Australia is known for its diverse landscape that even in online dating, singles have a diverse selection. However, a trending phenomenon is seen with the popularity of cougar speed dating. Cougar is the term used to describe sexually assertive and mature single women. There has been much talk about the emergence of “cougars” but many thought that this was just a marketing ploy by online dating promoters to capture the interest of singles still not caught in the online dating craze.

Australians seem to be particularly crazy about cougar speed dating as seen from a recent census. In the last quarter century, there seems to be a steady rise in the number of single women from age 40 to 54 participating in speed dating. For instance, in 1986, cougars are said to comprise 19% of that specific age group. In 2006, this rose to 27%. In fact, there are more women of this age group than men, only saying that women are getting more aggressive in their search for partners.

Women are into cougar speed dating possibly because they have reached the age of being financially independent and are now ready to divert their attention to their love lives. Many of these women are very active in the social scene, going out to clubs, bars and singles events. So if you are particularly interested in women in this age bracket and would like to date those who are sure with what they want, then watch out for the next cougar speed dating event in your area.

In truth, there is a good number of cougars in Australia but it appears that the whole country itself is quite crazy about them. This is probably why Cougar town, a new comedy, is raking in high ratings when it debuted in Australian TV with 1.3 million viewers. This is quite an accomplishment with stiff competition from established and popular shows.

Another confirmation of the popularity of cougar speed dating is the new competition “Miss Cougar Australia” with heats held in many key cities. Last year, the preliminary period was held during the first quarter of the year and the finals held in June. There are more one-time events centered on the cougar theme but not with the same success of cougar speed dating

The label “cougar” is widely used in both print and broadcast media as well as in the web. It was actually the website, AskMen, that started this trend, often running a top ten list of Australian cougars. Gretel Killeen, Naomi Watts, Kylie Minogue and Elle McPherson have figured on this list. Many of the sexy older celebrity women have dated younger men at some point in their lives.