Definition of a Catfight
Catfight
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
A catfight is, by literal definition, a physical clash between two cats.
More often, the term 'catfight' is used as a slang term for an altercation, usually physical, between two women. It is stereotyped as involving slapping, scratching, hair-pulling, and sometimes biting as opposed to punching or kicking. It can also be used to describe two human females insulting one another verbally, or being unpleasant to one another. Many catfights in cartoons, movies, and beer commercials end with at least one of the participants missing several articles of clothing. Catfighting is also a popular subject amongst pornographic films depicting multiple women in sexually suggestive and combative situations. In the 1970s, prurient interest in catfighting lead to the popularity of several women in prison films.
Catfighting has also recently been experiencing a boom in the form of payable entertainment. There are many different forms that now exist. Catfighting media displays forms from the more recent extreme catfight aspect, in which punching and kicking are included with the stereotypical array of woman fight tactics, such as scratching and the pulling of hair. Such stereotypical displays of anger are frequently demonstrated on the daytime television talk show The Jerry Springer Show.
In the media
The subject of a catfight was also once the focus of an episode of the popular TV sitcom Seinfeld, episode number 156, The Summer of George:
Elaine: Ok, why? Why do guys do this? What is so appealing to men about a cat fight?
Kramer: Yeye cat fight!
Jerry: Because men think if women are grabbing and clawing at each other there's a chance they might somehow kiss.
(Source: Seinfeldscripts.com.)
One of the highest profile catfights on television has been Miller Lite's racy Catfight commercials in 2002, which were derided by many as sexist. The careers of both actresses in the commercial, Kitana Baker and Tanya Ballinger, enjoyed a major boost. Another minor celebrity who acchieved 15 minutes of fame as a result of a catfights is Danielle House, a former Miss Canada International (1996) who was convicted for assaulting her ex-boyfriend's girlfriend in a bar-room. After serving her sentence, House named Playboy's Playmate of the Month for December, 1997.
The top story for late night talk shows on November 6, 2005 was two cheerleaders for the Carolina Panthers, Renee Thomas and Angela Keathley, charged with battery and disorderly conduct, respectively. Patrons in the bar's women's bathroom voiced their annoyance at how long the two were occupying a stall. A fracas ensued. The combination of catfighting, cheerleaders, and allegations of lesbian activity made for a perfect storm of titillating media.
