I don’t know, I guess some of them perhaps. But Charlize Theron, Marisa Tomei, etc. You think they are considered “crazy cat ladies”? To me, they’re just beautiful, successful, single, older women.
The term was originally applied to multimillionaire Kamala Harris. She might not be mega-rich, but I wouldn’t call her poor.
And it was broadened to apply to multiple leaders in the Democratic Party, who aren’t poor people.
This was specifically an insult aimed at wealthy people. I presume that wealth was part of the insult; in this case, being wealthy and successful, and yet choosing not a bear children.
A quote from JD Vance during the Trump campaign (from the above article):
“We’re 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,” Vance said. “And so they wanna make the rest of the country miserable, too.”
“You look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC — the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children,” he went on. “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?”
I will admit that’s not the same as shaming women for not being married, but it still falls under the umbrella, as these are people who choose not to have children for one reason or another. And Taylor Swift saw that that sort of insult would apply to her as well, and adopted it for herself as a badge of pride.
And I did misspeak. I meant “childless cat lady”, not “crazy cat lady”. That was a mental slip as I was typing. If it was the “crazy” part you’re pushing back on, mea culpa.
Being rich does often give you the ability to afford the term “eccentric”, yes.
I agree, but I’m not a misogynistic right wing nut. And those people are currently running things. Hopefully not forever.
“Rich” has nothing to do with having money. Witness Donald Trump, who is rich despite having the lowest net worth of any person in history. What does being rich have to do with, if not having money? Hell if I know.
I get your point, but I thought we were talking about how these people were thought of by society in general, not specifically misogynistic men. And my point was that rich and famous single people, regardless of whether they are men or women, are, by and large, generally admired by society in general.
More so than decades ago, surely, but of late that has been shifting backwards. That was my point, not that what you were saying is wrong (because it’s not).
It’s the “…or any woman” part that matters. If you had left that off, I’d say “Well, duh. If someone called you that, they’d be trying to piss you off. That’s the whole point of an insult. Of course they don’t want you to feel good about it.”
But when it bothers you (or should bother you) when it’s used against someone you don’t like and don’t respect, that’s an indication that it’s the language itself that’s the problem.
I sometimes refer to myself as a dickhead, i.e. " Feck, I forgot to lock the door. I’m such a dickhead". I’d never refer to myself as a skank or cunt, though.
I’m male, never married, and no one has ever described me as a swinging bachelor. What you’re describing is a media trope that I’ve never encountered in real life. Can’t remember the last time I heard it in the media, either.