Guest guest Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 Hate me, but as a woman, and as one who has dealt with weight issues, I think Ingrid is right. It's too bad that it's geared toward women instead of everybody, but even that does not bother me (not sure why) and I have been staunchly feminist for 20+ years. Other voices should be heard on this topic, even if they are maligned, ergo my participation. Even vegetarians and many vegans use food for comfort, entertainment, eat in their cars and in front of the TV, etc., and most Americans (even slim people) have food addictions. Even veg people over-consume in this culture, alot. Most of us still support factory farming (soy and corn -- boca burger anyone?) and we are part of the problem, too. I'd refer interested people to a book called Raw Emotions by Angela Stokes, who addresses this from a raw vegan perspective, and there's a lot of truth in it. Why shouldn't we have these truths foisted in our faces? PETA is the only loud voice I can think of on the topic. Plus the McDonald's add was great. It even amused people like my partner, who has large amounts of meat at most meals. These ads are A LOT less obnoxious to me than the ads I am forced to take into my consciousness daily from fast food joints with pictures of greasy hamburgers and cheese, with a tiny veg. garnish. I feel like I'm subjected to this crap every day, and THAT makes me furious and that is the norm in my culture, not the PETA ads. Mmmm... There was an avant-garde movement in Europe, starting in France, through much of the 20th century... What were they called... They used huge PR stunts to waken up consciousness from a controversial perspective. They offended many people in the process of making radical points about society. They were awesome. I forgive PETA. I'd like to see them take power and put up more billboards -- which do not cause the backlash from the gender and fat-shaming controversy. Who else is grabbing public attention besides PETA on veg issues, eh? Precisely no one. And who cares what the non-veg people think. Minimal change is happening despite films like Food Inc. Jillian Steinberger On Behalf Of Victor Tsou Monday, August 24, 2009 11:33 AM SFBAVEG PETA and fat shaming I thought people might be interested in learning that PETA is taking down their fat shaming billboard. I've included below some more of the thoughtful coverage on the topic. The first relates the experience of protestors confronting the head of PETA, Ingrid Newkirk, about the billboard. Victor ----------------------- http://whatswrittenonmybody.blogspot.com/2009/08/standing-up-to-fat-phobia-p eta-style_22.html When a fellow protester spoke about his concern that shaming fat women is oppressive and alienating, and prevents him from supporting PETA, though he'd like to, Ms. Newkirk said that shaming fat women would be a good thing because it would wake them up to vegetarianism and veganism. No joke. I'm not making this up. Ms. Newkirk represented PETA as saying that shaming fat women is, at least partly, their intention with the whale billboard. ----------------------- http://likeawhisper.wordpress.com/2009/08/19/peta-fail-again/ PETA's fatphobic sexism, much likes its previous oppression laden campaigns, are doing nothing for the cause. They mobilize a particular supremacist narrative about bodies, gender, and people that demean people with the least amount of power for the actions of the people with the most, motivating neither to question animal abuse. Most people I know have quit giving money to PETA because of one or more of these ad campaigns. People discussing this latest incident on both twitter and the blogosphere are critiquing PETA's investment in sexism and decrying how little relevance the organization has to their own activism around healthy eating, veganism, or animal rights. Essentially, they are saying PETA has lost all relevance in its investment in offense or education and vegan principles that supposedly uphold the rights of all creatures (human and animal). ----------------------- http://animalrights.change.org/blog/view/offensive_billboard_coming_down_but _did_peta_learn_anything This is a tactic both PETA and other mainstream, in-the-spotlight animal advocacy organizations use. They outright refuse to ever acknowledge that any criticism of them might be valid. They instead marginalize and/or silence their critics, conveniently ignore or gloss over the actual criticisms in their responses (if they respond at all), and paint those critics as clueless fools who miss the point and just want to bring the all-good and all-powerful group down. I'm getting tired of it. /Many of us /are tiring of it. It's time for the big and moneyed organizations to stop seeing themselves as infallible titans and start /listening/ to what animal advocates outside (and sometimes even /on/)/ /their payroll and their immediate circle have to say. They desperately need some perspective--and, frankly, to be brought down a notch. -- The Vegan Ideal: http://veganideal.org/ Veganism as Anti-Oppression: http://loveallbeings.org/ --- .......................................................... .......................................................... : BAY AREA VEGETARIANS BayAreaVeg.org : : Charter/Post Guidelines http://bayareaveg.org/charter : : Events Calendar - http://bayareaveg.org/events : : Newsletter - http://bayareaveg.org/news : : Ultimate Guide - http://bayareaveg.org/ug : : Veg Food Finder - http://bayareaveg.org/finder : : Volunteer - http://bayareaveg.org/volunteer.htm : .......................................................... .......................................................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 Hi. I do not want to flame any schisms here, but I feel I must speak up for PETA. It was written that they do do some good for animals. No : PETA does a *tremendous* amountto lessen animal suffering. If you are not comfortable w/ some of their attention-getting actions ( but do you think they would have been on CNN absent the billboard controversy?), then of course there are a multitude of other great organizations (IDA, ALDF, Farm Sanctuary, etc. The list is very long) that you can support. Who do you think risks their lives to get the undercover footage of animal abuse on factory farms and circuses, etc. In many, many cases, it's PETA. Did you know that they build sturdy, warm doghouses for dogs who would otherwise be left out in the elements in places with bitterly cold winters+ sweltering summers? And how about all the veg starter kits they give away? Of course, there is much, much more PETA does to lessen and eliminate animal suffering; way too much to go into here. 25 years ago, a PETA newsletter is what turned me, an indifferent omnivore (who loved animals but could never make the connection to meat) into a vegetarian. Also, they were pivotal when I became a vegan 14 years ago If you know people