Posted on by Other Nations

Kathleen Stachowski Other Nations

It was sheer curiosity that drove me to it. Honest! Saw a link, clicked, ended up at PETA Prime scoping out the “Sexiest Vegetarian Over 50” contest. As a vegan over 50–and a curious one at that–it made perfect sense to check it out. Perfect sense, and who’s abashedly defensive?!? Ha ha.

But what is PETA Prime, I wondered–AARP for animal rights activists? The Baby Boomers’ PETA? Although any mention of age is hard to find, the model at the top of the page has laugh lines and silver hair, and at the “about” page there’s this: “Let’s celebrate the wise people we have become and learn to make kind choices together.” Ah, yes, “the wise people we have become.” Collecting all that wisdom took us around the block a time or two.

I checked out the entrants. Plenty of women, a handful of men. Again, out of curiosity, I took a look at the entry criteria and found this: “Do you still get carded when ordering a drink? Do people mistake you and your son or daughter for siblings? If so, you might just be our new sexiest vegetarian over 50!”

My mood soured just like that, crabby old woman that I am. Geez Louise, how clueless (or blind drunk) do you have to be if you can’t discern that a 60-year-old has reached 21? What does it take (scalpels? lasers? injections? all of the above?) for a 55-year-old to be mistaken for a peer of offspring three decades younger? Who wrote that ad copy? Get real!

Though never a PETA member, I’ve sat on the sidelines cheering them on with every new undercover investigation, every ground-breaking victory for animals. I’ve used and credited their research and information and linked to their website again and again. I’ve even enjoyed the silly–nay, ludicrous–stuff, knowing that it’s meant to get people talking, meant to raise awareness.

A few years back, PETA contacted school officials up in Whitefish, Montana and suggested they change their name from Whitefish High School to Sea Kitten High School. This would encourage greater compassion for our cold-blooded, water-dwelling brothers and sisters, and remind folks that fish feel fear and pain just like kitties do.

“Most parents would never dream of spending a family weekend torturing kittens, but hooking fish through their mouths and pulling them through the water is just as painful as hooking a cat’s mouth and dragging him or her behind a car. … We’re hoping that this name change will encourage people young and old to start treating these gentle ‘kittens of the sea’ with respect – and show them the kindness they deserve.”

~D. Shannon, PETA assistant director

Attacks on fishing don’t play well in Montana (or Alaska, according to NPR), even overtly tongue-in-cheek attacks. Many folks miss the tongue-in-cheek approach and just rail away at PETA and animal rights activists (and make dumb comments about vegetables having feelings, too) while others chime in to support animals. And that’s when you can figure that PETA accomplished what they set out to do and give ’em their props.

But sexism doesn’t play well with lots of women, and PETA’s use of naked females and double entendres to make their point feels like the unliberated Bad Old Days (we have come a long way baby, right?). I don’t see anything tongue-in-cheek clever about selling a woman’s body to sell an idea or a product. Neither does Leo Hickman of the Guardian, who objects to the “blatant sexism” of PETA’s latest ad.

It is insulting on a number of levels. First, we have a woman being used as a piece of meat to urge people not to eat pieces of meat. Perhaps this is some kind of post-modern, cultural subversion thing that has gone completely over my head? But, sorry, I just don’t see it. Second, Peta and Laflin are utilising a clichéd Playboy-style pose and milieu – male locker room, pushed-out buttocks, turned head, one foot on tip-toes etc – that not only belittles and objectifies Laflin, but also implies that a man might only want to become a vegetarian because he “wants” Laflin’s body.

Had I not run up against the ageist promotional copy in PETA’s over-50 vegetarian contest, I suspect the sexism would have continued to run as an undercurrent (albeit a grating one) that I’d attempt to ignore. Likewise, had it not been for the sexually exploitive ads, perhaps the insensitive age stuff wouldn’t have had much impact. But suggesting that the over-50 winner should conform to an artificial, unattainable standard of youth adds insult to injury. The message? Healthy, fit vegetarians/vegans who look their age won’t win. This would certainly include my first heartthrob, PETA supporter Paul McCartney, whom PETA frequently touts as a “sexy vegetarian who (has) passed the half-century mark.” At 69, I bet Paul neither gets carded nor mistaken for a sibling of his kids. Sadly, shallow ideals of youth and physical perfection still prevail–even amongst justice seekers.

Like millions others, I truly value the important work PETA does for animals; in many instances, no one does it better. But sexism, ageism, and speciesism are all cut from the cloth of exploitation. Why must they persist in fighting one -ism by embracing others?

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Note to other “curious” vegetarians or vegans: The contest deadline has been extended to Tuesday, 6 September 2011.

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Filed under: animal advocacy, diet, fishing, veganism, vegetarianism |