Jorts (cat)

Jorts is an orange tabby cat that initially rose to internet fame in December 2021 for a viral Reddit thread discussing purported workplace attempts to train him that included him being smeared with margarine.

Jorts
An orange tabby cat with light green eyes and white fur on its neck sits on a red woven surface. Its body faces to the right and slightly away from the viewer, and its head is turned toward the camera. Gold-polka dotted white curtains mostly cover a window behind the animal.
SpeciesFelis catus
BreedDomestic shorthair, orange tabby
SexMale (neutered)[1]
BornMay 1[2]
OccupationOffice pet
Known forDoor and trash can mishaps, involuntary application of margarine, "pro-labor icon"[3]

A Twitter account personifying Jorts (and his fellow workplace cat Jean) as a supporter of organized labor has since received recognition.

Description and early life

Jorts is an orange tabby cat.[4][5][6][7] He was a stray in his early years before being taken in by office workers. After being known to forage for food in dumpsters, the office workers, who already had a cat named Jean, provided care to Jorts.[8]

Office events
Jorts (and Jean) Twitter
@JortsTheCat

Maybe what you like about us isn't just helper Jean, or buttered Jorts. Maybe you like the story because you agree everyone's special contributions should be valued and that we are all just great exactly as we are.

December 15, 2021[9]

Jorts is noted for his failure to perform common daily tasks such as opening doors,[10] whereas Jean is described as a comparatively smart cat who helps Jorts.[11]

To prevent Jorts from being trapped behind doors, staff in the office space purchased a doorstop. Another staff member, alias "Pam," objected to this. Pam then compiled a list of training tasks for Jorts in the office, which was met with disagreement by other staff, who said that Jorts would not learn due to his low intellect. When a member of the office staff asserted that "you can't expect Jean's tortoiseshell smarts from orange cat Jorts," Pam stated that this was "perpetuating ethnic stereotypes by saying orange cats are dumb."[10] Pam reportedly requested racial sensitivity training before agreeing to return to work.[4] "Jorts", "Jean", and "Pam" were stated to be pseudonyms to preserve the anonymity of the workforce.[11] Later, Jorts' Twitter account confirmed that Jorts and Jean were the cats' real names.[12]

The events led to the involvement of human resources management at the workplace.[7][13] Discussions with human resources led to the discovery that Pam had been applying margarine to Jorts in an attempt to motivate him to groom himself more effectively.[4][14][15] These events were anonymously posted in December 2021 to Reddit's "Am I the Asshole" subreddit, resulting in publicity.[7]

An agreement was ultimately reached to resolve the dispute.[4]

Twitter advocacy
Jorts (and Jean) Twitter
@JortsTheCat

Nobody does anything great alone. What if the person to invent that next tweak forward can't afford to go to school, or can't afford to just sit and think about smart stuff? What if they have a toothache that day, and can't afford to see a dentist?

What if we invested in that?

January 22, 2022[16]

The popularity of the Reddit thread discussing these office events led to the creation of a Twitter account that shares updates about the activities of Jorts (and Jean).[5][17] As of March 2022, the Twitter account had 170,000 followers.[18]

The Twitter account regularly posts pro-trade union messages,[5] winning praise from cartoonist Tom Tomorrow,[11] Senator Elizabeth Warren,[19] and labor movement figures, including Liz Shuler, Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, and the United Farm Workers.[20] Jorts' labor advocacy has been compared to Scabby the Rat, the giant inflatable rodents that have been used to draw public attention to strikes for decades.[21] Other messages from the Twitter account promote public investment in education and public health. In addition, the account advocates for inclusive technology and policies, such as the alt attribute used to display text in lieu of an image for screen reader software, and protection of transgender people.[22]

Public requests to create Jorts merchandise were rejected by the Twitter account.[5] Instead, the account has encouraged followers to adopt cats from pet shelters,[22] donate to a strike fund, or customize existing clothing with the phrase "I LIKE JORTS THE CAT".[23]

The Twitter account criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom for not signing AB2183,[24] United Farm Workers-supported legislation that would allow agricultural workers, generally migrant workers, to choose their voting method in labor elections to choose to be represented by a union and to elect union leaders.[18] On September 4, 2022, the White House issued a statement from President Joe Biden, supporting the legislation;[25] Newsom ultimately signed the bill into law on September 28, 2022.[26]

Influence

In January 2022, critique of Jorts' intelligence and speculative statements by office staff linking his apparent poor life skills to the color of his coat, prompted rejection of the hypothesis that coat colors were causally linked to cat intelligence.[27]

A mod of the video game Stardew Valley was made featuring Jorts and fellow office cat Jean as non-player characters.[28][29] In the game both cats attempt to get workers to unionize.[28]

