This week we investigate the connection between the sexualization of non-human animals and women. Carol Adams, author of The Sexual Politics of Meat draws a direct connection between men, patriarchy, and the treatment of women. This is achieved through advertising. “Violence against people and animals is interdependent, caring about both is required” (Adams). We see the sexualization of women in connection with meat. The fact that the meat industry appeals to men by using sexualized animals to sell their meat is what Adams refers to as the pornography of meat.
This image shows a pig in thigh high stockings, red heels and a garter belt. She appears to have long lashes as if to imply she’s wearing makeup. Her dress hiked up to show parts of her rump. She has a glass of wine insinuating that she’s approachable and ready for whatever comes next. This is obviously a sexualized photograph. She is supposed to be appealing to catch a man’s eye. This is a ham advertisement, selling ham by sexualizing the pig on the advertisement. This is an example of what Adams calls; “Anthropornography gives you a hooker on your plate. Nonhuman animals are whoring for you. Nonhumans want you, too. Suffering? Slaughtering? Inhumane acts? No. They want it.” This is begging the proposition of “eat me” and because the pig is female, it’s directly connecting the non-human animals to a human female. This perpetuates ongoing patriarchy. This is aimed at getting a man’s attention.
I chose this image to point out how advertisers use food to manipulate people to buy meat. This advertisement for example says Tofu it’s Schwules Fleisch, which translates to (tofu is gay meat) in German. This is directly connecting tofu to homosexuality. The fact that this advertisement makes a connection with someone’s sexuality is troublesome to me. This is an example of gendered food. By insinuating that eating tofu is gay, effeminate, or unmanly, it must be a feminine food, made for women and not for men.
This image is pretty blatant, it comes right out with the sexualized message. The hamburger has female legs with red heels which has always been associated with sex. The message is clearly insinuating sex. This could create arousal or plant the seed of sex in a man’s mind. It is associated with meat, and women, it directly connects the two. “These images are part of the structure of our culture, we fail to notice that consumable animals are invariably portrayed as feminine, as sexual, as available to men, just like female humans” (Adams).
This is a PETA advertisement. Its intention is to draw similarities between humans and meat. Because PETA is focused more on animals rights than women’s rights, it’s reinforcing the objectification and consumption of women. In this advertisement “PETA sacrifices women’s rights for animal rights” (Florio).
This picture is analogous to the the PETA photo of Pamela Anderson. This image shows the non-human animal sectioned off in cuts of beef, just like the photo above does with Ms. Anderson. This directly connects humans and meat sources. Begging the question that if you consume one animal, what is the difference in consuming all?
Adams wants us to understand that non-human animals and animals are intersected. We are a society that sexualizes our foods, genderizes our foods, and normalizes violence by hunting for our food. If we really look closely at factory farms, and the mass killings that are carried out, there’s little difference from what Hitler did in the concentration camps. Holding mass amounts of “beings” waiting to be slaughtered. Society has conditioned us to dehumanize meat and look at it as just food. Not as a being that was alive, breathing and felt fear and pain when being killed. We have removed the emotion from our meat consumption, therefore we have allowed ourselves to be complacent with a genocidal type of activity.
Finally, eating meat can be a healthy practice for humans. “Let’s not forget that many non-human animals are omnivores too” (Florio). “The fact that women are compared to animals that will be butchered and consumed, suggests that women should serve as subservient members of society, “ for the pleasure of men. (Florio)
“Auschwitz begins whenever someone looks at a slaughterhouse and think; “They’re only animals”(Adams).
Sources;
Adams, Carol J. “The Politics of Carol J. Adams.” Antennae. Annie Potts. Ed. Glovanni Alol. 2009. 12-24.
Florio, Angelica. “The Sexualization of Meat What It Means to Be an ‘Ass Man.’” Cipher Magazine
Kemmerer, Lisa. “The Pornography of Meat By Carol Adams.” Philosophy Now (2006).
Annotated Bibliography;
Angelica Florio is a freelance writer who has published articles in several magazines and publications. Her article in Cipher magazine is directly related to this weeks topic of non-human animals and women. She references Adams in her writing and brings up some good connections on the topic. Florio writes about the media and its power and influence on our culture. She has published articles in Playboy, Glamour, Vox and Hellogiggle to name just a few.
This is a really well thought out and well written post. I had trouble understanding Adams and finding ways to write about the images I went with the ones that seemed easiest, that I could just sum up with what I was able to understand. After reading your post I understand the topic a great deal more.
I looked up the article by Florio you referenced and I really liked where she mentioned that the way the server described the food brought it from being an inanimate object to a living creature with feelings. While I myself choose not to live a vegetarian lifestyle, I find it to be important to remember that this is a living creature you are consuming and to thank the animal for its sacrifice. I have encountered far too many people who look at meat as simply an object and not a living creature and I hope to never fall into that delusion.
Hello Tonya,
the image you included of the woman posing with all her body parts labeled says at the top “all animals have the same parts”, so I asked myself, “then why didn’t they choose a man for this ad?” Why did it have to be a woman posing in such a sexy way in order to deliver the message that all animals have the same parts? We obviously are not past the sexualization of women and the association of women and animals. Also, I chose the same image of the burger with female legs and you made some points that I had not thought about like the association of red heels with sex. You are definitely right. I also liked the image of the meat saying that tofu is gay meat because it approaches this topic from a different perspective. We are focused on the association of women and non-human animals, but homosexuality goes into this as well. Men are expected to be masculine and eat masculine foods, so in a way men have pressure as well.