Does PETA treat women like meat?
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Did you see the coverage of the PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment Of Animals) protest against KFC last week? Three women, wearing only underwear and some tape to cover
their nipples, were protesting inside a cage outside the KFC
restaurant on George Street, Sydney.
They had a banner that read: "Chicks agree, boycott KFC".
Also last week, PETA was trying to recruit Big Brother housemate, Brigette, (the one with the big boobs) with her "big assets" to pose nude in one of their signature ads.
Last week I read a thought-provoking article by Josephine Tovey criticising PETA for its repeated use of the naked female body to generate media attention for the plight of animals. The ads and part of the article are posted after the jump…..
According to the article:
This is the sophisticated publicity technique the organisation
has been perfecting over the past decade, with scores of their
campaigns using the female body to try to raise awareness about
animal rights. Not in a John-and-Yoko, dimply-bottoms-out-for-peace
kind of way, but in a "put a hot naked chick next to a product
you’re trying to sell" way.Last year in the United States a semi-nude woman painted to look
like a snake protested outside an exotic leather goods store in
Florida, while in Washington, bikini-clad protesters sat in cages,
holding egg-shaped signs that read, "Chicks Suffer for Eggs". Then
there was their internet video campaign, which featured a young
women addressing Congress about animal rights – while
stripping.Whether or not you think the campaigns are sexist, they do raise
a bigger question of whether this is really an effective way to get
a message across to your audience.it is hard to understand why PETA still
uses the oldest, laziest and, many would argue, most sexist trick
in the book. A feminist commentator, Ann Friedman, summarises the
message behind these ads: "It’s OK to buck the stereotype of real
men eat red meat, because here are some naked ladies to reassure
you that you’re still a superhetero manly man!"Indeed, the not-so-subtle message behind these ads is that
animal rights are not just for those with hairy armpits and
dreadlocks, but are sexy, fun and mainstream. Or it could just be,
"Hey look over here! Boobies! And by the way, battery farming is
bad!"But it’s the last part of that message that usually gets lost,
as most people tend to focus on the first half. If it did work,
every 14-year-old boy in Australia would be demanding tofu for
dinner.A straw poll on the meaning of Monday’s PETA demonstration among
friends at the pub threw up responses including "the Catholic
church’s treatment of women" and "an ad for a new line of lacy
underwear". Attention was grabbed, but the message was lost….
Mostly, I like what PETA does. I’m one of those hypocritical animal
rights people who wears leather, used to be a vegetarian, now eats meat
but never veal or duck. But Josephine made an excellent point I’d never
considered before……are PETA exploiting women to help animals? Or do
their good intentions justify the means?
Ironically, Jenna Jameson – the porn star – is one of the few who kept her clothes on!
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Wearing dead animals is so, like, over people….
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No, this is not a still from a fetish porn video.
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Those little furry minks? They’ll tear you apart.
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Could you do meat-free Mondays to save the planet? Gwyneth does.
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I think I’m going to start drinking coffee and stop eating meat
this comment probably has nothing to do with nothing. but i believe a lot of people that are fighting for animal cruelty are hypocrites! so i don’t believe in most of them! How many of these PETA, WWF, animal cruelty foundations people are actually vegetarian and don’t eat meat!? if you eat them… its cruelty! cuz you gotta kill them to eat them! and yes… i m vegetarian… and have been for 17 years! until the day that they stop eating them! then… we can have a proper discussion about animal cruelty!
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I agree with Anonanon and like her/him, I’m too scared of these bullies to reveal my true self.
These people couldn’t care less about women.
Scientologists are pussies compared to this “cult”!
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Go Ms Tovey, I read this article in the SMH the other day and it made my day. I’ve been doing PETA-watch for a while now and they disgust me.
What about four women in not much more than M&M coloured bodypaint protesting outdoors in Washington in January? Those shots made the SMH website.
Or the nearly-nudies protesting against bullfighting… got that, BULLFIGHTING – ? – outside the SYDNEY Opera House in February. Cause of course bullfighting is such a part of Australian life. That one got picked up by the Tele and somewhere else (I forget where). I never really figured out what the nudity and the location had to do with bullfighting… surely not a cheap and cynical attempt to grab media attention by exploiting women?
I have to agree with this article – yes, it gets media coverage, but does it change anything? I don’t think so. I HATE the way they treat women (where are their male protesters? And what happens to PETA protesters when their bodies are no longer so cute?, and it really turns me off their cause.
PETA have a long history of exploitation, manipulation and half-truths. In some areas, I think they have a point… but I can NOT respect the organisation or its methods for a moment.
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I agree completely with this article! In fact Mia posted a PETA pic a while back which shocked me = the naked pregnant woman on all fours in the freezing cold in London.. remember?? That was awful.. and was it necessary?
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I think that it’s a simple fact that having naked women represent them is one way PETA can ensure the world will actually take notice of their messages! Sex sells… and not much else does these days!
And these women are not being naively exploited… c’mon… Pammy Anderson and Jenna Jameson? No one has ever coerced them into taking their clothes off!
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I think that PETA exploits women to a certain degree, but I suppose that when people get attracted to look at a naked woman, they then get educated about the issue… I understand why women were naked in all of the ads except Alicia Silverstone’s. What was the point there? I’m a vague-a-tarian. I eat chicken, and sometimes mince and sausages. I have to admit, I can’t resist duck at asian restaurants though….
gg xx
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