Bridget Orr returns with her perspective on the image of the 'crazy cat lady' - a stereotype that is as flea-bitten and deranged as the women it supposedly inspires...
The image of the crazy cat lady is one that is riddled by the many patriarchal contradictions and connotations that have restricted the individual identity of ordinary women. The crazy cat lady harkens back to the traditional and sexist imagery of the withered old crone who remained unmarried and was associated with her feline familiar up until she was drowned or burned by raging mobs with pitchforks and burning torches. Even now, the image of the crazy cat lady can still remain a nightmarish vision in the minds of cat lovers like myself, frightened of becoming as flea-bitten, scratched and cat-haired as the toys in our furrball(s)' path.
Recently though, it appears that the image of the crazy cat lady has become less derogatory. This is due in part to the rather cat-friendly world of the internet, where cooing over kittens with millions of strangers at their desks all over the world is frowned upon less, nay encouraged, than in real life. Just imagine the consequences of bringing your adorable new kitten in and then being slapped with your 'final warning' from the bosses, yet work stops immediately when the receptionist on maternity leave brings the baby in.
In spite of this recent reappraisal, the image of the flea-bitten and crazy-haired lady with cats digging into each leg still remains in the real world. Just think about news stories relating to extreme cases of animal hoarding and neglect. The media use the straw figures of either the sick subhuman scumbag or the lonely old cat lady who had good intentions. Some real life crazy cat people have voiced their disapproval at this stereotyping, and raise funds and awareness of the prevention of animal cruelty in America. You have to look at the person behind the 'crazy old cat lady' stereotype and wonder whether her dependence on animals was probably due to the fact that people have neglected her long before she abandoned her cats?
If only it was okay for a woman to admit to enjoying owning cats, and not in a cliched '100 reasons why a cat is better than a man/children' sort of way. Cat-haters (or even those who profess to be 'allergic' to them) allude to their relative unlovability, dishonesty, contradictory behaviour and the myth that a murderous beast lies behind every fluffy furball (and hairless sphinx). They do not understand the joys of watching cats trying to play with the people on television or tolerate every 'present' we receive. I bet that they're the same people who dress their dogs in clothes and carry them in handbags - but that's another stereotype...
[Image via rakka on flickr]
