Big Kats Run the House

I am enough.

🐾 Wildcats to Lions

Today, we are going to explore the cultural perceptions of terms like "cougar" and "puma," discussing societal conventions and personal experiences. This blog provides insights into how feline metaphors are used to explore themes of aging, confidence, and societal perceptions. A breakdown of the Feline Scale from the perspective of Black American women requires more than just applying age-based labels. It must also reflect the cultural, historical, and personal dynamics that influence how Black women navigate aging, desirability, power, and societal perception:

• 18–21: Wildcat

• 22–29: Lynx

• 30–39: Puma

• 40–49: Cougar

• 50–59: Jaguar

• 60–68: Panther

• 69: Pussycat

• 70–79: Cheetah

• 80–89: Leopard

• 90–99: Tiger

• 100+: Lion

🐾 The Feline Scale: Black Woman Edition

This version honors Black women's resilience, beauty, wisdom, and multi-layered identity across age and life stages, rejecting one-dimensional stereotypes.

18–21 | Wildcat

Keywords: Energy, exploration, fire

• Navigating independence and identity post-teenhood.

• Often underestimated, oversexualized, and policed.

• Facing adultification and respectability politics early on.

• Still learning how to protect their joy and boundaries.

  
  

Empowerment Angle: Young Black women are fighting for ownership of their voices and rejecting the pressure to “grow up” too fast. Platforms like TikTok, youth-led organizing, and college activism become spaces of agency.

22–29 | Lynx

Keywords: Clarity, risk-taking, ambition

• Building careers, exploring love, and often facing "Black excellence" pressure.

• Trying to balance legacy expectations with self-care.

• May begin to feel the early onset of the “Strong Black Woman” burden.

  
  

Empowerment Angle: Sisterhood and therapy are increasingly embraced. Black millennial and Gen Z women are rewriting narratives around success, sensuality, and softness.

30–39 | Puma

Keywords: Grounded, refined, powerful

• Sexual agency deepens—no longer about being chosen, but choosing.

• Motherhood, entrepreneurship, and self-realization intersect.

• Navigating microaggressions at work and love life pressures, especially in dating.

  
  

Empowerment Angle: This is the glow-up phase where purpose and pleasure align. Black women reclaim sensuality from stereotypes (e.g., Jezebel trope) and invest in legacy-building.

40–49 | Cougar

Keywords: Confidence, choice, dominance

• Full ownership of sexuality, intelligence, and space.

• No longer shrinking for anyone.

• Navigating midlife transitions: divorce, “empty nest,” or re-invention.

  
  

Empowerment Angle: Black women in this phase often become mentors, community leaders, and spiritual anchors, while still enjoying vibrant personal lives. They redefine aging as thriving, not surviving.

50–59 | Jaguar

Keywords: Stealth, power, sacred knowing

• Sensuality meets strategy.

• Often overlooked by society, but deeply magnetic to those who see beyond trends.

• Many enter “eldership” with pride, balancing sensuality, spirituality, and service.

  
  

Empowerment Angle: Black women in this phase become keepers of culture. They move in alignment with wisdom, self-respect, and deep joy. Think: Angela Bassett energy.

60–68 | Panther

Keywords: Grace, elegance, fearlessness

• Often dismissed in mainstream narratives, but wield ancestral wisdom.

• Seen as the matriarchs in family and community.

• Still sharp, stylish, and living fully, just quieter about it.

  
  

Empowerment Angle: They model rest and longevity as revolutionary acts. Their silence doesn’t mean absence—it’s a controlled roar.

69 | Pussycat

Keywords: Humor, softness, legacy

• A moment of tenderness and reflection.

• Still mischievous, still bold.

• Life is about joy, laughter, and watching the fruits of her labor bloom.

  
  

Empowerment Angle: She’s not “old”—she’s seasoned. Still witty, sexy, and curious.

70–79 | Cheetah

Keywords: Speed, clarity, intention

• Selective with energy and time.

• Walks with clarity and offers truth that cuts through noise.

• Has a rhythm and elegance that no one can mimic.

  
  

Empowerment Angle: Her moves are intentional—whether she’s traveling, organizing, or dancing in her kitchen.

80–89 | Leopard

Keywords: Watchfulness, legacy, beauty

• Deeply rooted.

• Her presence alone changes the room.

• Sees through BS, rarely needs to speak.

  
  

Empowerment Angle: She is community memory—holding stories, secrets, and blueprints.

90–99 | Tiger

Keywords: Dignity, discipline, elegance

• A rare, regal presence.

• Her life is art, her survival revolutionary.

• Those who listen will find deep truths in her words.

  
  

Empowerment Angle: She symbolizes what Black endurance, love, and grace look like across a century.

100+ | Lion

Keywords: Royalty, awe, reverence

• Living legend.

• No need for performance—she is the moment.

• She walks with spirits and history on her shoulders.

  
  

Empowerment Angle: She is honored as a living ancestor, embodying everything that Black womanhood has survived and created.

This scale is not about desirability. It’s about dignity. Each phase of Black womanhood is sacred, powerful, and worthy of celebration, not invisibility or caricature.