Tracee Ellis Ross and the Moral Hypocrisy of Men

Tracee Ellis Ross has come out as a potential Cougar, and I feel fine.

In case you missed it, she recently did an interview with none other than Michelle Obama, where she stated that she prefers to date younger guys because they don’t seem to have a lot of the problematic views that are usually fueled by toxic masculinity, as the men in her own age bracket.

I tend to agree. I have always dated older men, and I have gotten to the point of dating men my own age or, yes, even a tad younger because I’ve just grown tired of trying to teach old dogs.

Now, I want to be clear, I’m not saying that I want to date men who are closer to my children’s age than my own, nor am I advocating for any woman to do such things.

But this is where I have to point out that neither did Tracee Ellis Ross. Unlike most older men, she didn’t put an age limit on it, nor did she specify that she necessarily dates much younger guys.

She simply stated her preference for younger men, and somehow, the very same men who have been advocating for men to never date anyone over 25, are calling her a predator.

I call bullsh*t!

But before we dive into this madness, let’s get the words from the horse's mouth.

During her interview on Michelle Obama’s “IMO Podcast,” Tracee had the following to say about her dating preferences:

"...a lot of men my age are steeped in toxic masculinity and have been raised in a culture where there is a particular way that a relationship looks."

Although she stated a preference for “younger men,” unlike the red pill manosphere, she never stated that she only dates men under 25.

Indeed, the main talking points for all of those podcasts are that successful men can get any woman they want, so they should choose the youngest, most naive, and most beautiful women with “low body counts.”

Cool beans.

And even though the focus on going for the overly submissive, naive 20-somethings seems entirely predatory, the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Future, Andrew Tate, Alec Baldwin, and countless others have followed this blueprint to a tee.

Indeed, any aging man with a few extra dollars in his pocket is often encouraged to “live the dream” by going after barely legal women who presumably only see dollar signs when approached.

Let’s take a look at one of Andrew Tate’s videos on this topic:

What’s So Different?

To take it back to Tracee Ellis Ross, I ask you, what’s so different? If older, successful men believe in using their money and power to attract younger partners, why is it such a problem when a woman does it?

Last I checked, men were 100% on board with this logic, and are always the ones saying “she’s an adult” when anyone questions a man’s decision to date anyone over the age of 18.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out how countless men are now siding with Shannon Sharpe, who is facing r*pe allegations from a young woman who allegedly was 19 when they started dating just a couple of years ago. He is 56.

Yet and still, Ross is receiving lots of backlash and angry responses, such as this one from comedian Corey Holcomb:

In the case of Ross, she hasn’t given an overly superficial explanation in terms of why she likes younger guys. She literally stated that her views and dating style don’t align with overly masculine men, who are most often the ones in her age range.

If many men are subscribing to the Andrew Tate school of dating, does this not make sense?! If successful men her age are seeking younger, docile women whom they can control with money, does it make even a little sense why successful women her age might not want to deal with such things in their dating lives?

If you’re a manosphere man, you’re probably saying no, which is fine.

Overall, if I didn’t know any better, I would think that men only think it’s funny to exclude entire demographics from the dating pool until they are the ones being marked as “expired.”

Call me crazy, though.

This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. 

Check out her new blog and merch store here! To support her content and projects, join her new Patreon, find exclusive content, donate to her platform, purchase holiday merchandise, and body-positive tees, follow socials, and keep up with her brand across the web; check out her Linktree!

Follow her on Medium, and don't forget to subscribe to her email list! It's free!