L&C Tech Talk

America’s puritanical values strike again! From Steve Jobs using the whole “think-of-the-children” routine, to now Google and their apparent problems with older woman and younger men (what would Ashton Kutcher say?) - Google has banned so-called “cougar” dating sites from advertising through its network, which is bad enough. Meanwhile it doesn’t seem to have the same problem with ads where older men are seeking younger women. I smell hypocrisy!

For those of you who don’t already know, a “cougar” in this context is an older woman looking for a younger man, or, as Wikipedia puts it (as only Wikipedia can), “a woman, 35 years of age or older, who pursues younger men, typically more than eight years her junior”.

Several dating sites exist that cater specifically to women and men who prefer these kinds of relationships. Some would think that the internet is the final frontier where you can pursue your heart’s desire in peace. The majority of people in the United States see things differently, and have a lot of trouble dealing with sexuality; Janet Jackson’s “nipple-gate” really confirmed that. As such, American companies will try to appease their broadest group of users by taking a stance against anything even remotely sexual; I call it the “think of the children” syndrome.

Not too long ago, Apple CEO Steve Jobs(aka the king of all evil) said that one of the strong points of the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad is that it provides “freedom from porn” – something which obviously isn’t true (Safari has a Google search field, after all), but will bode well with the general American demographic. While I can’t find an issue with Jobs adhering to morals in the US, it’s sad they have to be exported to countries that are more progressive about sexuality.

Apple isn’t the only major tech company struggling with sexuality issues. Google, too, is having problems.  The head honchos at Google don’t really know what to do with the concept of the previously mentioned cougar dating sites. The website CougarLife.com told The New York Times that its advertisements have been removed from Google’s ad network because the search giant deemed them “nonfamily safe”. All advertisements containing the word “cougar” are now labeled as adult.

“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,” Google told The New York Times. However similar sites that cater to the reverse type of relationship are not being banned. Websites that serve older men seeking younger women are not banned, nor are sites where younger women can seek rich older men.

CougarLife.com offered to change its advertisements to just show older women and younger men together, or even just showing the company’s president, Claudia Opdenkelder, who is 39 years old and lives together with her boyfriend who is 25. Google then told the company it wasn’t the advertisement itself that bothered them – it was the idea of cougar dating in the first place. Apparently an older woman wanting a younger man has become a perversion in this country.

“It’s just wrong all around,” Opdenkelder told The New York Times, “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.”