Sarah Brigs Basson

Headline on article in the Natal Mercury this morning (18th March 2014): “Claws out in catfight to be mayor of Paris”! This is a hum-drum non-story about two mayoral candidates for Paris, which is something I can’t imagine many Durbanites care about at all; BUT because the election is between two female candidates, it must of course be reported as a derogatory “catfight” in which the cats use their “claws”, instead of a story about two political campaigns run by two women who both appear to be very competent, vie for the position of Mayor in one of the world’s largest cities (this, of course, being remarkable since everyone knows that women are generally dizzy and incompetent and to therefore attempt to be mayor is remarkable in itself, but of course these two women don’t confirm to the “incompetent” stereotype and so another stereotype of “catty” must be invoked).