Reader, I have a confession to make: I am a woman who owns cats.This may seem like a strange thing to call a “confession.” The word is associated with secrets and shame. Like most cat owners, I struggle to stop bragging about my cats. Like all cats, they are the funniest and sweetest and cutest pets to ever grace Instagram
But with regularity, one of my many male critics will seek out my Instagram profile, and, in a tone suggesting they are exposing my darkest secret to the entire internet, unveil their accusation: That I am a “cat lady.” Usually on a post about my cats.
I laugh every time, because it’s funny how misogynists can’t come up with fresh material. “Cat lady” has been aimed for decades at any woman who believes there’s more to life than snagging a wedding band. Do you want a career? An education? A little fun in your youth? Your “punishment”: To live alone with cats.Taylor Swift’s answer to the “cat lady” insult? Don’t threaten me with a good time.
Swift was declared “Person of the Year” by Time in 2023, which was already going to draw a lot of ire from people who are skeptical that either women or artists can be important people. (Plenty of overlap in those views!) So, like a cat owner dangling an irresistible toy in front of her pet, Swift baited her haters by posing for the cover with her ca
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