An Ode To Cat Ladies

A creative imagining of the author as a cat.

Cat lady is rarely a compliment. But why is it such a bad thing? Why does our culture have disdain for cat ladies?

I myself am not a cat lady, and I will never be a cat lady. It’s not because I don’t like cats, I have severe allergies to cats, their dander, their claws, their litterboxes.

But I have mad respect for cat ladies, and I don’t understand why women who like cats are crazy, and men who like cats are sensitive. Let’s explore the “crazy cat lady” stereotype, and why her fate is so dire in the eyes of so many.

Look at Carole Baskin and Joe Exotic. Both are involved with big cats. But Carole Baskin is met with such overt hostility and sexism while people actively petition for the release of Joe Exotic, who was jailed for hiring a crew of bumbling morons to kill Baskin.

Joe Exotic is a performative dumbass who is just folksy enough for people to like him. And Carole Baskin is a woman. Why is she so hated??

Misogyny

Myth: Cats are feminine, and feminine things are bad and dumb.

This isn’t anything new. Things that are “traditionally feminine” have been minimized and mocked for, like, ever. It’s not enough to minimize women by calling them inferior and using that to justify keeping women out of power. It’s necessary to also minimize their choices.