Why do we accept older men dating younger women but not the reverse?

Why is an older woman who dates a much younger man dubbed a 'cougar', yet an older man with a young girlfriend is regarded as a lucky bugger?

The word cougar implies the woman is an aggressive feline stalker of young males.

Then there's the term 'toy boy'. Is there an equivalent for the much younger woman with older man? Oh, that's right, she's just a gold digger.

No matter what, women never seem to win.

I am stewing over this, having just seen a story in one of the gossip magazines on the latest celebrity couple Chris, 41, and Julia, 23, from MasterChef Australia. There's 18 years in it.

In the story, MasterChef runner-up Poh says she supports her friends' relationship, the pair have much in common and the critics should bugger off.

It doesn't really bother me, and Chris has one of those strange manchild faces (like Moonface in The Magic Faraway Tree) so you really can't pick his age.

But if it was my daughter, I would be asking, "Darls, are you sure about this?"

My good friend from school married a man 16 years her senior. When their kids grew up, she was 40 and he was 56. He was ready to play golf with his 60-year-old mates. But she wasn't.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It can happen to anyone regardless of age. But that's not my point.

If we're cutting Chris some slack because he robbed the cradle, then let's do the same for older women who decide the young boyfriend option is better than some old bloke with man boobs who snores, dribbles and farts in bed.