Every now and then we get to see the debut of a cultural artefact that’s really going to shake shit up. I think we’re seeing it happen now, as a short story by writer Kristen Roupenian, titled ‘Cat Person‘ and published by the New Yorker, causes an unnerving shockwave to travel through the various platforms of the internet and chill the core of every woman it reaches.
Most simply, ‘Cat Person’ is about bad sex. The short story follows twenty-year-old college sophomore Margot through the beginning of her intimacy with 34-year-old Robert, from their jokes and flirty banter via text to their single, awkward night together to the inevitable dissolution of their brief relationship.
But ‘Cat Person’ manages to not just be about a single bad date or one uncomfortable sexual encounter; somehow, Roupenian has captured a universal experience that many women have been, until now, completely unable to describe. ‘Cat Person’ is terrifyingly accurate, horribly real, unavoidably relatable.
In an interview accompanying the story, Roupenian explains:
It speaks to the way that many women, especially young women, move through the world: not making people angry, taking responsibility for other people’s emotions, working extremely hard to keep everyone around them happy.
It’s the kind of thing that feels impossible to articulate, until you see it written down like this and go, Oh shit. That’s me.
And a lot of people have done exactly that.
hi i’m halfway thru the cat person new yorker story and i’m taking a break to find a support group please help please send help i’m . i’m . not even done yet
— darcie (@333333333433333) December 10, 2017
https://twitter.com/jessica_alice_/status/939669697775091712
https://twitter.com/libbycwatson/status/939352927415742467
https://twitter.com/libbycwatson/status/939549444667772928
https://twitter.com/christapeterso/status/939553588501549056
https://twitter.com/DanaSchwartzzz/status/939519967975956481
this hit way too close to home. i have felt every feeling the protagonist did, and thought every thought she did in the story. 😔
— Helen (@heplen) December 8, 2017
do you want to feel a little disgusted and humiliated but also ~seen~ then read this https://t.co/BNmZ5pmmgz
— rahel aima راهل ايما (@cnqmdi) December 9, 2017
https://twitter.com/_sandrargarcia/status/939780567868067840
every single woman i’ve seen sharing this talks about how relatable it is, which is really fucking sad, but if you want to ~get it~, read this https://t.co/Inlrm7EEvs
— Eleanor Gordon-Smith (@TheRealEGS) December 9, 2017
There’s already a very thoughtful response to the story which goes deeper into the phenomenon of “bad sex”, which you can read HERE. The original story is being shared liked crazy on Twitter and Facebook and it’s the number one article on the New Yorker’s website. And while there are valid criticisms of the piece’s treatment of Robert’s body, a shitload of people who’ve read the story are still feeling SEEN.
In a post-Weinstein world, are we about to see thoughtful discussions on how to navigate the harrowing junction of gender roles and sexual intimacy? Is it finally time to get these murky, unanswered questions about consent and interpersonal behaviour out in the open? Are we actually going to see a time when women can say “No, thank you” to a potential sexual partner and not feel like they’re being “spoiled and capricious“?
Fuck, I hope so. I hope this story, which to be clear has completely ruined my night, is the start of something big.
