https://archive.md/LT465
"I was born a cat lady. I will die a cat lady. My cats have been my loves, my
most loyal protectors and faithful companions. They have been the great love of
my life, with all the magic, joy, wisdom, tears, laughter, comfort, heartbreak
and fulfillment that true love brings.
They tell me the weather, they teach me things, they spew on my shoes, they
make me laugh, they comfort me when I’m crying, they warn me when danger is
coming, they get me out of bed in the morning, they purr me to sleep at night.
They love me and I love them. I love them more than people. They have loved me
more than people. Without my cats, I would not have survived.
But the older I got, the less acceptable my love for my cats became. I found
the tone of people’s attitudes towards me as a cat lady changed almost
overnight. It was no longer, “Oh Anna’s mad about cats” but, “You’ll die
alone!“, “You hate children!“, “You’re crazy!“, “You hate men!“, “Your life is
sad and meaningless!“, “You’re an angry feminist!” (The last one is true.)
This new, strangely hostile attitude toward my cat lady-ness was clearly
connected to the fact I was single, childless and in my 40s. The unholy
trinity! It was OK for me to be a cat lady when I had a boyfriend and there was
still a chance of getting married and having children. But now? What the f---!
Plus, I was badly heartbroken (again) and at an age when I could no longer hope
for children. So not only was I sad and grieving, but people were also being
really mean about it, too. Way to kick a lady when she’s down.
The crazy cat lady trope is always weaponised as a cautionary tale for girls
and women. Better settle down or you’ll become a crazy cat lady! If you focus
too much on work and your career, you’ll wake up all alone one day and find
you’re a crazy, old cat lady! (People said this to my face all through my 20s
and 30s.) Women say it all the time, too, and proclaim their innocence: “I’m
not a crazy cat lady!” Haha, nervous laugh, wild eyes. “I like dogs! Haha!”
When you add this to all the other stuff of being a woman, the sexist outrages
all run into each other, like cat spew on the lino. No wonder we can’t be
bothered getting out of our dressing gowns."
Via Muse.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
