Feldman the Cat

As somebody with Tourette syndrome I’m a natural, involuntary parodist. I compulsively echo and modify other people’s words as well as my own.

This cartoon listicle mocks two fads. The first and more important one is the loud and self-congratulatory use of “real women” in ads and editorials by magazines and clothing designers. I’m a feminist and I like the idea of using a wider variety of women in clothing ads and popular media, but I find the “real women” meme cynical and annoying.

What makes a woman “real?” Every woman is real, whether she’s skinny or curvy or beautiful or ugly (yes, many people are conventionally unattractive, which is not something they should feel ashamed of, and they experience real discrimination because of it). At this point using “real women” is so common and uncontroversial that it’s just a calculated marketing move by these content producers, like an actor playing a queer or disabled person in a movie.

The other trend I’m making fun of is a lot smaller: Disney princesses re-imagined as modern people/celebrities/X-Men/whatever. It’s generally aimed at middle schoolers and adult Disney enthusiasts and while it kind of makes me cringe, it doesn’t really hurt anybody.

By the way, I’m finally actually done with law school. Hopefully that means more content for Feldman and other projects. Here, have a drone angel baby:

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