See also

References
  1. Jorts (and Jean) [@JortsTheCat] (March 30, 2022). "I am a cat. I had testicles but they were removed (and haven't grown back so far)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. Jorts (and Jean) [@JortsTheCat] (April 7, 2022). "My birthday is May 1 (I chose it myself). Jean says she is a Virgo" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. Yip, Waiyee (2022-03-22). "How a fluffy orange cat named Jorts stole the internet's heart and became the pro-labor icon 2022 didn't know it needed". Insider. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
  4. Kooser, Amanda (December 21, 2021). "Jorts the cat: Everything you need to know about the internet's new favourite cat". c|net. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  5. Kane, Vivian (2021-12-27). "Jorts (and Jean) the Cat Continues To Be a Gift To Us All With Their Pro-Union Twitter Account". The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on 2022-01-01. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  6. "A Reddit post about an orange cat named Jorts has spiraled out of control". news.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-01. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  7. Dickinson, Tim; Dickson, E. J.; Garber-Paul, Elisabeth; Marks, Andrea; Tozzi, Lisa (2021-12-26). "10 Moments That Made Us Smile in 2021". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2022-01-01. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  8. Gopalan, Aparna (29 March 2023). "Jorts The Cat Wants You To Fight Back". In These Times. Archived from the original on 2023-04-06. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  9. Jorts (and Jean) [@JortsTheCat] (December 16, 2021). "Maybe what you like about us isn't just helper Jean, or buttered Jorts. Maybe you like the story because you agree everyone's special contributions should be valued and that we are all just great exactly as we are" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. Krishnamurthy, Chaitra (2021-12-16). "Jorts the Cat story explained as Internet debates 'ethnic stereotypes'". HITC. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  11. Morrow, Allison (February 17, 2022). "How a beloved orange tabby cat became a voice for America's union workers". CNN Business. Archived from the original on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  12. Jorts (and Jean) [@JortsTheCat] (March 14, 2022). "Of course we are" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. Cost, Ben (2021-12-15). "Jorts the ginger cat sparks debate about 'perpetuating ethnic stereotypes'". New York Post. Archived from the original on 2022-01-05. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  14. Kircher, Madison Malone (2021-12-18). "Nancy Reagan, Blow Job Queen?". Slate Magazine. Archived from the original on 2022-01-08. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  15. Higginbotham, Dannie (16 Dec 2021). "Reddit thread about Jorts, the dumb orange cat, goes viral". Young Post. Archived from the original on 2022-01-17. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  16. Jorts (and Jean) [@JortsTheCat] (January 22, 2022). "Nobody does anything great alone. What if the person to invent that next tweak forward can't afford to go to school, or can't afford to just sit and think about smart stuff? What if they have a toothache that day, and can't afford to see a dentist? What if we invested in that?" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. Hanson, Hilary (21 Jan 2022). "21 Of The Funniest Tweets About Cats And Dogs This Week (Jan. 15-21)". sg.news.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-27. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  18. Chabria, Anita (2022-03-31). "Column: Newsom didn't meet with farmworkers on César Chávez Day. One internet cat is irate". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2022-04-25. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  19. "How Jorts, the cat on Twitter, talks about workers' union, gives advice". The Indian Express. 2022-02-22. Archived from the original on 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  20. Hollister, Annie (February 8, 2022). "On Jorts: The Labor Cat". On Labor. Archived from the original on 16 February 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  21. Prang, Allison (April 26, 2022). "Jorts the Cat vs. Scabby the Rat: Rising Labor Movement Needs New Mascots". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 29 April 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  22. Shankar, Louis (2022-01-25). "How two cats, Jean and Jorts, are using their viral success as a weapon for good". Screenshot Media. Archived from the original on 2022-01-27. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  23. Brennan, Amanda (2 April 2022). "In praise of Jorts the Cat, unlikely labor leader". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 29 April 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  24. California State Assembly. "An act to add Sections 1160.10 and 1162 to, and to add and repeal Sections 1156.35, 1156.36, and 1156.37 of, the Labor Code, relating to employment". Session of the Legislature. Statutes of California. State of California. Ch. 673 (Direct URL).
  25. Biden, Joseph. "Statement by President Biden in Support of California's Agricultural Labor Relations Voting Choice Act". The White House. whitehouse.gov. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  26. Porter, Jacque. "Newsom signs AB 2183, bill that facilitates farmworker unionization". KTLA. Nexstar Media Group. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  27. Cooper, Gael Fashingbauer. "Busting cat-color myths: Your orange tabby isn't dumber than its feline pals". CNET. Archived from the original on 2022-01-02. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  28. Allen, Jen (2022-02-24). "'Stardew Valley' mod adds viral cat stars Jean and Jorts". NME. Archived from the original on 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  29. Chalk, Andy (2022-02-23). "Stardew Valley mod adds viral kitty stars Jean and Jorts as NPCs". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2022-03-02.

Further reading
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