Are you a cougar?

A “cougar” is a name for women in their 30s and 40s who pursue much-younger men. Take Anne Bancroft’s Mrs. Robinson in “The Graduate” or Susan Sarandon’s Nora Baker in “White Palace.”

These femme fatales are typically good-looking for their age and are confident in themselves and their sexual allure.

And then there’s Demi Moore whose cougarlicious naked body was on the cover of Vanity Fair twice, once pregnant. Talk about being confident in one’s appearance. Despite reported plastic surgeries, Moore is the Queen Cougar - married to Ashton Kutcher, 15 years her junior.

On television fans of “Sex and the City” saw Kim Cattrall play the insatiable, unapologetic role of Samantha Jones.

Well beyond 40, it is not fun to admit my age, but I must admit it is fun to imagine myself as a cougar; not that I want to wear T-shirts displaying “On the Prowl” or “I Love Young Boys” or “Cougar Crossing,” but I could fantasize wearing black fishnet stockings and some hot little red number stealthily stepping into my low lit bedroom.

Then I remember what a twin pregnancy did to my belly and make a sharp U-turn back to reality. I can’t imagine feeling comfortable pursuing a man 10 years - or more - younger.

I’ll stay in the familiar arms of my husband who knows - and appreciates - the history behind the body.

There is a book out called “Simply Irresistible,” by Ellen White, about women she calls sirens. These women, like cougars, are confident, sexy, and confident. They embrace life and their circumstances and celebrate men. White discusses historical sirens, including Cleopatra, Queen Elizabeth, Greta Garbo and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

The sirens are divided into categories: the companion, the competitor, the goddess, the mother and the sex kitten. White herself is a self-described companion siren with competitor overtones. I am definitely a mother siren with companion overtones. What is your category?

For those interested in pursuing their feline fantasies, head to the Web site started by Linda Franklin, www.highyield-living.com. A life coach at age 60, Franklin apparently has an offshoot site called the Real Cougar Club.

I am afraid I will never reach cougar status but I like to think I am a siren-in-the-making, having the ability to embrace life and the curveballs it throws.

After all, what makes a mature woman attractive is the confidence she exudes from her years of learning, loving, losing and laughing. It’s called living.

However, has anyone seen any fishnet stockings for sale?

Jeanne Twigg-Taylor, Milton