Man’s best friend against feline foe, for years the media has pitted dogs and cats against each other and has blurred the views we have on these furry friends of ours.
Cats, portrayed as more feminine looking, acting and liked more by women are directly contrasted by dogs that are depicted as more masculine and obedient.
The distaste for cats that like their own space, do things on their own time and clean themselves is deeply rooted in a misogynistic viewpoint that liking feminine things is “less cool” than liking masculine things … and yes it is that deep.
Boybands, romantic comedies, the color pink, knitting, Taylor Swift; these are all just a few examples of interests that are predominantly targeted towards females that are deemed as less cool or interesting in comparison to their male counterparts like Kanye West, action movies or legos.
Felines that are usually represented in a feminine manner and in general have less masculine traits are far more scrutinized and debated over rather than “friendly” dogs.
“Minimizing women’s interests represents one of the most widespread yet overlooked forms of sexism in our present-day society. This harmful mindset diminishes the self-confidence of women and stifles their willingness to express their thoughts on various subjects,” Megan, writer for the Medium said.
There are constant branches of examples of misogyny tangled throughout the way our society functions that surround men and women, and therefore cats and dogs.
Naturally, you can have a negative attitude or experiences towards cats and not be a raging, anti-feminist.
The part where it gets concerning is when people have zero previous relation with cats and already have a negative opinion about them, due to the misogynistic views that are rooted in our minds. It causes the debate over your preference between “cats or dogs” much more thought-provoking than we think.
Society likes to portray the idea that being obedient is always better and if you don’t you’re in the wrong, perpetuating the negative connotations we have with cats and women.
Cats don’t blindly follow, they are curious and intrigued by the unknown. Dogs naturally want to please and want to follow the lead of their owner to do so.
In the media a defiant woman is usually the sneaky and rebellious character who cannot be trusted.
Men who are defiant are known as the protagonist.
Not only are their cat-like traits criticized but the implications of people, specifically women, who prefer cats over dogs are usually more negative in our society.
We have phrases like “crazy cat lady” or “catfight” that automatically link negative undertones with the ownership or relation between women and cats.
In his article in Psychology Today, Why People Think of All Dogs as Male and All Cats as Female, Stanley Coren discusses how most people initially classify dogs they see on the street or on their screens as male and cats as female.
“Stereotypes are generalized beliefs about a particular category of people. The problem is, of course, they can be erroneous when applied to particular individuals and sometimes this can have negative consequences,” Coren said.
There is no easy way to stop this or no one person to point the blame at, but by being more aware of our automatic stereotypes for men and women, and in return cats and dogs then we can help decrease these bias behaviors.
So maybe you’re allergic, or have been bitten and scratched or have had a family dog your whole life and that’s why you don’t connect with cats, but I hope you can see a new perspective on cats’ own kind of way of showing love. And hopefully look at your own mindset and review the biases that fill our everyday lives.
