I had heard about this a few weeks back from one of these website that you just aren’t certain are for real or not. So I thought it was some sort of joke. Now the British online rag The Telegraph confirms that apparently PeTA is turning to porn.
I wrote about this just the other day, perhaps I’m tapped into the vegan psyche, I wrote about vegan whores or why whoring ourselves for veganism is not an effective strategy. I wasn’t suggesting that anyone in that post was an actual whore, but using the phrase “vegan whores” to link just seems cool. And besides, the word whore has a broader meaning now like that of a sellout.
Anyway, I believe that this new information bears a separate post that I was going to title “Sluts for Mutts” but I wanted a longer title that gave you a bit more information about this whole issue. Now I know that Pam Anderson has long been a rabid PeTA supporter and home taped porn star. So I wonder if she’ll be helping out what looks like peta.xxx with x rated content?
I have a soft spot for Pam. She’s an attractive woman who has put herself out there for helping animals. But when I think of vegan porn this is what I think of. Food should be vegan porn, not the hairless ape.
I’ve appreciated the work that PeTA has done and continues to do. Alex Pacheco stayed with me around 20 years ago when he was in town during a PeTA activism campaign. Great guy. When I started the first animal rights students’ organization on the campus of my local university, PeTA was instrumental in helping us get started.
But I think PeTA is losing its way. Veganism was and I still believe an ethic of moving humanity forward towards greater equality not only for animals but for all sentient beings. And unfortunately, pornography is not about moving towards greater equality, it is at the very least about exploring one of our baser animal extincts for physical pleasure. It is at worse about nursing misogynistic tendencies and debasing women.
Now don’t get me wrong I have nothing against pornography or any sort of behavior between two consenting adults. In fact I believe that both drugs and prostitution should be legalized, but that’s a blog post for another day and perhaps another blog.
Nevertheless, veganism should not be fucked over (literally) by pornography. I don’t know how you can mix the two issues together. One is arguably about exploring and experiencing self centered pleasure, the other is most certainly about abolishing suffering and pain for others. I don’t agree with the naked for fur campaigns and I certainly thing moving towards outright porn is moving in the wrong direction.
I’m very curious to hear how you or PeTA thinks that vegan porn, sluts for mutts or whores for claws is going to really and legitimately engender the growth of veganism let alone promoting real discourse and understanding of the abolitionist goals of animal rights and veganism?
I’m all ears. Yeah, I know veganism is great for health and that the vegan diet is better than viagra. I know that vegan’s taste better. And I’m for vegan sex and pleasure and for populating the world with vegan babies (to an extent). But I can’t see how this is going to increase the legitimacy of veganism and the eradication of animal abuse let alone animal use.
Pimping veganism for porn is about momentary pleasure and that is what I think our gains for animal rights and veganism will be… momentary. Just like the fleeting ghostly pleasure of organism, we’re grasping at ghosts if we think that promoting vegan porn will bring us anything more than a fleeting feeling of momentary smug satisfaction. Just like orgasm, veganism will leave the movement empty and wanting if we think fucking for fake fur will achieve anything more sustained.
Do you think that the folks at strip joints and surfing Hustler are really our target audience for embracing veganism? Hmmm… I think not.
I am a slut for my mutt.
😉