YOU know an American subculture can legimately lose the "sub" prefix when it gets its own reality show.
The Dog Whisperer, super sweet 16s, dirty jobs - you can now add cougars to the unlikely list of subjects your Nana could plausibly bring up the next time she calls, if only to ask what one is.
According to the producers of "Cougars: NYC," a reality show now in development about the lifestyles of female hunters, a cougar is any woman older than 39 who likes to get intimate with a cub. Single or divorced, mother or childless - it's all good. And if you're a guy younger than 35 you can be a cub - or in my case, a cub reporter.
A large gathering of cougars and cubs was held last week at LES club Libation. Part singles' night, part open casting call for "Cougars: NYC," the club was packed with older women and the young men they adore. A steep $50 cover charge ensured that the guests weren't just Long Island horndogs out for a laugh, but were legitimately interested in the lifestyle.
And the thing is, they actually were.
Stars of the show include Dawn Ellison, 43, who has dated men up to 17 years her junior and writes about the lifestyle at cougarandthecub.com. To her, being a cougar isn't about finding a boy toy to spoil with fancy dinners and mind-blowing sex. It's about an older woman being free to reinvent herself in whatever way she chooses.
"We are looking to shatter the stereotypes that surround cougars and cubs," explains Ellison. "It's important for a woman to realize that she gets back what she puts out. If she positions herself as a smokin' hot mama, it is probably just going to lead to a booty call."
A better approach, advises Ellison, is for cougars not to dress and act like floozies, but to "command and demand respect" by being dignified. That way, "the younger guys are going to stick around for more than just one night. They will be interested in getting to know you on a spiritual and emotional level."
Ellison says she prefers dating cubs to men her own age because the younger guys don't try to control her, telling her what she can and can't do. They are free spirits, willing to date around her hectic schedule.
And it doesn't hurt that they're nice to look at.
The night started off quiet and a bit awkward. But by the time guests were into the second hour of the two-hour open bar, conversation between the sexes (and the generations) began to flow much easier. Soon there was dancing. Then there was groping.
"I like how I can mold younger guys into what I want," says divorcee Jillian Seiden, 46, who was married for 18 years.
"I've grown a lot as a woman since I first met my ex-husband. I know how to make my own fun now."
Some of the cubs were, well, awkward - the type of young men who might not have an easy time seducing women their own age.
But in Cougar Land, they were veritable Don Juans.
"It's a lot more fulfilling to be with a woman of some experience," says 25-year-old Jon Caballero as he shakes his moneymaker to the delight of the cougars around him. "A younger girl expects the guy to do all the work. But an older woman is not afraid to take the reins in bed."
Other cubs were perhaps more mature, there to seek meaningful relationships.
Michael Perry, 35, flew in from Ohio specifically for the cougar casting night. Sipping a cocktail at the bar, he seemed entirely content with the talent swarming around him.
"A younger girl thinks the sky is a different color every day of the week," he says. "I like a woman that knows herself a little more, someone who can embody a classy elegance."
But aren't younger women kind of, you know, hotter?
"Physical beauty is all relative," says Perry. "It all depends on how a woman handles herself."
While some of the big cats at Libation did handle themselves with said classy elegance, others seemed more interested in handling the young prey. These women appeared far more than three sheets to the wind, and got dance-floor freaky with cubs two decades their junior with the same ferocity that a dirty old man might employ with a co-ed.
Among this uninhibited subset was Katherine Morreale, a 42-year-old Brooklynite. Never married, Morreale says she dates both older and younger men, as they are both good for different things. Asked what younger men were good for, she responded with a smile and raised eyebrow.
Needless to say, she was a hit with the cubs.
jsilverman@nypost.com
