The left is eating its own again. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, hired bikini clad women to hand out non-dairy treats to the crowd at Wimbledon. Some feminists objected angrily, claiming the organization was objectifying women.
Emily Zanotti of Heat Street has the story:
PETA Blasted as ‘Sexist’ for Using Bikini-Clad Models to Serve Dairy-Free TreatsPeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is being blasted for what feminists say is the unethical treatment of women.The progressive activist group, long a staple of the left, decided to stage a promotional event at the Wimbledon tennis championship, and dressed a number of young, attractive women in bikinis and had them hand out dairy-free treats to the sweltering crowd.The stunt was meant to attract attention, and for PETA, it was pretty typical—usually the models trying to guilt passers-by into quitting meat are clad only in lettuce leaves (or, for that matter, nothing at all), so strawberry-print pinup gear was definitely an upgrade. But it ended up angering PETA’s fellow social justice warriors who called the display “anti-feminist” and threatened to revoke their support.“I’m sick of you exploiting women’s bodies in the name of being vegan. You need to change your methods,” said one supporter, a Guardian reporter, who also said he was cancelling his membership immediately. Another, a union organizer Tweeted, “Exploitation of women’s bodies is never a good look. Another sexist campaign. You value animals over women.”PETA fired back, claiming that its critics were nothing more than sex-negative prudes, and body-shamers, to boot. They even suggested that some of their “feminist” detractors were actually forcing the animal rights organizations, and its models, to ascribe to tyrannical Patriarchy.
Tucker Carlson spoke to a feminist last night who objected to the stunt. Carlson wondered why it was a big deal if the women, who are adults, chose to participate. You can watch part of the discussion in the video below:
The conflict between PETA and feminists has apparently been going on for years. Take a look at this 2009 article from the Portland Mercury:
Feminists vs. PETAPEOPLE FOR the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are best known for their uppity protests about factory farms and animal testing labs. But last week in Portland, PETA’s president got a taste of her own medicine.As PETA President Ingrid Newkirk prepared to speak at Powell’s Books on Tuesday, August 18, a dozen Portland feminists were crouched on the sidewalk a block away, drawing up large protest signs. The loosely knit Portland Feminist Action League organized the “flash protest” via the internet, criticizing PETA for its “sexist and offensive” animal rights campaigns. PETA’s protests have featured nude women in cages, and most recently, the organization produced a billboard that pictured a fat woman in a bikini that read, “Save the whales! Lose the blubber. Go vegetarian.””A lot of us are vegan and vegetarian and actually support what PETA is trying to do,” explained protest organizer Erin Fairchild as she finished writing out a sign reading, “PETA can kiss my big fat vegetarian ass!””We’d just like them to stop relying on sexism to get their message across,” Fairchild added.
Here’s a 2013 article from the Huffington Post:
Has PETA Gone Too Far? Sexism, Pornography and AdvertisingIt is PETA’s television and internet campaigns which are most conspicuously pushing the boundaries of advertising, the objectification of women’s bodies, heteronormative pornography, and violence against women. PETA’s first campaign of the year, ‘Veggie Love’ was developed for the Superbowl, and was banned for having women simulate sex with vegetables; an ad which appears to have been inspired by Voina’s ‘protest’ art that involved women having sex with frozen chickens.
Featured image via YouTube.
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