6PR Breakfast hosts Karl Langdon and Steve Mills are latest media identities to share the urban myth that there are people who choose to identify as cats.
The show had asked listeners to call in and ask them anything. One reader called in and asked the hosts to answer the question, “What is a woman”.
Langdon who hosts the Breakfast program on the popular talkback station made the claim on Thursday morning. Langdon joined Steve ‘Millsy’ Mills as the show’s co-host following the departure of Perth’s Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas, who moved over to FM station MMM.
Back in 2020 the show was in hot water after Zempilas made blunt statements about transgender women.
This time round presented with the question “Can you define what is a woman?”, Langdon said it was a difficult question to answer.
“It’s a lot more difficult than it used to be. Defining a woman these days goes into a very mollycoddled world.”
Steve Mills responded that it was actually easy to define who is a woman, “If you think you’re a woman, you’re a woman.”
Langdon said that was probably the best way to think about the topic, before following up by saying there were even people in society who identified as being cats.
“You can be a cat, and you’ll need to have a litter tray put in the toilet.”
“There are kids at school who are apparently.” Mills said in agreement.
Incidents of media personalities and politicians claiming they are young people identifying as cats have occurred regularly around the globe over the last few years, but the urban myth has been traced back over many decades.
From Brisbane and Melbourne to Indiana, Ohio, Utah, Idaho, Michigan, Arkansas, Texas and Canada, there have been claims of students identify as cats, and time and time again it’s been thoroughly debunked as an urban myth.
The stories never have any directly verifiable information, they’re always cases of hearsay based on second or third hand accounts. Claims along the lines of ‘I know it’s true because my neighbour’s cousin’s friend’s husband is a gardener at the school – and he saw it – cat people!’
But time and time again politicians believe it, the conservative media report it, and the social media outrage machine kicks off.
OUTinPerth reached out to the station for comment but is yet to hear back.
Here’s some of our previous reports on people making the claim.
15-05-2021 Journalist Leisa Goddard says students identify as cats
19-03-2022 Courier-Mail claims Brisbane school has cat identifying students
21-03-2022 Sky News shares the ‘students identify as cats’ story
29-03-2022 Media Watch questions Sky News’ ‘students identify as cats’ story
29-03-2022 Tell us if you’ve heard this one before, students are identify as cats
09-04-2022 US radio hosts claims schools are making adjustments for furries
23-05-2022 Why do politicians keep falling for the students identify as cats myth?
24-08-2022 News Corp claims to have found more cat identifying students
25-09-2022 Indiana school officials deny there are cat identifying students
08-10-2022 Schools ask politicians to stop claiming students identify as cats
06-11-2022 As the US heads to mid-term elections, cat-student claims keep coming
23-06-2023 Cats, and dogs and horses and moons and dinosaurs – oh my.
23-09-2023 “Love is love, cat food is cat food” – Scots College apologises
16-09-2023 Sky News is suggest students are identifying as cats again.
24-02-2024 Rita Panahi has found more evidence of ‘cat people’.
Graeme Watson
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