Two cat-owning guys looking for wives 1913

The photograph is described as ‘Tinder 1913’. There are four guys in the snow outside a log cabin. Two of the men are holding cats, one has a dog and the fourth does not have an animal companion. The sign is clear: they want wives. The companion animals are a substitute for wives. That’s the signal I receive from this photograph.

It looks like a remote place which is why there are no women around, which in turn is why they are desperate for a wife. Correction, I think they are better off sticking with their cat companions! I’m just joking by the way. The photograph does look a little bit unusual because, as mentioned, it looks like a remote place, perhaps in Canada.

It appears that they have decided that they are going to be without a human companion and have resolved therefore to do the best that they can with an animal companion.

These guys would not know it but recent research indicated that women are slightly turned off by men holding cats in a photograph designed to attract women. As I recall, I think photographs of men holding cats indicates to women that the man is not masculine enough. They want men who have more testosterone in them it seems to me.

The thing is this: there is always a woman who will like to see a man holding a cat because both genders have a wide range of types. Gender is not black-and-white. It is a spectrum and people should be fully open to that spectrum and respect it and accept it.

These men had a good opportunity, actually, to present to the world alpha male personalities because they are living in what appears to be the wild West, facing hazards and difficulties while surmounting insurmountable odds. Here was a photographic opportunity to impress women. And that does not include carrying a cat but it does include having a dog by your side.

I’m being very conventional which I don’t like because women should select men who are carrying cats in photographs. It indicates a good personality, a sensitive one which is useful to the furtherance of a long and prosperous marriage.

The trouble is that nowadays (was it the same in 1913?) people associate the domestic cat with independent-minded single women often who often live with a cat companion. Therefore if a bloke lives alone with a cat he lacks masculinity. This is a misconception. People do like to stereotype others. It is probably because it is reassuring. Beware of stereotyping. It is a dangerous game.