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IS PETA SEXIST?
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by
Sarah Veale
January 17-23,2008 |
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Love them or hate them, PETA has a way of making people pay
attention.
But while there may be no love lost between meat eaters and
the animal rights group, PETA’s advertising tactics are stirring a
vocal dissent amongst some of its biggest supporters: women.
The controversial group’s tongue-in-cheek, but skin-heavy,
campaigns have many wondering whether PETA is more interested
in raising arousal than animal rights issues.
“PETA does a lot of great things,” says Carol Adams, author
of The Sexual Politics of Meat, “but when they use naked women I
feel that they, in a sense, acknowledge the intractability of the
problem of animal oppression and they also maintain the
oppression of women.”
Adams, a noted feminist and animal rights activist, believes
the treatment of women and animals is intimately related. What’s
more, she contends both are often absent from discussion about
their place in society, instead leaving their role to be defined –
and dominated – by outside perspectives which objectify and
lower their status. By appealing to the lowest common
denominator, PETA is complicit in keeping both animals and
women low on the totem pole.
“They take the traditional metaphors in western culture that
already exist about women being animal-like and they try to use
that liberate animals while leaving women’s status
unproblematized,” Adams says. “In a sense they are saying, ‘just
give up animals as objects. You don’t have to give up objects. You
don’t have to give up women as objects, just give up those
animals.’ So the process of objectification is unchallenged, it’s
just who’s the victim of the objectification.”
Adams admits PETA’s ads do raise awareness for the non-
prof, but it’s not without its price. “It’s very calculated,” she says.
“The thing is that for every person they gain, they loose a person,
and they loose feminists.”
However, loosing feminists may not be very high on PETA’s
agenda, even though women traditionally make up a large
segment of animal rights support. Without the backdrop of
human skin, the group says, those with fur or feathers are more
likely to be ignored, thus sidestepping the issue of cruelty
altogether.
“Unlike our opposition, which is mostly composed of wealthy
industries, like the meat industry, we have to rely on getting free
advertising through media coverage,” says Nicole Matthews, a
PETA Activist Liaison and spokesperson. “We’ve learned that
provocative and controversial campaigns make the difference
between keeping an important, but depressing, subject invisible
versus having them widely seen.”
While many are drawn by the hook of a protester wearing
only a banner, Matthew says the skin show quickly takes a
backseat to the harsh reality of the meat and fur industries, which
often involve electrocution (as is the case of many fur farms) or
animals being thrown against walls and stomped on, as PETA
recently found was going on with some of Kentucky Fried
Chicken’s suppliers.
“In order to let the public know what’s really happening
behind these industries, we have to be willing to put ourselves out
there,” says Matthews, “What draws them [the press] to our
demonstration is the eye-catching photo opportunity,” she says.
“[But] the quotes in the newspaper were all about the cruelty to
animals.”
Further complicating charges of sexism is that, when it
comes who’s baring all, PETA is an equal opportunity exploiter.
Men, such as former basketball star Dennis Rodman, and more
recently, Jackass punching bag Steve–O have joined the ranks of
those who’ve dropped trou in the name of animal rights. With
both men and women getting in on the action, who’s being
objectified and how becomes a clouded, and to some non-
existent issue.
“We believe that people should have the choice to use their
own bodies to make social statements,” Matthews says, adding
that the notion of choice further dilutes the sexist allegations. “All
of our naked demonstrators and models choose to participate
because they want to do something to make people stop and pay
attention.”
To date, PETA’s efforts have resulted in a hodgepodge of
major and minor victories. On the small side, they’ve convinced a
number of local festivals and organizations not to use animals,
such as goldfish and rabbits, as prize giveaways. On a larger
scale, they’ve been persuasive in getting retailers such as J.Crew
and Forever 21 to drop fur from their clothing lines and
successfully pressured Pom, makers of a widely distributed
pomegranate juice, to cease animal testing.
Regardless of how the message is conveyed, Matthews feels
most people innately care about the well-being of animals and
that PETA’s supporters hear a message beyond ‘sex sells.’
“People,” she says, “are able to make the call for themselves
about what they want their dollars to support.” V
[SARAH VEALE]
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