Community Question: What Do You Think of When You Hear the Word, "Cougar"?
A school in Utah shot down the idea of having a Cougar as its mascot because of the negative connotation of the word.
In a place like Manassas Park, where students at every one of the four schools in the city are collectively known as the "Cougars," it's hard to believe that the meaning of the word in popular culture would cause such a negative uproar (pun intended), that the mascot would be changed.
But that's exactly what happened in the Canyons School District in Utah where students voted to have the cougar as the mascot of Corner Canyon High, a school slated to open in the fall of 2013, according to a Huffngton Post report.
The word, "cougar" is used as an informal term for older women—typically in their forties—who seek to date and have sexual encounters with men significantly younger than themselves.
The board made the decision to call Corner Canyon High students and sports teams the Chargers, a term for war horses, after Canyons Superintendent David Doty received several phone calls and emails from parents and patrons about the proposed cougar mascot.
"... Opposition to the 'Cougars' focuses on a concern that the mascot, combined with the school’s blue/white/silver color scheme, will be too similar to Brigham Young University. Many also have commented on the negative double entendre of the word 'cougar,'" Doty wrote to the board.
Kris Day
9:45 am on Saturday, January 21, 2012
Never occurred to me that our mascot was anything but a strong, fierce wild cat. Even though the word "cougar" has been hijacked for the short-term to mean some kind of older woman pursuing a younger man, no one can mistake our mascot for that silliness over the long haul. I'm sure the OP Yellow Jackets have taken their share of flack for a mascot that is an insect, yet they wear it proudly. Hey, my high school mascot was The Beaver, so I think we can be pretty happy we're the Cougars!
Trevor Batson
5:06 am on Monday, January 23, 2012
The young Cougars are rather Courageous - is an adjective - no pun intended
TJ
7:05 pm on Saturday, January 21, 2012
Kris, look at Arcadia University. They used to be Beaver College, but changed it to Arcadia because of a bad connotation with that name as well.
Vasquez2
10:38 pm on Saturday, January 21, 2012
On the subject of mascots, as an American Indian, I just have to say the idea of the "Redskins" has always annoyed me. Im not, in any way, about to go screaming off to the ACLU but I would challenge any "person of color" to substitute the color of their skin in that name and add to that some stereotyped image of their "race" on a football helmet and tell me if that would be acceptable to you. As for the cougar thing, I would, first, envision a beautiful big cat. However, the opposing team might be more intimidated by a team of rabid, post menopausal women in helmets...I would be.
Isaac Cohen
9:12 am on Monday, January 23, 2012
Vasquez2, You are so right! Some day the "Redshkins" name will be changed. It may not be soon but eventually. The "Bullets" had their name changed.