Catfight

This article is about the term for fighting between two women. For other uses, see Catfight (disambiguation).

Catfight (also girl fight) is a term for an altercation between two women, often characterized as involving scratching, shoving, slapping, choking, punching, kicking, wrestling, biting, spitting, hair-pulling, and shirt-shredding.[1] It can also be used to describe women insulting each other verbally or engaged in an intense competition for men, power, or occupational success.[2] The catfight has been a staple of American news media and popular culture since the 1940s, and use of the term is often considered derogatory or belittling.[3][4][5][6][7] Some observers argue that in its purest form, the word refers to two women, one blonde and the other a brunette, fighting each other.[8] However, the term is not exclusively used to indicate a fight between women, and many formal definitions do not invoke gender.[9]

Women boxing on a rooftop in the 1930s
  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Reinke was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ James, Caryn (March 2, 2016) "Why We Just Love a Good Catfight" The Wall Street Journal (pp. A11–A12 [1]
  3. ^ Douglas, Susan J. (1994). Where the girls are: growing up female with the mass media ([Nachdr.] ed.). New York: Times Books. p. 221. ISBN 0-8129-2530-0.
  4. ^ Sweeney, Kathleen (2007). Maiden USA: girl icons come of age. New York: Peter Lang. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-8204-8197-5.
  5. ^ Heim, Pat; Susan A. Murphy; Golant, Susan K. (2003). In the company of women: indirect aggression among women : why we hurt each other and how to stop (1st pbk. ed.). New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam. ISBN 1-58542-223-1.
  6. ^ Dowd, Maureen (2005). Are men necessary? : When sexes collide. New York, N.Y.: G.P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 0-399-15332-2.
  7. ^ Douglas, Susan J.; Michaels, Meredith W. (2004). The mommy myth: the idealization of motherhood and how it has undermined women (Advance uncorrected proof. ed.). New York: Free Press. p. 235. ISBN 0-7432-5999-8.
  8. ^ Douglas, Susan J. (1994). Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female With the Mass Media. New York: Times Books. pp. 221. ISBN 0-8129-2530-0
  9. ^ Farlex Free Online Dictionary