Childless Cat Guys

Their opinion is he's a saucer of cream

Aug 17, 2024

Hi all,

Thank you for joining me for today’s song, “Childless Cat Guys”, by knotheadusc on YouTube. If you’d like to hear the song before you read about it, I’ve included a YouTube video below the article. Below, you’ll find my interpretation of the lyrics which are written in italics. Comments and questions are welcome.

✳️ Note: The level of this article is for students with a TOEIC of 550+, Eiken Pre-1, CEFR B2. For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below.

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(790 words)

There is a meme you might be seeing on Internet recently but might not understand. It is a comment, “childless cat ladies”, that was made by JD Vance.

The U.S. presidential elections will be held this November. Former president Trump has chosen JD Vance to be the candidate for vice president for the Republican party. In July, 2021, Vance was running for Senate. This is when he made the comment, speaking in particular about Democrats, journalists, and other leaders in America who don’t have children. Many people are upset at what he said and think that these comments are hurtful, especially to women who can't have children.

Vance has been criticized for saying that people without children are “more sociopathic” and have made the United States “less mentally stable.” Saying women who do not have children are somehow less than other people is disrespectful. It also ignores the fact that there are many reasons why a woman might not have children. It might also be that she cannot have children for medical reasons that are beyond her control. It might be because she has chosen not to.

Recently, people have been talking about this comment, with creative people making T-shirts, caps, and signs showing that they, too, are childless cat ladies and there’s nothing wrong with that. There are also many songs that have been written about the topic.

Today’s song is a parody of a popular 1964 song by Mary Wells, My Guy. The lyrics have many references to cats and to politics. Let’s look at some of this vocabulary:

MAGA guys are a real drag

MAGA refers to “Make America Great Again”, the slogan of the Trump campaign. To “be a drag” means to be boring.

They all ridicule me for voting blue

To “vote blue” means to support the Democrats in the election.

But not that guy over there

They all say he’s different. They say he’s really cool

I don’t care what MAGA people say

To me, Childless Cat Guys are the very best kinds of guys

Nothing you have said would make him vote red

To “vote red” means to support the Republicans in the election.

Cat Guy

Nothing you could do 'cause he's voting blue

Childless Cat Guy!

Kitties stick to Cat Guy like a stamp to a letter

Like birds of a feather, they stick together

There is a proverb in English, “Birds of a feather flock together” which means that people who have similar interests tend to like to be together.

I'm tellin' you from the start

They won't be torn apart from Childless Cat Guy

No circumstance could make him vote for Vance

Nothing you promote could make him change his vote

To THAT guy...

He gave his cats his word of honor

To give someone your “word of honor” means that you promise to do something.

To vote with compassion, and he's gonna

He's loyal to his pussies (cats are called by other names, pussycat, kitty, pussy, etc.)

And definitely not wussy, Childless Cat Guy

Calling someone, especially a man, a wuss, suggests that he is “like a woman” in some way. Some people think women are weak, so being a “wuss” is acting in a weak way. This is a gender construction. It’s how people in a society decide what it means to be a man or a woman. It's like a set of rules or ideas that tell us how women and men are "supposed" to act, look, and think. But these rules aren't the same everywhere, and they can change over time.

As a matter of opinion, cats think he's a dream (cute)

Their opinion is he's a saucer of cream

As a matter of taste to be exact

His votes are ideal as a matter of fact

No hyperactive mutt could move their butts from Cat Guy

A “mutt” is a dog that is a mixed breed. “Butt” is the part of your body that you sit on.

No orange-haired cur could ever make them purr like Cat Guy

A “cur” usually refers to a dog that is unfriendly. It can also mean a cruel or cowardly person. Purr is the sound that a happy cat makes from its throat.

He may not be a catnip star

Catnip is a herb that is dried and added to many cat toys. They love the way it smells.

But when it comes to his voting, he's on par

To be “on par” means average or normal.

Why did knotheadusc write this song? On her YouTube page, the songwriter wrote:

Yesterday, a man saw my "Childless Cat Ladies" parody song and reminded me that the ladies aren't the only ones voting blue. He asked, "What about the childless cat guys?"

Question:

When we feel nervous or scared about certain issues, we might laugh at the source. Vance was using humor, too, so he could laugh at a certain type of woman. What do you think he was nervous or scared about?

How is humor used in this song to respond to what Vance said?

Childless Cat Guys

Their opinion is he's a saucer of cream

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