who work for PETA, as I do, you know these are some of the most wonderful people you could ever meet. Your call to " defund " PETA is very distressing. How about contacting them and saying you are an AR advocate and you are troubled by the billboard with an obese woman on it. I also am a feminist and I had an overweight mom, so I know how painful that can be. However, what they are saying is the truth! If you saw CNN last night, you heard the host balk at the notion of fat and obese vegans. Metabolic disorders notwithstanding, this is rare. We are doing people no favor, male or female, to pretend that eating animals and animal products doesn't predispose to weight problems. Are you aware of the book " Skinny Bitch " ? Huge bestseller. Premise: Going vegan will make you thinner. Audience: Probably 100% women. It's hard to get noticed without " shocking " stunts. I was mad at PETA years ago for the " Jesus was a vegetarian " billboards. Um, well, what about the loaves and fishes story? Don't think that won over many Christians. So, does PETA make mistakes ? Yes, they're run by humans. does that mean we should abandon PETA, and so abandon the millions of animals whose lives they make less miserable? No. Stephanie -- " Our task must be to widen our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. " Albert Einstein " The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the ways its animals are treated. " Mahatma Gandhi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 In regards to PETA's billboard. I highly respect PETA for all the hard work they do on behalf of animals suffering and they have accomplished very much. Different people respond to different tactics and I feel most people that the vegetarian/animal rights community is trying to reach are offended and rather than listen to the message, they have tuned us out. I may laugh at the billboard, but how effective is it really if it fails to reach a difficult audience? Sue Castle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 I agree completely, Stephanie. We've all heard the saying "All publicity is good publicity," right? Whether you believe that or not, you must admit that most of PETA's "stunts" get them in the news. And when PETA is in the news, animal rights issues are in the news. No matter what the average person thinks of Ingrid Newkirk and PETA, they're also - sometimes unconsciously - thinking about animals and what they can do to decrease their suffering. The simple fact is that PETA as a whole is a group of peole who don't care whether you like them or hate them - as long as you're thinking about animal issues. They to another axiom, as well: "Stay in front of your audience."In addition, we must keep in mind that the vast majority of PETA's messages are not aimed at those of us who are already leading a cruelty-free life. They are trying to get the attention of those who have yet to do so, and they are doing this in a media-saturated world where one MUST do something controversial in order to reach a wide audience.-Mike Borg Sent from my iPhoneOn Aug 25, 2009, at 1:02 PM, S Falcone <bekindbecause wrote: Hi. I do not want to flame any schisms here, but I feel I must speak up for PETA. It was written that they do do some good for animals. No : PETA does a *tremendous* amountto lessen animal suffering. If you are not comfortable w/ some of their attention-getting actions ( but do you think they would have been on CNN absent the billboard controversy?), then of course there are a multitude of other great organizations (IDA, ALDF, Farm Sanctuary, etc. The list is very long) that you can support. Who do you think risks their lives to get the undercover footage of animal abuse on factory farms and circuses, etc. In many, many cases, it's PETA. Did you know that they build sturdy, warm doghouses for dogs who would otherwise be left out in the elements in places with bitterly cold winters+ sweltering summers? And how about all the veg starter kits they give away? Of course, there is much, much more PETA does to lessen and eliminate animal suffering; way too much to go into here. 25 years ago, a PETA newsletter is what turned me, an indifferent omnivore (who loved animals but could never make the connection to meat) into a vegetarian. Also, they were pivotal when I became a vegan 14 years ago If you know people who work for PETA, as I do, you know these are some of the most wonderful people you could ever meet. Your call to "defund" PETA is very distressing. How about contacting them and saying you are an AR advocate and you are troubled by the billboard with an obese woman on it. I also am a feminist and I had an overweight mom, so I know how painful that can be. However, what they are saying is the truth! If you saw CNN last night, you heard the host balk at the notion of fat and obese vegans. Metabolic disorders notwithstanding, this is rare. We are doing people no favor, male or female, to pretend that eating animals and animal products doesn't predispose to weight problems. Are you aware of the book "Skinny Bitch"? Huge bestseller. Premise: Going vegan will make you thinner. Audience: Probably 100% women. It's hard to get noticed without "shocking" stunts. I was mad at PETA years ago for the "Jesus was a vegetarian" billboards. Um, well, what about the loaves and fishes story? Don't think that won over many Christians. So, does PETA make mistakes ? Yes, they're run by humans. does that mean we should abandon PETA, and so abandon the millions of animals whose lives they make less miserable? No. Stephanie -- "Our task must be to widen our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." Albert Einstein"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the ways its animals are treated." Mahatma Gandhi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 26, 2009 Report Share Posted August 26, 2009 I agree, though I *AM* bothered that it is targeted solely to women, I wonder why overweight people mad at this ad are not equally mad at the much more prevalent advertising encouraging them to be unhealthy so that the advertiser can profit off their misery. All healthy body types are beautiful, and I have no problem with luscious curves. But though I never look like a perfect magazine, I can feel the difference in my body between when I am the right weight for me and the wrong one. There are those that are healthier at a higher weight than when they try to diet to conform, and they should maintain their curvy figure, providing they are getting regular exercise and eating right. But no one is healthy when they are obese, and overweight is a much more common problem than underweight. Why? Because no one profits when we consume less. Perhaps PETA shouldn't run the ad due to the argument of effectiveness vs. alienation, but there are definitely much more offensive things coming at you every day. ~ Deborah Stanescu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.