Many of the issues we deal with here at Ms. are very cut-and-dry.

Legislation to let a woman die on the hospital floor? Anti.

The female orgasm (and woman-positive sex education)? Pro.

Affording fetuses more rights than women? Again, anti.

Then there’s ending exploitation and cruelty towards animals…Okay, we’re with you there… by exploiting women? Wait, what?



That’s the bind PETA (People for the Exploitation of Tits and Ass?) keeps putting feminists in, as well as other women and women-loving people. Does “it’s for a good cause” excuse exploiting, dehumanizing and sexualizing women? Do we want to get behind animal rights when they’re packaged as caged, unclothed pregnant women on all fours, women marked up as cuts of meat, women being beaten with baseball bats, and (more than once) the likening of our natural pubic hair to clothing made from the skinned fur of slaughtered animals?

As the debate continues, I offer up PETA’s newest ad for comment. Again they feature a picture wherein the shock (and marketing) value lies in a resemblance to a woman’s body part. Again they vilify a woman’s natural pubic hair and encourage women to go “furless” and “bare” because, apparently, our vaginas in their natural states are just as disgusting as wearing dead animals as coats. This time, however, PETA has teamed up with Strip Ministry of Waxing, who will be donating some of the proceeds from Brazilian and “XXX” waxes to PETA.

Does this ad offend you, or does PETA get a break for a good cause? What do you think will be next from PETA– throwing red paint at au natural vaginas?

Ad from the PETA/Ministry of Wax “furless” campaign.