PETA and fat shaming

[Guest guest]

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-peta-\

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.

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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/

[Guest guest]

On Aug 24, 2009, at 11:32 AM, Victor Tsou wrote:

 

> 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

 

I agree with this, and I would go one step further. It's time to

defund PETA. Every dollar they spend on a new wacky " campaign " is a

dollar spent towards humiliating vegans and vegetarians, by making us

look insane and hateful by association. Whether we like it or not,

PETA shapes the impression of the broader vegan and vegetarian

community, and people aren't liking what they see.

 

I recognize that PETA does a lot of good work, and much of their legal

work is very effective. However, their name, their brand, and their

media tactics have turned off the mainstream meat eating public from

our cause. And worse, they're losing their own allies.

 

Who is PETA speaking to at this point? People think of them as the

extremist wackos who put on KKK outfits, scare children and mock fat

people. They've fomented a permanent backlash that will only simmer

down if PETA goes away. I've had it with them.

 

So today, I'm taking a pledge. Not a single dollar for PETA from me,

ever again, and I will write to them to ask for my past donations to

be refunded. If the people at PETA who still do good work split off

and form a new organization, under a new name, without Ingrid Newkirk

and without the name PETA, I will gladly support that new organization.