Ladies and their PussyCats

Ladies and their PussyCats is a portrait series that seeks to portray the extraordinary bond between women and their cats. This project explores the cultural gender roles and the westernized views on femininity. Cats and female sexuality are oftentimes associated. Women tend to be negatively described as “feline”, “catty”, and “dominant”. Such characteristics not only objectify and sexualize women, but they reinforce the patriarchal system that is constructed in a way that criticizes different views on femininity. Historically, women have been told to meet certain gender expectations in order to “succeed as a woman”. For instance, to be flirty, to get married or to have children. However, when these cultural models are neglected, single women with cats tend to be referred as old maids or cat ladies. The “crazy cat lady” trope most often describes women as a character that disrupts the norm, whether it is because she is unmarried or she might be going through a mental or emotional crisis, or both. These portraits aim to break the Euro-American negative associations that exist between women and cats. Each image is intended to celebrate uniqueness and freedom of choice, as well as, highlight the beautiful, bold, intelligent, mysterious, playful, active, loving and independent personalities of women and their cats.