. The pros are that they aren't hardheaded and set in their ways. The cons are that they can be a little more on the immature side. Either way, they're more fun."

So that was our trip around the Grand Strand on the inaugural Weekly Surge Cougar Hunt. The thing that we learned first and foremost was that there are cougars at almost every bar you go into. It's not just a fad, it's a growing community filled with women who aren't going to sit in the shadows and let men have all the fun. To the contrary, these confident and aggressive women are taking over and showing the younger girls that they are still sexy and attractive. Some would call it a mid-life crisis, others would call them dirty old women, but every single cougar we met was just a cool woman who wants more sexually than men their own age can or will generally offer them. It's the same thing guys have been doing since the dawn of time. So to all you younger guys out there fantasizing to the 22-year-old wannabe stripper at the club, I say this: all the baggage that will go with that girl could be avoided if you just look a few chairs down the bar. Go get you a cougar.