The United States of Cat Ladies
Here’s a fun little fact for you. Did you know that, despite all evidence to the contrary, the US is run by “childless cat ladies”? Forget the statistic that, up until fairly recently, there were more men called John running big companies than women. Forget the fact, while there may be a record number of women in government at the moment, they still make up just over a quarter of members of Congress. Forget the tiny little detail that the US has never had a female president. It is very clear that it’s actually the cat ladies who are in charge.
This little nugget of wisdom comes to you via Donald Trump’s running mate: Senator JD Vance. The man who may very well become the vice-president of the US once told Fox News that the country is governed by a dastardly deep state comprised of cat lovers. His exact words from the 2021 interview with then Fox News host Tucker Carlson:
We are effectively run in this country, via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too. And it’s just a basic fact if you look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC – the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children. And how does it make any sense that we’ve turned our country over to people who don’t really have a direct stake in it.”
This comment, made when Vance was running in the GOP Senate primary in Ohio, has resurfaced now for obvious reasons. This is no longer just some writer spouting a bunch of factually incorrect culture war nonsense in the hopes it will convince a bunch of misogynists who wish it was still the 1950s to vote for him. This is a guy who is within grasping distance of becoming one of the most powerful people in the world.
To be honest, I doubt that Vance really believes that “childless cat ladies” run the US. I also don’t know if he really believes that you only have a stake in the future if you procreate. Vance, after all, is a man who doesn’t really seem to believe anything. As has been much discussed, this is a guy who once called Donald Trump “America’s Hitler” and who now has no problem standing shoulder to shoulder with him.
Like many of the most successful politicians (from either side of the political aisle), Vance seems to be an opportunist rather than an ideologue. This doesn’t make him less dangerous, I should add. Rather it makes him more dangerous. Vance, it seems clear, has no problem throwing even close friends to the wolves if it helps his pursuit of power. One of his former friends, Sofia Nelson, is transgender; they recently told the New York Times that Vance was supportive of their transition – even bringing home-baked treats to their home after they underwent top surgery. Their friendship ended in 2021 when the politician started saying “hateful things about trans people”, Nelson told the Times.
Anyway, I’m not really here to write about what a hateful and self-serving hypocrite Vance is. A million thinkpieces have been published on that already. If you’re in a masochistic mood please do read up on how excited he is to force rape victims to give birth and how he thinks divorce laws have gone too far and how he reckons Britain is an “Islamist country”.
No, what I’m really here to say is that, rather than being the insult conservatives seem to think it is, “childless cat lady” is a state that more women actually ought to aspire to. Rather than being “miserable”, as Vance said, women who are childfree by choice are often happier and healthier than men and married women with children. This isn’t my opinion; there’s data that backs this up. Back in 2019, Paul Dolan, a professor of behavioural science at the London School of Economics, made headlines when, during a speech at Hay festival, he cited evidence that women are happier without kids or a spouse.
“[I[f you’re a man, you should probably get married; if you’re a woman, don’t bother,” Dolan joked about the longitudinal data suggesting “the healthiest and happiest population subgroup are women who never married or had children.” Dolan didn’t say anything about cats but I’m sure there’s a case to be made that a feline friend only adds to life satisfaction. Of course, there’s no point telling the likes of Vance that their misogynistic and anti-cat assumptions are wrong. Republicans don’t like to have facts get in the way of their feelings.
Dubai princess divorces husband via viral social media post
I’ll tell you one woman who has clearly realized she’d be much happier without a husband: Sheikha Mahra, the daughter of the UAE prime minister and Dubai ruler, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. “Dear husband, As you are occupied with other companions, I hereby declare our divorce,” the 30-year-old posted on Instagram on Wednesday. “I divorce you, I divorce you, and I Divorce You. Take care. Your ex-wife.” The princess was referencing “triple talaq”, a custom under Sunni Islamic law that lets a Muslim man divorce his wife by saying “talaq” (divorce), three times. Normally only men have access to this instant divorce option, but Sheikha Mahra isn’t the first woman to try it out. In 2017, Amreen Begum was reported to be the first woman in India to have used the triple talaq to divorce her husband. In doing so she helped spur efforts to end the practice in the country. I hope things go well for Mahra and she doesn’t find herself kidnapped.
Conspicuously absent from the Republican convention: abortion
It looks like the GOP has figured out women in the US are a tad angry about their rights being taken away and is now trying to downplay their anti-abortion stance.
Into the Auntieverse: a surreal fantasy of older women
Singaporean AI artist Niceaunties, has created what the Guardian describes as “a surreal celebration of the ‘auntie culture’ that exists across south-east and east Asia”. There are biceps, sushi and giant cats.
Lily Gladstone & Kali become first Indigenous women to receive Emmy nominations
The historic nominations were for their for their work in Hulu‘s Under the Bridge and Max’s True Detective: Night Country, respectively.
How fear and anxiety haunt Gaza’s new mothers
The UN estimates more than 5,500 women in Gaza will give birth over the next month. Some estimates show 95% of pregnant women do not have enough to eat. There is also nowhere safe to give birth and women are being forced to give birth with no pain relief.
The week in pawtriarchy
Fat cats could help us figure out the interaction between gut microbiota and obesity in humans, according to researchers out of Ohio State University. While the study sounds interesting, its funded by Nestlé Purina. So it’s possible the findings may end up somehow padding the pockets of fat cats of the human variety.
